Christmas Rumour: $149 DVD Player

The 2008 holiday shopping season is approaching quickly, and consumers are anxiously waiting to see how low Blu-ray players and HDTVs will drop in price.

As part of tradition, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving marks the official beginning of the holiday shopping season when prices are dramatically slashed for one day of complete shopping chaos.

In the United States, Black Friday causes pandemonium at brick and mortar retail stores across the country, especially electronics stores. Thousands of Americans will wait in line at Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Circuit City and other stores, sometimes all night, in an attempt to snap up discounted electronics and computer hardware.

What kind of things will shoppers be able to get their hands on this year?

DealNews.com has published unconfirmed rumors that Blu-ray players will be available for $149 and 42" 720p plasma HDTVs will be available for $499.

But the site also recommends waiting until closer to Christmas if you want to purchase a plasma HDTV, as popular brand names will receive drastic price cuts after Black Friday. It could be possible to purchase name brand Blu-ray players with movie bundles for $199, but the web site did not list any brand names or movies.

Recent articles published on CDFreaks indicates many of you still want to see Blu-ray player prices drop closer to $200 before you're willing to hop on the high-definition bandwagon. Memorex and several other companies have Blu-ray players available in the $250 price range, although the lack of features has left consumers disappointed.

Blu-ray movie titles will also be available this holiday shopping season at lower prices, in the movie industry's latest attempt to try and get consumers to adopt Blu-ray. But the cost of DVDs and upscaling DVD players will also drop prices in time for Christmas, which could hinder Blu-ray sales.

If Blu-ray player prices continue to drop, down to $149, will you be willing to leave behind DVDs in favor of the high-definition format?