New Panasonic Third Generation Blu-ray Disc Player

[SRW1000]

From the article on CNN Money:

Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal U.S. subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), announces the introduction of the anticipated DMP-BD50, Panasonic's third generation Blu-ray disc player -- the ultimate playback source for high definition 1080p content. Blu-ray media offers a wide range of functions that foster the transition to HD -- including 1080p image quality, lossless Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio(TM) and versatile Picture-in-Picture applications. The BD50 adds the new BD-Live function, which uses the internet to further enhance the consumer's entertainment experience and employs VIERA Link,(TM) a technology that allows the consumer to operate VIERA Link equipped home theater components with a single remote. The DMP-BD50 will be available this spring and will have an SRP of $699.95.

Ouch!  This is not going to fuel mass adoption.  Until today, the speculation was for this unit to have an MSRP around $500.

Scott

[Bluto]

*L*  $700?!?  The prices are going the wrong way.  I'll pass.

[Bebop]

Even with the typical 20-30% of the list, it's still not cheap.