Wal-Mart to sell world's cheapest Blu-ray player, Sony warns of 'dark cloud' for the format

Wal-Mart intends to hammer the price of Blu-ray players in the US down to a new low, by selling a Maganvox player for just $128.

The price, if internet scuttlebutt proves correct, will make it the world’s cheapest, high-street Blu-ray deck. It’s expected to become available during America’s Black Friday sales.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving (November 27) and marks the beginning of the traditional US Christmas shopping season. The store, which owns Asda in the UK,  says it will not confirm any sale prices until November 24.

The arrival of a $128 Blu-ray player would almost certainly drag down the cost of BD decks across the board. Wal-Mart, which has recently become much more aggressive in the Blu-ray software market, has in the past been credited with bringing the cost of DVD players down to little more than the discs themselves. 

It remains to be seen if Asda will follow suit. As yet the chain has shown little interest in driving the Blu-ray format to UK consumers.

Executives from industry trade body the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) concede that Blu-ray sales will be impacted by the faltering economy, but remain upbeat about its future.  Disney Home Entertainment president Bob Chapek says: ‘It's only logical to expect there'd be some economic impact. We've been pleasantly surprised so far.’
Sony Home Entertainment president David Bishop warned that the economy is a ‘dark cloud’ for the hi-def format.