Panasonic's 2009 VIERA Cast Blu-ray players priced, shipping in April
By Richard Lawler 
posted Mar 11th 2009 7:12PM
posted Mar 11th 2009 7:12PM
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Crap, they are still over $300!
Seems like Leo has gotta brush up on his Math skills.
Seems like Down needs to brush up on his tax skills
Wait wait wait...a combo Blu-Ray/VHS player!!! Are you frickin' kidding me?
Agreed - def an early April Fools' joke.
The price seems reasonable enough.
VHS is making a comeback!!! I knew it. WOOHOO!
VHS vs. Blu-ray ?? Who is going to win??
VHS I Hope
I like VHS - it is more 'personal'. Blu-Ray - it always looks the same! Meh! I want a media that shows my dedication to watching my 'Over The Top' tape too many times.
Arm-wrestling truckdriver involved in child custody battle played by Sylvester Stalone. That just never gets old. I recommend drinking PBR while watching.
Why is some people still buying Blue Ray when upscaling DVD players are so much more convenient and cheaper too?
Some people like TRUE hd and 7.1 surround.
Why settle for ok when you can go full out?
Because 1080p is useful when you have a 120" screen?
serious?
Creating details versus actually having them... hm. Maybe you could buy a picture book and just imagine it as a movie.
I don't know about 120" screens and I do not have a projector, but the biggest screen in my modest home is a 60" Pioneer Kouro (full HD), to this (and others) monitor is connected an HTPC which sports a Blue ray drive, and an upscaling sony DVD player and I can't notice any difference in viewing quality when watching a Blue Ray disc or a good (modern) upscaled DVD.
The other TVs in my house are not 1080p so obviously there's no difference, but even on my treasured 60" Pioneer plasma or on my 24" LCD PCmonitor (1080p) the improvement is maybe visible , with difficoulty, watching some of the newest animation films, and I'm not even sure about that.
For sure Blue Ray makers are not getting any of my money , if really a day, I feel like to see if supposed true HD has got any better I can always stream content from my broadband connection and if I relly fall in love with it maybe download it or burn it on a virgin disc too.
Yes, empty blue ray disc maybe can have some usefulness.
I totally agree with you. I can't tell the difference between a good upscaled dvd and a blue ray - I have both.
If you can't see the difference you're either not watching the right movies or have your TV set to something stupid.
True, there are some movies where there's little to no difference with a GOOD upscaler (Oppo or HD-XA2 etc.) and the BD copy, but there are orders of magnitude more that are night and day differences.
Looking for mature stuff? Try Blade Runner or I Am Legend.
Child friendly stuff? Bee Movie, Enchanted or any Harry Potter.
In between? King King, Pirates of the Caribbean.
Either that or get some glasses.
@Britboyj27
Basically you are saying that I'm right, i.e.: with a good upscaling dvd there's no visible difference in vewing experience with BR watching nearly all movies.
I am willing to concede that SOME scenes in SOME animation films can appear more detailed (if you really pay attention to it) , but I am long past the age of Harry Potter, and Bee Movie.
One of my 5 BR discs however is Blade Runner and MAYBE only the opening scene and the credits may seem more detailed in the Blue Ray edition.
I like to try things by myself before taking a decision, I did, and that's why you will never convince me that BR are worth the expense particularly in a period in which all physical media supports seem headed towards the dustbin of history.
Anyway if you like BRs keep on buying them, thankfully someone is doing his bit to pull us out of this recession.
we can only pray that by Christmas they are under 150
You can already get them for $185 on Amazon!
It's be interesting to do a study on the percentage of Blu-Ray viewing vs Internet video streaming to these boxes. If they add Hulu and Netflix, I could see the physical porting of the unit become obsolete real quick.
And of course, by porting I mean "part". :S
How are these Panasonic units so pricey? Those prices seem a little high for Panasonic.
PS3 on ebay for 300 > THIS
VHS? Viewing Horse Shiat? You gotta be kidding me. Then again, we need humor.
i just sold my ps3 for 250$
In this day and age, can people really justify purchasing a DVD player for $300? I mean if you have the "throw away" money - fine. But I'd get a PS3 over a $300 Blu Ray player any day, or I'd pick up a BR Recorder, geez.
I'm just waiting for the day BR players become much more affordable.
"We first got a peek at Panasonic's DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80 and VHS-packing DMP-BD70V at CES, and now they've got official pricetags ahead of their April release." http://www.vxcb.com I like to try things by myself before taking a decision,