Went to Wal-Mart yesterday to pick up The Right Stuff and Robin Hood (neither of which they had ).

As I was wandering around looking for the DVD's....lo and behold...did my eyes decieve me??? Widescreen HDTV sets showing Discovery HD at my local Wal-MArt???

They had Phillips and Pioneer widescreen sets, both Tube and RPTV, dominating their big sceen tv display.

I talked to the manager (to whom I was complaining about the lack of new release availability) and he said they just got them in last week.

I'm wondering if Blockbusters change of heart on widescreen releases coupled with Wal-Mart going widescreen on their hardware means the end of pan-scan is at hand....

The writing has been on the wall for some time. The end though hasn't yet come, and won't until J6P feels compelled to upgrade to a 16:9 set. Look for family films to be the last holdouts.

^I don't think you understood the question or the response. Smackdaddy postulated that the adoption of HD hardware at Walmart might signal the end of pan&scan. I responded that pan&scan would remain for as long as J6P still watched TV on a 4:3 set. That some people wanted only widescreen since "long before laserdiscs" has no bearing on when P&S will die.

End end of P&S? Nope.
Walmart will always need to cater to the lowest common denominator.

Curious. My local Wal-Mart only sells pan and scan dvd's. Seems they got out of their way to only stock those.

Echoing Movie Man's comment, not only the lowest common denominator, Wal-Mart will sell whatever they can in the largest quantity they can.

If they are catering to the lowest common denominator, then why bother with widescreen HD sets(the broadcasting of Discovery HD is what really kills me)?

I don't honestly think that we will ever be rid of p&s releases, but I think this is a move in the right direction.

Pioneer 53 inch widescreen

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...%3A3987%3A3996

1976.00 before taxes

Panasonic 53 inch widescreen

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...%3A3996%3A4561

Over 1700 shipped and taxed with in home delivery and setup.

They also have an RCA there but no one will ever buy that!

See all of them listed here:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A3996%3A107530

They had a few different models on display in-store. A 30" RCA for $899, 43(maybe 47)" Philips for $1300 or so along with the big Pioneer.

The online and instore prices can vary quite a bit since walmart.com is a separate entity from the B&M's. I know this from trying to price match one of their online prices in-store.

I buy all of my stuff widescreen, but is it really necessary to snip at people who buy pan and scan? Some people just don't really care what format it is.

They should, dammit.

Full screen will burn your hands, I tell ya. It's the DEVIL'S TOOL!

What the heck is J6P? LOL Just 6 People?

Joe Six-Pack

I think the reason that full screen is stocked more than widescreen is incompetent orderers and stocking sheets, think about it:

You look at the sheet:

Indiana Jones Complete:Full Screen
Indiana Jones Complete:Widescreen


Full screen comes first on the list, so the orderer, marks it down thinking he only needs one version of it.

You really broke into laughter after that comment?

I broke my leg after that comment.