Panasonic To Offer Blu-ray Player in September

By Niladri Sekhar Nath

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Panasonic announced that it will begin selling a Blu-ray high-definition disc player in September for under $1,500, reports Reuters. The company expects to sell up to 5 million new DVD players in the first year.

 

"We think adoption will be strong, based on broad support. For the first 12 months, we expect 4 million to 5 million units to be sold beginning in May and across all platforms, including standalones, computers and gaming systems," said Reid Sullivan, vice president of merchandising for Panasonic's entertainment group.

 

However, Panasonic has no plans to develop a player that supports both Blu-ray and the rival format known as HD DVD, says Sullivan. Both of the formats are in competition for getting the upper hand. LG Electronics Inc. has plans to produce a dual player for both formats.

 

"Unfortunately, there is some confusion between the two but based on the wide support for Blu-ray in the industry, we expect the growth curve to be quite steep. We recognize that it’s best to have one format," Reuters quoted Sullivan.

 

According to Reuters, Panasonic will be introducing its new 103-inch flat screen TV along with Blu-ray player. The flat screen TV will cost several times more than the $10,000 price of its 65-inch Plasma TV.

 

"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," says Sullivan.

 

Panasonic's Blu-ray player will compete against other Blu-ray players from Samsung Corp., Pioneer Corp. and Sony Corp. in addition to players supporting rival HD DVD, backed by Toshiba (News - Alert) Corp.

 

Panasonic is a division of Panasonic Corp. of North America, the major North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.