UK superstore Asda has slashed the price of its entry level Blu-ray player to £40, just in time for Christmas. The ONN DS-BD52 is pretty basic stuff, but is now believed to be the cheapest deck available in British stores.

Additionally, and as part of the reasoning for the price drop, Asda believes that this Christmas time will see Blu-ray players outsell bog-standard DVD players for the first time. The company claims that Blu-ray, as a format generally, is "about to fulfil its potential".

Specifications of the Asda ONN DS-BD52 are simple. It has a HDMI output (naturally), composite video, digital coaxial audio, Ethernet port and an USB 2.0 socket - although the latter is for firmware upgrades, not media playing.

It is capable of playing Blu-ray and normal DVD discs, while WMAs and JPEGs can be listened to a viewed respectively when stored on a recordable DVD (DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW).

At £40, Pocket-lint has worked out that the deck costs the equivalent of 11.8 Asda Deep Fill Steak & Ale Puff Pastry Pies, a tantalising choice for the average AV enthusiast, we're sure you'll agree.

The Asda ONN DS-BD52 is available now in larger stores and online at www.asda.com.

Do you have a cheap as chips Blu-ray player? If so, how much did it cost you? Or would you never consider such a thing? Let us know in the comments below...