Venturer SHD7000 - The First Sub-$200 HD DVD Player

I've always said that the war between Blu-ray and HD DVD will be decided by the cost related to each disc. When one of them reaches the point where any average Joe can afford them, then we'll start to see a winner. That said, the first sub-$200 HD DVD player has been released.

Canadian manufacturer Venturer Electronics has just announced their first HD DVD player, the SHD7000. The unit will have HDMI output, but unfortunately will only output in 1080i. While the output may be a little disappointing to some, this is still a huge milestone in the format wars.

The biggest question that comes to mind is what kind of quality we can expect from these units. I've never heard of Venturer, and likely most people looking to buy one of these hasn't either. As long as they are a decent quality and don't die on you after 6 months, it would be a worthwhile investment for someone looking to upgrade on the cheap.

First under-$200 HD DVD player released [via ars]