Venturer's cheap HD DVD player isn't cheap

More expensive than Toshiba's HD-EP30

Late November, we reported that Venturer would be launching its SHD7001 which the company claimed would bring a "striking, unrivalled picture" at "an incredible price".

Having not provided a fixed price with the press release and advising consumers to wait for further details when the product debuted on home shopping channel QVC, we were dubious as to just how incredible the price would be. I had secretly hoped that the player would retail at a very incredible £99 but alas, that isn't the case.

The player made its debut on QVC on December 29th, as expected, and originally retailed for £162.92. To make matters worse, that appeared to be a one day special only and the player is now available from the QVC website for a far from incredible £206.00, not to mention an additional £6.95 for postage.

We mentioned in our previous coverage that Venturer would really need to push the boat out on this one as Toshiba's HD-EP30 HD DVD player is widely available for £199.99. Sorry Venturer, you've failed to do so and to make matters worse, Play.com now have the Toshiba player for £189.99 - and it still comes with seven free HD DVD titles!