I think that everyone has made some interesting points; however; I think that I need to get this discussion back on track. The original topic was: "Wal-Mart's HDTV pricing puts competition in a world of hurt".

I have so much that I could say here but I'm going to hold back my opinion as much as I can and stick to the facts. Who is Wal-marts competition when it comes to the HDTV market? The Wal-mart in my city does not even sell a 1080P HDTV yet...and how long have 1080P televisions been on the market now? I believe that the price is what will determine what the majority of consumers will spend their money on...this is common sense economical behavior. If Wal-mart would have sold my Sony KDSXBR2 60" HDTV for less than what I paid at Circuit City, then I would have purchased at Wal-mart instead of Circuit City (may be this is a bad example because Wal-mart will never sell my Sony KDSXBR2 60" HDTV but you know what I mean).

The real issue here is what is going to happen to the HDTV market when Full HD 1080P Televisions and HD DVD/Blu Ray players (besides PS3) hit the shelves at Wal-mart. The minority that will be hurt is the companies that have been ripping off consumers with buzz words like "HDMI 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3...etc". The HDTV market has been over priced for years because companies involved have been able to keep prices up and off of the shelves of stores like Wal-mart. Well, now the middle class and lower class (majority of consumers) will finally be able to afford a new HDTV and any companies that are producing generic goods are going to make a fortune in this industry. In the end consumers win because prices are finally going to fall and the HDTV industry is going to start selling the next over priced technology that I won't be able to buy for a few years.

The other HUGE issue here is that Wal-mart may be the ones who are able to end the format war (HD DVD vs. Blu Ray). If I was Sony or any of the investors of Blu Ray that I would be extremely worried if HD DVD players hit the shelves at Wal-mart and sold for hundreds less than Blu Ray players and HD DVD's cheaper than Blu Ray movies. It costs less to make HD DVD's then it does Blu Ray movies and everyone knows this, so I'm interested to see what happens if Wal-mart sells HD DVD players for less. The prices for Blu Ray players will have to fall but if HD DVD is able to sell their players and movies for less and still make profits, then say good bye to Blu Ray. Sony better sell more of those PS3's (and releases another game or two...) before the HD DVD players hit the shelves at Wal-mart because that will be the only thing that will save the Blu Ray! My prediction: HD DVD (only because it is cheaper to make HD DVD's then it is for Blu Ray discs). This is why HD DVD is dragging their feet right now...as soon as the cheap HD DVD players hit the shelves at Wal-mart, then you will see a major release of all of the HD DVD titles that will only be released in HD DVD and/or the price for HD DVD can and will easily undercut the prices for Blu Ray discs which will virtually blow away the competition.

This is coming from someone that has invested most of his money into Blu Ray and I really want Blu Ray to win the war! Sony's only hope will be to get their players on the shelves at Wal-mart for the same price as HD DVD players, keep pushing hard to release as many new Blu Ray movie releases with prices similar to HD DVD, and keep developing new technology and ways to cut production costs with the Blu Ray discs.

My whole point is that money talks and people walk and this is what drives a free market society. This whole discussion was basically pointless because Wal-mart is not doing anything against the law or they would be shut down by the government (which is you and me). You and I are the ones who are spending millions of dollars a day at Wal-Mart. "Always low price. Always." We should all be learning from Wal-mart because they have demonstrated the ultimate business practices that will put businesses over the top. Wal-mart is not the enemy here...it is those companies that want to control supply and manipulate the demand...so that consumers are forced to pay more...and the technology is slowly released YEARS after it has been developed so that producers can maximize their profits. You will soon start hearing about the next new amazing technology that you've gotta have and that you can't buy it at Wal-mart stores until a few years after its release.

Thanks for listening to what I had to say and for the discussions in here...and please share your opinions because every opinion matters! We may not all agree but we can still talk about things and this will help to expand and define our beliefs. Darrold