Panasonic Goes Mammoth with Blu-ray/HDTV Holiday Promo

Looking for a holiday gift for the tech geek who has everything? Panasonic has just the ticket -- a Blu-ray/HDTV combo few can afford.

In the spirit of giving (and hey, it's a slow news Friday), we bring you this ultimate high-def gift idea, and perhaps the *biggest* next-gen promotion ever. Seems Panasonic is hyping its new DMP-BD10 Blu-ray player by bundling it with is new, absolutely gigantic 103-inch plasma HDTV -- a consumer electronics record for screen size.

How much will this little puppy set you back? Well, it's only $1,299 list for the Blu-ray player. And, oh, $70,000 for the 103-inch plasma.

"The concept is to sell it as a complete package," Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic's VP of corporate development and general manager for the Blu-ray Disc Group told Video Business. "We have always demo'ed our 65-inch [TV set] with the [Panasonic disc player]. We want the plasmas as well as the set-top to work."

Okay, so we're being a bit sarcastic, if only because we can't afford $70,000. That doesn't mean we don't want it (admit it -- you do, too, or you wouldn't be reading a site called High-Def Digest). But it is a clever promo, and we hope it's successful. Seeing a top-quality Blu-ray image on a 103-inch high-end plasma sure seems enticing to us.

If you do decide to take the plunge and plunk down the $70K, Panasonic tells us that they will send a engineer to the intended installation location to ensure the wall can withstand the weight of the plasma. But will it fit under the Christmas tree?