Magnavox Blu-ray Profile 1.1 player

Walmart has brought back its original sales price on a Blu-ray Disc player to under $80 as a come-on for customers to see its newly expanded CE departments in many of its 1,200 stores in the U.S.

As part of its ongoing expansion of all-things-electronics, the world's largest overall retailer is adding up to 50 percent more space for its HD items in an attempt to overtake Best Buy as the nation's top CE retailer. Much of the expanded shelf space is being dedicated to Blu-ray players and Blu-ray titles.

Walmart said it's bringing back the Magnavox Blu-ray Profile 1.1 player — which will sell for $78. An Internet-connected player, the BDP-3020 from Philips, will sell for under $100. (While Walmart said it's once again offering the lowest price points for Blu-ray products of any store retailer, the lowest prices for similar units are still available at online retail Web sites.)

An increasing number of Walmart's Blu-ray player models from various makers offer online downloading from Netflix and other content providers. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is also lowering its prices on HD sets – especially new units that are Internet-enabled.