Another product launch from Japan has left some people scratching their heads, as Panasonic has launched a new Blu-ray player that also has a hard drive and... VHS. The Panasonic DMR-BR630V also ships with a 320GB HDD, SD slot, and digital and analog TV tuners.
Owners can use the built-in USB port to connect their digital cameras and camcorders into the Blu-ray player, and can write BD-Rs at six times speed.
The VHS deck is for dubbing movies to Blu-ray, DVD or the HDD, and will not be able to actually play VHS movies, according to Japanese media reports.
The Panasonic DMR-BR360V will first be released in Japan on October 1, with a $1,450 retail price tag. It is unknown if Panasonic will release this model in other parts of the world.
Another Panasonic Blu-ray player scheduled to be released in October, the DMR-BW930K, offers 1TB of storage along with a $2,600 price tag. The HDD will be able to hold 90 hours of 24 Mbps high-definition content in the MPEG-2 mode.
