Sears prices Blu-ray, DVD low for Black Friday

Format's Sleeping Beauty to be discounted to $18.99

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/27/2008

OCT. 27 | This year’s Black Friday promises big Blu-ray Disc deals, including sub-$200 latest model Sony and Samsung players at Sears, according to the scan of a future newspaper insert circulating the Web.

Sears’ sale, kicking off Friday, Nov. 28, and running through Sunday, Nov. 30, will feature Sony’s BD Live-ready BDP-S350 for $179.99 and Samsung’s BD Live-ready BD-P1500 for $199.99, according to the ad.

Sears was not available for comment at deadline.

The price tags represent savings of $120 on the Sony player and $100 on the Samsung player.

The players have been on a relatively quick discount slide, as they launched earlier this year at $399, before the manufacturers shaved the pricing to $299 at the end of September. Sony’s BDP-S350 and Samsung’s BD-P1500 will have Web capabilities once a firmware upgrade is made available later this year.

In other Blu-ray door buster offers, Sears is serving up Oct. 7 release Sleeping Beauty in the format for $18.99. Currently, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s title, the studio's first with BD Live, retails for around $25. For example, the Blu-ray Sleeping Beauty retails for $23.95 on Amazon.com and $26.99 at BestBuy.com.

Traditional Black Friday goodies, such as bargain DVD titles, also are expected at Sears. Ads show titles listed at $3.99, $5.99 and $9.99.

Featured $9.99 titles include such major 2008 new releases as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s The Incredible Hulk. Titles at the $5.99 mark include some of last year’s high-profile releases, such as 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s The Simpsons Movie and Universal’s I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Discs at $3.99 include Lionsgate’s 3:10 to Yuma, Warner Home Video’s March of the Penguins and Fox’s The Fantastic Four.