Wal-Mart stocks cheap Blu-ray player

Wal-Mart stocks cheap Blu-ray player

Wal-Mart logoNo matter what you think about Wal-Mart, they are the largest retailer in the world and have the power to literally change economies. Although this development doesn’t leave a South American country in shambles, it may help spur on the already fast-growing Blu-ray market.

This week a Magnavox Blu-ray Disc player reached shelves in select markets at the price of $298. The Magnavox NB500MG9 (sleek name, isn’t it?) is a BD1.1 player manufactured in China by Funai. It features HDMI 1.3 output and upconverts DVD to 1080p.

Magnavox.NB500MG9

This looks like a capable player. It outputs 1080p/24 video with Deep Color. There isn’t a multi-channel analog output on this player and doesn’t decode advanced codecs on board, but it does send bitstream audio out to your capable receiver.

It’s official, we now have generic Blu-ray players on the market.

View the manual

Editor’s note: We first covered this Funai Blu-ray player in our Blu-ray Disc Association Booth CES 2008 article.

About Steven Kippel

Steven Kippel has worked as a systems designer for a leading high-end audio/video custom integrator in Southern California since 2003. He is responsible for researching new technologies and integrating them into existing systems and new construction projects. He has designed several high-profile systems for discriminating clients on the cutting-edge of technology. When he is not hard at work, Steven is spending time with his wife, playing with his band or promoting concerts and bands in the Inland Empire. His favorite bands include The Cure, U2, Eisley, Living Sacrifice and DragonForce.

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2 Comments on “Wal-Mart stocks cheap Blu-ray player”

  1. Nice! This player’s price & availability at Walmart will definitely help to spur additional Blu-ray adoption.

    I would still recommend purchasing the 40GB PS3, at only $100 more, but I can certainly see that there will be some people that won’t want to dish out the extra $100.

  2. This player seems great only for the price. I’m really thinking about buying one only thing that kinda hits the nerve is “There isn’t a multi-channel analog output on this player and doesn’t decode advanced codecs on board” which to most people this would not be a problem, but I’am a big electronic freak and I would love to have the moste up-to-date software. Though there is a few blu ray players with wifi on board your looking at $399 and above for players like that. If you want to just want to put your HDTV to use like me, because I’m just tired of using an old DVD player and don’t want to spend lots of money this is it!

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