difenbaker
03-29-2006, 08:22 PM
Panasonic to roll out Blu-ray player in September
By Sue Zeidler Wed Mar 29, 4:06 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Panasonic said on Tuesday it will start selling a Blu-ray high-definition disc player in September for under $1,500 and sees up to 5 million of these new DVD players sold industry-wide in their 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 merchandising, Panasonic's entertainment group.
Sullivan said Panasonic sees no need to develop a player to support both Blu-ray and the rival format known as HD DVD, despite a raging war between the two standards and a move to make a dual player for both formats by LG Electronics Inc. (066570.K).
"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 its best to have one format," said Sullivan.
The arrival of Panasonic's Blu-ray player will coincide around the debut of its new 103-inch flat screen TV, estimated by Panasonic to cost several times more than the $10,000 price of its 65-inch Plasma TV.
Panasonic is a division of Panasonic Corp. of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (6252.T)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060329/tc_nm/media_panasonic_bluray_dc;_ylt=AojWboWyiT9SzEVTdJF l0_2SxLEF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
cheers!
By Sue Zeidler Wed Mar 29, 4:06 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Panasonic said on Tuesday it will start selling a Blu-ray high-definition disc player in September for under $1,500 and sees up to 5 million of these new DVD players sold industry-wide in their 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 merchandising, Panasonic's entertainment group.
Sullivan said Panasonic sees no need to develop a player to support both Blu-ray and the rival format known as HD DVD, despite a raging war between the two standards and a move to make a dual player for both formats by LG Electronics Inc. (066570.K).
"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 its best to have one format," said Sullivan.
The arrival of Panasonic's Blu-ray player will coincide around the debut of its new 103-inch flat screen TV, estimated by Panasonic to cost several times more than the $10,000 price of its 65-inch Plasma TV.
Panasonic is a division of Panasonic Corp. of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (6252.T)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060329/tc_nm/media_panasonic_bluray_dc;_ylt=AojWboWyiT9SzEVTdJF l0_2SxLEF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
cheers!