Panasonic intruduces a VHS / Blu Ray combo player?

[danger boy]

I find this very odd that Panasonic is about to release a VHS/Blu Ray player. what for I say?

I recently heard that Panasonic has discontinued their very successful BD55 Blu Ray player after just 5 short month's. :confused: That's a pretty short shelf life if you ask me.. and the silly thing is... the BD55 is an amazing BD player. Beautiful picture and audio quality. :confused::confused::confused:

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prModelDetail?storeId=11301&catalogId=13251&itemId=322744&modelNo=Content01072009023243932&surfModel=Content01072009023243932

[Motzart]

Oh for God sakes.....VHS? :eek:
Hell that's like having Music Cassette tapes at this point!
I tossed all my VHS about 8yrs ago...PITA to store and quality vs DVD was no contest.
You can't even buy blank VHS anymore....dumb waste of time/parts on their part IMHO :rolleyes:

Can you use regular DVD in a Blu ray? (I don't know much about it)
If not why not a DVD/Blu ray player?

[leroyjr1]

VHS............... come on Panasonic

[Upstatemax]

Can you use regular DVD in a Blu ray? (I don't know much about it)
If not why not a DVD/Blu ray player?


Yes, a Blu-Ray player will play regular DVD's, along with Audio CD's, MP3's... Anything a regular DVD player can do + Blu-Ray. ;)

[MikeC78]

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76790

[Danny Tse]

I don't see a problem with a combo VHS/Blu-ray player at all. It's just a further evolution of the combo VHS/DVD player/recorder. People buy these things for convenience. I personally have a combo Sansui VHS/DVD player/recorder and it's great....the DVD recorder portion actually "improves" the dud from VHS!!

[brettw22]

VHS is dead......commiting any new resources to something that has widely died off shows a lack in judgement IMO......especially if they're touting that thing as their TOTL model......(didn't read the pages/specs)

[Keiko]

I just gave away a bunch of VHS tapes. I haven't watched a tape in years. I don't understand the strategy here either. :confused:

[Knucklehead]

I guess they (Panasonic) might know something we dont? My grandparents still pop in a VHS...lol.

[brettw22]

your grandparents might not be around for the next release.....the 8 track to cassette converter........hold on tight everyone.......full circle is a bitch.

[Knucklehead]

and console t.v.'s!

[danger boy]

here it is... first pics of Panny VHS/Blu Ray playa :confused: :eek:

[Knucklehead]

i thought you were joking........waste of resources!

[danger boy]

i thought you were joking........waste of resources!

Sir! this is no joking matter. It's of national security importance.


:rolleyes:


*VHS* be kind, rewind :p

[Knucklehead]

*VHS* be kind, rewind .......too funny

[Knucklehead]

From the Net..........The DMP-BD70V, like Panasonic's other Blu-ray players, can process 15 billion pixels a second. And it will use those smarts to convert VHS video to something akin to high-definition TV. I only worry that all that firepower could melt the humble tapes.

[Motzart]

i thought you were joking........waste of resources!


+1 Vote for waste of resources!!

Technology is supposed to be moving FORWARD not back!
Opppsss that's right Vinyl is making a comeback....hummmmm...go figure! :rolleyes:

[CaligulaPolk]

It is good for homemade porn on vhs from amateurs!

[ckphoto]

I personally still will watch VHS now and then and know there are others to. There are 1,000's of titles that will never see DVD. If this player does a nice job with the up sample I know I will pick it up.

[manman]

well, the article doesn't say anything about this so it probably doesn't- but maybe it allows you to burn your vhs tapes to blu? I know they're still selling pretty modern vhs/dvd decks that let you burn your vhs tapes to dvd- and that can be useful for those who grew up taping many of your favorite shows, etc. If it could do that for blu-ray that wouldn't be a waste of resources IMO.

That said- I'm in my 20's and I still watch my old vhs tapes and listen to old cassette tapes. I haven't found time to convert them to digital formats yet, so old tech is still useful to me :)

[ckphoto]

"The BD70V allows for premium 1080p up-conversion for all video formats."

[danger boy]

"The BD70V allows for premium 1080p up-conversion for all video formats."

do you really want to upconvert your VHS tapes? :confused:


lines of resolution for tape formats

VHS/VHS-C
220 - 240 lines

BETA
250 lines

[comfortablycurt]

do you really want to upconvert your VHS tapes? :confused:


lines of resolution for tape formats

VHS/VHS-C
220 - 240 lines

BETA
250 lines

Why wouldn't you want to upconvert your VHS tapes?...lol

I see what you're saying...but there are still legions of people out there that watch most of their movies on VHS. I think I know a total of like 4 people that even have Blu-ray players, aside from people on here.

I know I still watch plenty of VHS tapes, I have a few hundred of them still. There are thousands of titles that are never even going to get released on either DVD or Blu-ray. Just because it's not at the cutting edge of technology doesn't mean that people aren't going to use it. I'd love to have all of my VHS upscaled.

Hell...I still know people that haven't even made the step to get a DVD player yet...lol Some people don't even know what a Blu-ray is.

Don't kid yourselves...I bet this unit is going to sell very well. It will play everything...VHS, CD, DVD and Blu-ray...to some people that's a big issue. They don't want 4 different components under their TV.

[bigred7078]

^ i agree i think it will sell well. But i think its a step back... why integrate old and new technology??? VHS tapes look like CRAP on a HDTV and i honeslty dont see upscaling helping out that much. Nice feature though.

The thing is the majority of people that STILL watch VHS tapes are
1.) Mainly Old
2.) Dont have a HDTV
3.) Only using it because they think thats the only way to record TV..(have yet been introduced to DVR hehe)

Sure people have lots of them, but i know people with hundreds of casette tapes that never play them anymore. This is technology, its supposed to advance.

[comfortablycurt]

I know plenty of young people who have HDTV's that aren't using their VCR's for recording...that still watch VHS all the time. I have probably 3-4 friends I could name off the top of my head that don't even own DVD players...but they have VCR's...and use them on a daily basis. And they are by no means "old"...lol

It's not a step back so to speak...it's more of a step to the side. It's not like they're making the Blu-ray tech. worse by having a VCR integrated with it. Like I said before...it's for the people that don't want to have a separate Cd player, DVD Player, Blu-ray Player and VCR...and would rather have one compact unit.

Just because technology advances doesn't mean that you have to advance with it. I just watched Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers the other day on my HT system...on VHS!! Ya know what? It was awesome. The picture quality was great...the surround sound quality was great...There's nothing wrong with it. Sure it wasn't 1080p with Dolby True HD...who cares? All of that's great, but it's not going to keep me from enjoying the movie just as much. So I couldn't see the individual pores on Frodo's skin. Why do I need to see that anyway?...lol

[Knucklehead]

everyone has really good comments on here..but, what happens if the vcr craps out, will anybody really get it repaired..im sure its more than just a VHS player. Just a thought.

[JohnLocke88]

This is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have seen in a while.

Next step, VHS, Blu-ray and 8-Track combo player.

[rayslifecycle]

VHS blank tapes are still widely available - esp. in the corner CVS or RiteAide.
Although I no longer buy a VHS tapes, I do have about 20 titles in my collection, most of which you cannot buy on DVD or BluRay.........Like the original Star Wars movies - before they were messed with - it's funny - Darth Vader's suit is dark navy blue.......

Someone did some research on marketability before releasing a new product, no?.......

[bigred7078]

I know plenty of young people who have HDTV's that aren't using their VCR's for recording...that still watch VHS all the time. I have probably 3-4 friends I could name off the top of my head that don't even own DVD players...but they have VCR's...and use them on a daily basis. And they are by no means "old"...lol

It's not a step back so to speak...it's more of a step to the side. It's not like they're making the Blu-ray tech. worse by having a VCR integrated with it. Like I said before...it's for the people that don't want to have a separate Cd player, DVD Player, Blu-ray Player and VCR...and would rather have one compact unit.

Just because technology advances doesn't mean that you have to advance with it. I just watched Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers the other day on my HT system...on VHS!! Ya know what? It was awesome. The picture quality was great...the surround sound quality was great...There's nothing wrong with it. Sure it wasn't 1080p with Dolby True HD...who cares? All of that's great, but it's not going to keep me from enjoying the movie just as much. So I couldn't see the individual pores on Frodo's skin. Why do I need to see that anyway?...lol


4 people who use their VCR daily??? Have they heard of a DVR? lol...

And FYI when someone uses the term "stepping to the side" thats because they are comparing to equal products where going with one or the other does not give you an advantage... Comparing Blu-Ray to VHS is a definite step back.

And if you really enjoy VHS tapes that much and dont see the need to see extreme clarity then why even invest in a HDTV? lol. Let alone get a VHS/B;u-Ray combo.

Thats like buying a ferrari and only using it to back out of the driveway to get the mail out of the mailbox. If your going to spend the money, then freakin take that puppy for a spin! :cool:

[comfortablycurt]

4 people who use their VCR daily??? Have they heard of a DVR? lol...

And FYI when someone uses the term "stepping to the side" thats because they are comparing to equal products where going with one or the other does not give you an advantage... Comparing Blu-Ray to VHS is a definite step back.

And if you really enjoy VHS tapes that much and dont see the need to see extreme clarity then why even invest in a HDTV? lol. Let alone get a VHS/B;u-Ray combo.

Thats like buying a ferrari and only using it to back out of the driveway to get the mail out of the mailbox. If your going to spend the money, then freakin take that puppy for a spin! :cool:

I didn't say they used their VCR's for recording, they use them for watching movies. DVR would fall into the "have to spend money to get it" category. That's not really an option for a lot of people. You can go get a VCR at a garage sale for 50 cents. What's the cheapest DVR out there?

How is this a step back in any way? As I said before...it's not as if integrating a VCR into it made the Blu-ray any worse. It's a Blu-ray player that just happens to have a VCR built into it. That's not a step back at all. No one is "comparing" the two. Blu-ray is obviously superior to VHS...but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with VHS.

Also...as I said before, there are hundreds upon hundreds of movies that will never even be released on DVD, let alone Blu-ray. They'll be able to market the thing...otherwise they wouldn't have made it. There are still plenty of people with old VHS tapes that are going to keep wanting to watch them. My parents for example. They have somewhere in the neighborhood of 700ish VHS tapes that they've accumulated over the years. Are they supposed to go out and replace every single one of these movies with the DVD? That would cost over 8000 dollars...figuring 12 bucks a DVD...which is a low estimate.

There are still plenty of reasons to buy an HDTV even if you don't have Blu-ray. A lot of people get HDTV's because they can hang them on the wall...or put them on a little stand. They don't take up nearly as much room, and to a lot of people that's a big issue.

Not everyone out there has to be on the cutting edge of technology...some people really don't even care. I've had friends over before, and I'll be talking about my stereo equipment, and talking about the speakers I want to get. Some of them can't understand why anyone would ever spend more than like 100 dollars for their stereo. "Why do you need all that? I got this boom box at Walmart for 50 bucks...and it sounds great!" What they don't realize is that it sounds like complete crap. Like I said though...to some people, it's just not a big deal. Same with VHS.

One of the great things about VHS now too is that you can get movies brand new for like a dollar. I just picked up all three of the Austin Powers movies the other day on VHS...for like 2 dollars altogether. how much would that cost on DVD? Probably more like 40-50 dollars. It's not better by any means...but makes more sense for some people.

[danger boy]

chances are if a person is interested in BD movies... they aren't going to be very interested in having a player with a built in VHS VCR :confused:

even though most everyone here in Polkland is on top of most things audio and video wise... not everyone has embraced Blu Ray yet. WE're just on the cutting edge still, but the mass market of people are still happy with standard DVD's.

Could BD remain a videophile type of format? Much like SACD for the most part is only used by audiophiles.

debate

[comfortablycurt]

chances are if a person is interested in BD movies... they aren't going to be very interested in having a player with a built in VHS VCR :confused:

even though most everyone here in Polkland is on top of most things audio and video wise... not everyone has embraced Blu Ray yet. WE're just on the cutting edge still, but the mass market of people are still happy with standard DVD's.

Could BD remain a videophile type of format? Much like SACD for the most part is only used by audiophiles.

debate

I think there are plenty of people that would be interested in it. A lot of people would like to get a Blu-ray player, but are still going to watch their VHS tapes. A lot of people also don't like having 50 bajillion components under their TV like some of us do...lol...for people like that this makes perfect sense. It gives them the ability to watch a movie on any format, all in one unit. I'm sure they've researched it, and found that their would be a market for it. I don't think they would have produced it otherwise. It's the same as the combo DVD/VCR's. Those have always sold great. I know tons of people that have those. This isn't any different.

I've thought the same thing before...it could end up as a Videophile format. There are plenty of people out there that can't even visually tell the difference between a Blu-ray and a DVD's picture quality. Some people are just more interested in watching the movie for the story line...and well...the movie. Being able to see the individual arm hairs and pores on someones skin isn't really a big deal to a lot of people. Video quality isn't really a big issue for me personally. I'm perfectly happy watching SD DVD's on my old school CRT TV. Video qualities fine with me. I still plan to upgrade to a plasma TV, but a big factor in that is that it takes up less space. I won't get a Blu-ray player until I can get one for like 150-200 bucks though. It's just not that big of an issue to me.

Sound quality is more important than video quality for me.

Who knows...maybe Blu-ray will just end up as a videophile format. It's still WAY WAY to expensive for most people to even consider upgrading. I think a lot of people are restisting it to just because of the concept of it. How long have DVD's been the mainstream? 10-12 or so years? Probably not even really that long. That's not very long for something that was supposed to be the end all video format. A lot of people are still upset over the fact that they bought all of these DVD's...and what? They have to replace them all now? That kinda makes me mad myself...

Just wait until they make the combo VCR/DVD/Blu-ray/TV set...lol

[gold01ca]

agree, curt, price for the hardware/software has lotsa room to come down before I'm interested.
don't need to replace any dvds as blu-ray supports the format as well.

[bigred7078]

I didn't say they used their VCR's for recording, they use them for watching movies. DVR would fall into the "have to spend money to get it" category. That's not really an option for a lot of people. You can go get a VCR at a garage sale for 50 cents. What's the cheapest DVR out there?

How is this a step back in any way? As I said before...it's not as if integrating a VCR into it made the Blu-ray any worse. It's a Blu-ray player that just happens to have a VCR built into it. That's not a step back at all. No one is "comparing" the two. Blu-ray is obviously superior to VHS...but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with VHS.

Also...as I said before, there are hundreds upon hundreds of movies that will never even be released on DVD, let alone Blu-ray. They'll be able to market the thing...otherwise they wouldn't have made it. There are still plenty of people with old VHS tapes that are going to keep wanting to watch them. My parents for example. They have somewhere in the neighborhood of 700ish VHS tapes that they've accumulated over the years. Are they supposed to go out and replace every single one of these movies with the DVD? That would cost over 8000 dollars...figuring 12 bucks a DVD...which is a low estimate.

There are still plenty of reasons to buy an HDTV even if you don't have Blu-ray. A lot of people get HDTV's because they can hang them on the wall...or put them on a little stand. They don't take up nearly as much room, and to a lot of people that's a big issue.

Not everyone out there has to be on the cutting edge of technology...some people really don't even care. I've had friends over before, and I'll be talking about my stereo equipment, and talking about the speakers I want to get. Some of them can't understand why anyone would ever spend more than like 100 dollars for their stereo. "Why do you need all that? I got this boom box at Walmart for 50 bucks...and it sounds great!" What they don't realize is that it sounds like complete crap. Like I said though...to some people, it's just not a big deal. Same with VHS.

One of the great things about VHS now too is that you can get movies brand new for like a dollar. I just picked up all three of the Austin Powers movies the other day on VHS...for like 2 dollars altogether. how much would that cost on DVD? Probably more like 40-50 dollars. It's not better by any means...but makes more sense for some people.

and what you just did in the long winded response lol is differentiate two different buying groups. People who dont want/could care less about new technology and those that are all about it. i gurantee 75% of the people that still watch VHS tapes wont be buying a blu-ray player any time soon. Perhaps they may see it as an advantage to consolidate units, but i doubt they will be buying blu-ray.

And seriously you still buy VHS??? Almost everyone i know has a VCR. I would say 95% of them never use them. 4% only use them to record. The other 1%actually end up watching what they recorded. lol.

If the main defense to it is because TONS of movies wont come out on DVD, then do yourself a favor, invest in a DVD recorder...copy them to a DVD and be done with it. Because if a large library of old VHS movies actually means something to you then you would take the proper steps to ensure they actually last. VHS does deteriorate over time.

[comfortablycurt]

agree, curt, price for the hardware/software has lotsa room to come down before I'm interested.
don't need to replace any dvds as blu-ray supports the format as well.

I realize that you wouldn't "have" to replace your DVD's. A lot of people would anyway because they'd feel like it was necessary to get the most out of it.

I guess that's how the market works. Sell us something because it's "the best" and then 10 years from now tell us that our product, which used to be "the best" is now a piece of junk, so you have to replace it with what is now "the best". It's a good strategy from a business point of view.

[bigred7078]

But your right they have obviously done the research and there has to be a market.

[comfortablycurt]

and what you just did in the long winded response lol is differentiate two different buying groups. People who dont want/could care less about new technology and those that are all about it. i gurantee 75% of the people that still watch VHS tapes wont be buying a blu-ray player any time soon. Perhaps they may see it as an advantage to consolidate units, but i doubt they will be buying blu-ray.

And seriously you still buy VHS??? Almost everyone i know has a VCR. I would say 95% of them never use them. 4% only use them to record. The other 1%actually end up watching what they recorded. lol.

If the main defense to it is because TONS of movies wont come out on DVD, then do yourself a favor, invest in a DVD recorder...copy them to a DVD and be done with it. Because if a large library of old VHS movies actually means something to you then you would take the proper steps to ensure they actually last. VHS does deteriorate over time.

I'd be interested in seeing where you got the statistic that 95% of people that own VCR's never use them.

I explained my reasoning for still buying VHS. I got three movies for roughly two dollars...where as for the same movies on DVD it would have cost more like 40. 2...40...a bit of a difference there.

Also...why would I spend the money on a DVD recorder, spend the money on blank DVD's, and go through the trouble of copying them all to DVD when I could just watch the VHS? Sure, VHS does deteriorate over time...but I rather doubt it's going to be in my lifetime.

I think there is more than just one dedicated buying group for this too...this would appeal to many different people. To someone who was looking to replace their combo DVD/VCR due to it not working or something like that, this would be a great option. It gives them the room to expand...without giving up what they already have.

75% of people that still watch VHS tapes won't be buying a Blu-ray player anytime soon? Again...I'd like to know where you got that statistic.

I think that every single person I know still watches VHS tapes. A few of them even have Blu-ray players...and still watch their VHS more often than their Blu-ray. They already have a huge collection of VHS tapes to watch whenever they want. Where as they would have to go spend 30-40 bucks on a blu-ray.

[manman]

I still agree with curt on some points and don't think the market is totally devided between those that do and don't care about new technology. I got a blu-ray player early on- but at the same time, I still have tons of old vhs tapes of shows I watched when I was a kid, videos I recorded with my friends, etc. I would probably end up buying some of those shows on dvd or blu-ray if they ever come out in the future- but there's still a nostalgic part of me that loves having that old stuff- homemade movies for obvious reasons, and old tv shows because seeing the old commercials and stuff puts those old recordings in a historical context that's fun to remember.

I only say that to make the point that people who love new technology can still have use for the old- but would I buy a blu-ray player with a VHS player in it for upconversion- probably not unless the blu-ray player was the best quality player you could get or something, which probably won't ever be the case:D

[comfortablycurt]

I still agree with curt on some points and don't think the market is totally devided between those that do and don't care about new technology. I got a blu-ray player early on- but at the same time, I still have tons of old vhs tapes of shows I watched when I was a kid, videos I recorded with my friends, etc. I would probably end up buying some of those shows on dvd or blu-ray if they ever come out in the future- but there's still a nostalgic part of me that loves having that old stuff- homemade movies for obvious reasons, and old tv shows because seeing the old commercials and stuff puts those old recordings in a historical context that's fun to remember.

I only say that to make the point that people who love new technology can still have use for the old- but would I buy a blu-ray player with a VHS player in it for upconversion- probably not unless the blu-ray player was the best quality player you could get or something which probably won't ever be the case:D

Agreed. I'm not going to buy one of these. But I already have a nice VCR. Plus I don't really like the idea of combo players personally.

I have a bunch of the same stuff...old TV shows that I recorded when I was a kid. A lot of them still have the commercials in them and stuff. It wouldn't be the same watching it on a DVD. I seriously don't think I'd enjoy it as much...lol I've got a tape with like 6 hours of old Beavis and Butthead episodes on it...from like 1994. It's funny seeing the commercials for the new 1994 Pontiac GrandAm..."Now with the new Anti-lock Braking System!!" It's funny watching old commercials...

[bigred7078]

I'd be interested in seeing where you got the statistic that 95% of people that own VCR's never use them.

I explained my reasoning for still buying VHS. I got three movies for roughly two dollars...where as for the same movies on DVD it would have cost more like 40. 2...40...a bit of a difference there.

Also...why would I spend the money on a DVD recorder, spend the money on blank DVD's, and go through the trouble of copying them all to DVD when I could just watch the VHS? Sure, VHS does deteriorate over time...but I rather doubt it's going to be in my lifetime.

I think there is more than just one dedicated buying group for this too...this would appeal to many different people. To someone who was looking to replace their combo DVD/VCR due to it not working or something like that, this would be a great option. It gives them the room to expand...without giving up what they already have.

75% of people that still watch VHS tapes won't be buying a Blu-ray player anytime soon? Again...I'd like to know where you got that statistic.

I think that every single person I know still watches VHS tapes. A few of them even have Blu-ray players...and still watch their VHS more often than their Blu-ray. They already have a huge collection of VHS tapes to watch whenever they want. Where as they would have to go spend 30-40 bucks on a blu-ray.


the 95% number is just a number i guestimated in my head for the people i know with VCR's that just dont even use them.

Im not actually claiming these numbers to be correct lol, so dont get heated over it.

I've worked in a local eletronics shop for some time now, and im basing all my comments on customers i've talked to. Panasonic came up with an earlier proto-type of this but scraped it. Now they re-introduced it. But after several converstations with customers on this the vast majority just laugh at it. A few seemed intrigued. But then thought about how they never even watch VHS tapes anymore so they thought it was silly. Not to mention the high failure rates of integrated products like this... its sickening.

So my comments aren't based necessarily on my own ideas but also feedback from alot of customers.

[manman]

Totally agreed on this product being laughable for most of the reasons you mentioned. I was just trying to make the point that not everyone who still uses VHS are old people or people who aren't into new technology/early adopting ect. Also- I do really want to convert all those old VHS tapes to DVD just to avoid deterioration and make them easier to use, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. So I guess even though I use it preiodically, I am still interested in leaving it behind, haha.

[bigred7078]

how much is this thing supposed to cost anyway. That might have a bigger impact than anything else lol.

[comfortablycurt]

Well...I don't know about the people that you know...but probably damn near every single person I know still watches VHS tapes. It might not be a daily thing...but they still have them, and use them.

This isn't going to appeal to every single person out there. But to the person that it does appeal to...they'll buy it. As I said...I'm not buying one, but I know quite a few people who probably would.

[comfortablycurt]

how much is this thing supposed to cost anyway. That might have a bigger impact than anything else lol.

Good point...depending on the price I may end up agreeing with you...lol

[bigred7078]

Totally agreed on this product being laughable for most of the reasons you mentioned. I was just trying to make the point that not everyone who still uses VHS are old people or people who aren't into new technology/early adopting ect. Also- I do really want to convert all those old VHS tapes to DVD just to avoid deterioration and make them easier to use, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. So I guess even though I use it preiodically, I am still interested in leaving it behind, haha.

i totally understand that. And i know not everyone using VCR's are "old people".

And i sell LOTS of combo players, and out of curiosity i like to ask people if they still watch VHS tapes, and its pretty funny because the majority of them give me a puzzled face and laugh with the realization that they just dont watch them anymore.

The ones that do respond always say for watching home movies. Again if thats your purpose i highly recommend you get them converted to DVD (not necessarily by purchasing a DVD recorder, but lots of local places will do this for you at a pretty low price).

[manman]

Yeah- actually I have a capture card in one of my PCs I could use to do that too. I guess I've just been too lazy, and it's too much work, haha. I'll get around to it one of these days... Depending on how much those services are, I might just go with that since it's the least amount of work.