Andre Yoskowitz
14 Mar 2009 19:13
After showing off the player in Japan last August and then again at the CES event this January, Panasonic's Blu-ray/VHS player, the first and probably only in the industry, is headed stateside in April, with a price tag of $399.95 USD.
The company is also launching two other BD-Live Blu-ray players the same day, each of which include Panasonic’s own Viera Cast technology which allows any Web-enabled BD-Live standalone "to access Amazon.com’s Video On Demand, YouTube and Bloomberg, among other services."
The entry level model, dubbed the DMP-BD60, will sell for $299.95 while its more expensive brother, the DMP-BD80, will retail for $399.95.
The BD/VHS dual player, dubbed the DMP-BD70V, as well as the other two units, will each include SD memory card slots and USB ports to allow playback of photos and video.
“With the expansion of the unique Viera Cast functionality and the introduction of the industry’s first dual VHS/Blu-ray player, Panasonic’s 2009 line cements our position as technology leaders and places Panasonic in the forefront of the Blu-ray arena,” said Richard Simone, director of the entertainment group at Panasonic.