It’s far from the first, but those looking to go format neutral while still keeping things neat and tidy in a media center now have another option to consider from the folks at Passive Technologies, which has just introduced its new LifestationHD unit. While exact specs are still somewhat light, in addition to that Blu-ray / HD-DVD combo drive, you’ll apparently get “silent operation” courtesy of unit’s DynaChill 3 cooling system, along with an AMD processor of some sort, SSD storage (or up to 9TB with the optional Lifeserver), and “audiophile grade” audio, with a Bluetooth remote and keyboard also available as an option. No word on a price, but given that these things come custom-installed, it likely won’t be cheap.

There’s certainly been no shortage of HD-DVD deals lately (or Blu-ray ones, for that matter), but it seem like those looking to get the biggest movie collection right out of the gate won’t be able to do much better than Wal-Mart’s upcoming “secret” sale, which includes a Toshiba HD-A3 player with twelve free HD-DVDs for $298. That, of course, includes the usual two movies in the box and five more by mail, plus an additional five that you’ll get “instantly” when you buy the player (no word on what you’ll have to choose from). You’ll have to get up early if you want to walk away with that stash, however, as the sale gets underway tomorrow at 8 am sharp, when you’ll also be able to snag a 50-inch Vizio plasma TV for $998 or a 40GB PS3 with a free $50 gift card for $399, among other slightly less notable deals.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Wal-Mart may have been the first to tempt HD-fence-sitters with a $100 HD-A2 player (however limited), but it looks like it’s not the only one, with Best Buy now also listing the very same player for the impulse buy-inducing price of $99.99. Of course, it’s sold out online, so you may be better off trying your luck at your local store. Not surprisingly, the HD DVD PR folk are keen to talk up this recent spat of price reductions, including the still decent $197 price for the A2 at Circuit City and Amazon, and Sears’s Black Friday price of $169 for the newer HD-A3 model, which also comes with two movies bundled in the box (not to mention the five free mail-in movies available with the purchase of any of the players).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]