Since last month all the major players on the Blu-ray market started a small war, flooding us with offers to drive the Blu-ray sales. It started with Wal-mart offering the new Magnavox NB500MG9 for under $300. A fews weeks later we see Amazon and then Best Buy start throwing in baits to get consumers to buy Blu-ray movies and players from them. Amazon started slashing prices, bundling movies together and now has a HD week with amazing prices on the ‘Gold Box’ page. Best Buy is pushing their Insignia player with a $100 book of coupons. Now is Wal-mart’s turn again: They are also offering $100 in coupons but with the purchase of any Blu-ray player. Out of all these promotions, I would probably go with this last one because it is valid for any player including the Playstation 3. The PS3 has currently the best cost/benefit ratio, the promo basically makes the Sony console sell at $299. Besides being the only profile 2.0 player already selling, it has the potential to be upgraded with firmwares and you can also make your kids happy giving them games to play!

Or you can buy the mediocre Magnavox NB500MG9 for $198. Your choice!

They are also offering selected Blu-ray movie titles for 15 bucks! Some of the titles are: 3:10 to Yuma, War, Shooter, 300 and The Fifth Element.

Yes, this is great stuff and if you are waiting for a great opportunity to enter the “Blu” World this may be your chance! Check out their web site! This promo is valid from June 8 through June 14.

Popularity: 32% [?]

MagnaVox started selling a 1.1 profile Blu-ray player for 298 bucks, which has been spotted at Wal-Mart. This is definitely the cheapest option out there…Is this what many people have been waiting for to take the plunge and invest on a Blu-ray player? Maybe… MagnaVox is a second tier brand from Phillips but this player has been manufactured by the Japanese Funai, which also makes a few products for Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Denon and others. Also hitting the market is the Sylvania NB500SL9, which can be pre-ordered at amazon.com at an affordable price of $349.99. This Sylvania player is also manufactured by Funai and basically the same as the MagnaVox NB500MG9, only different brand. If you are looking for a “entry level” stand-alone player, these two are a great affordable option but think twice if you are looking for more performance, you are still better off with a Playstation3!

Specs

- Profile 1.1 BonusView Picture-in-Picture
- Video Output Resolutions: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p (1080p/24 and 1080p/60)
- DVD Upconversion to 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Support for HD Audio Formats: (bitstream output, no internal decoding)
- HDMI Ver. 1.3
- Weight 9.5 pounds

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Here is a diagram of the MagnaVox Blu-ray Player:

Popularity: 100% [?]