MDR513H Price Drop?

I would say its unlikely- very unlikely. The previous version took a couple years to drop from $299 to $229, but once it hit $229 that was it- $229 it remained until it was replaced by the 513, at which point it dropped to $199 to blow out leftover inventory. Wal*Mart doesn't mind taking a loss to make a statement, but there are limits to how much they'll lose, and since the MDR513H is a web-only item not even available in their stores, its of limited utility as a promotional tool.

I can understand wanting to save some money, especially in this rotten economy, but keep in mind $229 is an utterly ridiculous price for this recorder: its stupid-cheap. If it was any other brand but Magnavox the pricetag would be $399, minimum. Thats why all the other brands dropped the DVD/HDD concept like a hot potato: they know Americans will not pay more than $200 or so for a recorder, but there is no profit in the machines at that price. The Magnavox mfr can afford to sell the 513 so cheap only because they now OEM the cheaper recorders for almost every other brand on the planet: their parts volume is so high, its not much of a stretch to throw in an HDD and make a few "luxury" units to show off.

If money is super-tight for you, consider buying the previous model H2160 from J&R website. This is the exact same recorder with a 160GB HDD. It is available like new/refurbished this week for just $159 including free shipping via this link: http://www.jr.com/magnavox/pe/MAG_H2160MW9_hy_RB/. Many here, including myself, have bought these J&R "refurbs" and found them to be good as new at a killer price.

The current price point of the 513 seems to be where Funai wants to be selling these machines, and frankly, I don't know how the heck they do it and actually make money on them. The 513 has 2.5 times the HDD space of my first DVDR and costs 1/3 the price. It's a little shorter on features, but has a darned good interface for the functions that count. (I was poking around in the setup menus of my Panasonic and found some options that I realize I've never used and don't even know what they do!)

Yes, if you wait, you probably can start getting the 513 in cheaper refurbs like the 2160 and maybe at blowout prices when the thing is finally, in direct-marketing jargon f-disc (factory discontinued). But it isn't always guaranteed that will happen. Sometimes supply on a product just runs out and there it is--gone! The mfr never has to discount it to unload leftover inventory. The 513 will probably be around for a couple-three years, during which you're not enjoying the benefit of using it.

When I flipped for a J&R $159.99 refurb special 2160 a couple months ago, I toyed with just waiting a bit to pick up a 513 (not like I desperately *need* another HDD DVDR) for the larger HDD. But I thought about it and realized the extra HDD storage isn't that big a deal for me. I try to move "keeper" content to DVD-R discs ASAP, and how much just-wanna-watch-and-delete time-shift stuff do I really want sitting around? So the larger HDD is a temptation to stack up more un-dubbed material, and then have a big "oh shirt!" moment if the HDD cacks.

All of which I guess is the long way of saying, nah, the price on a new 513 probably isn't going to drop any time soon. I wonder when they'll start showing up in the refurb pipeline a J&R, though.

I believe Walmart and Funai know that they currently own a niche market in the US and aim to keep it. I also believe that memory prices have dropped to the point where their margins are the same, or better, in each new edition of this dvd recorder and they have chosen not to gouge the consumer. I will add the 513 to my collection at this price point very soon!

Amazon also sells them for the same price as WalMart. Free shipping, too.

Target also has it, but for a slightly higher price.