In yet another blow to the Blu-ray disc format, Canadian electronics manufacturer Venturer announced their forthcoming $199 HD-DVD player. Finally, the all-important sub-$200 number. This is the sort of player that WalMart might carry. The SHD7000 plays 1080i via HDMI, supports Dolby TrueHD audio, and has Ethernet and a SD DVD upscaler. Expect it this holiday season at major North American retailers.

In the meantime, Toshiba has a 5 disc HD DVD rebate offer on all their hidef players. Buy any Toshiba HD DVD player and they’ll give you your choice from a limited selection of discs. More details and the rebate form below.

The 5 disc rebate offer is valid for players purchased between 3/1/07 and 9/30/07, so you are in luck if you’ve already purchased one and have the receipt saved. Toshiba is limiting the selection of movies you can choose from, giving you five categories with three discs in each category. You can only choose one disc per category. Get the rebate form here (PDF link). Purchases made via the above links directly benefit FreshDV, as well as making Microsoft execs feel a little better about spending $150 million to buy a studio’s distribution soul.