Even if it's extremely difficult to purchase a movie on VHS these days, many consumers still have VHS tapes they'd like the opportunity to view again. To help fill this small consumer demand, JVC is the latest company to introduce a new Blu-ray player that also has VHS support, along with a 250GB HDD.
Along with supporting the now dead VHS format, the JVC DR-BH250 also has 1080/60p/24p support, BD-Live, a USB port, and an SD/SDHC card slot.
Most Blu-ray/VHS combo players are designed for the lower-end market, but JVC decided to change things up with this unit. JVC will launch the device in Japan next month with a $1,400 MSRP. It remains unknown if JVC will launch this Blu-ray player in North America or Europe.
Although DVDs and Blu-ray serve as the current and future formats, many people still have VHS tapes sitting around in the closet and attic. This JVC product will allow owners to transfer content off of VHS onto the HDD or copy it to a Blu-ray disc -- a feature the Japanese electronics company hopes users will swant.
Sharp and Panasonic have both released Blu-ray/VHS combo players, with at least one other major manufacturer expected to launch a similar product in the first quarter next year.
