Panasonic to Launch Blu-Ray Alongside Largest-Ever Plasma TV
Posted Wed Mar 29, 2006 at 01:30 PM PST by
The upcoming launch of high-def DVD format Blu-Ray got another boost late yesterday, with
Panasonic's announcement that they
will
release their first Blu-Ray DVD player this September, reports Reuters.
The company, which is not supporting rival high-def disc format HD-DVD, will price its Blu-Ray
deck for "under $1500." Despite the high price tag, the company
still sees up to 5 million of Blu-Ray units sold through to consumers
in the first year.
"Unfortunately, there is some confusion between the two [high-def
DVD formats] but based on the wide support for Blu-Ray in the industry,
we expect the (growth) curve to be quite steep... across all platforms,
including standalones, computers and gaming systems," said Reid Sullivan,
Panasonic vp of merchandising.
Still, Panasonic is not hedging its bets that widespread studio and manufacturer
support for Blu-Ray will be enough to win consumers over HD-DVD. To coincide
with its Blu-Ray player, the company will debut a mammoth new 103-inch plasma
HDTV -- setting an industry record for screen size -- in an effort to
make the format's incredible picture capabilities impossible to miss.
"We're introducing technologies that will all tie in together to
propel Blu-ray. The flat panel or plasma TV is the engine pulling the
train," said Sullivan.