Retail prices for DVD players have come down dramatically over the past months and the trend is continuing. It will help make DVD increasingly appealing to mainstream audiences who are used to buy their consumer electronic equipment below a $200 threshold. Later this year Konka, the China-based video hardware giant, will introduce and ship its first DVD player models produced by a just-formed joint venture of Funai and Mitsubishi.

The first model to be shipped to dealers in October will be its $199-suggested-retail KD1800U, a full-featured remote model with a stylish silver finish. Konka said the player comes with A/V, S-Video and composite video outputs.

The players will be sold under both the Funai and Mitsubishi brands, and all are initially targeted for the U.S. market. Exports to other markets will be made later. The venture will get tech support from an R&D center set up in a Kyoto plant of Mitsubishi’s A/V Equipment Division.

After discounting, $199 SRP player is most likely to sell for less than $150 across counters nationwide, making this the cheapest player currently available.