Toshiba taking $500 hit on every cut-price HD DVD player?

Bargain bin promos in the States prompt speculation

6 November 2007 7:46 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

The HD DVD format has hit the tech headlines in the States recently with some limited time only Wal-Mart and Best Buy promotions offering the entry-level HD-A2 Toshiba HD DVD player for as little as $98.87.

HD DVD does have the edge over Blu-ray when it comes to pricing in the next-gen format war, and these latest bargain bin offers will have certainly turned consumer's heads.

But, figures from iSuppli state that this move from Toshiba could come a a high, and it could be speculated, unsustainable cost.

Toshiba's first HD-A1 HD DVD player cost the manufacturer $674 in parts alone, which would suggest they could be taking as much as $500 "hit" on the newer version selling now for less than a hundred dollars.