Yes, you read that correctly, folks. During the format war, Panasonic wouldn't even consider producing an HD DVD/BD Combo player, but now comes the answer to every Cinephile's prayers: a $1450 Blu-ray player that also plays VHS tapes.

What is this -- Bizarro World?? Sweet Merciful Mother Muchacho and his Sainted Aunt Tilly.

http://www.electronichouse.com/artic..._ray_with_vhs/

320 GB Hard Drive is pretty impressive. But it does seem odd.

I'm not sure I get why you find it so odd. DVD recorder/VHS player combo units have been around for years and continue to sell well. Replacing the DVD portion with a Blu-ray recorder (not just a "player") makes a lot of sense. I might even look at getting one myself.

^^^Ok, no more drugs for that man.

I wouldn't even want to see the letters VHS next to my Blu Ray player.

^^^Most obscure reference to Face/Off ever.

Unintentional! I haven't seen that movie for 10 years!

Might be a good idea IF the VHS part can actually do EVERYTHING- including play hi-def D-Theater movies, S-VHS and both Hi-Fi and linear stereo (essential for archiving pre-recorded tapes made before 1984- they'll only play in mono on 99% of current VCRs out there!) If it has the same half-assed VHS all the other DVD combo units out there have, then you can expect to see it at Goodwill soon with one or both halves not working.

This does seem to be a strange combo. Why not just offer a DVD burner?

I would have preferred a Blu-ray/HD DVD combo, but I guess this would be impossible in this Sony vs. Toshiba world we live in. With what they've put out here, might as well be a Blu-ray/toaster combo.

The other model packs a SelectaVision slot too.

The reason this is such an odd combo is that DVD/VHS allowed people transitioning to DVD access to their old media in one combo player. If those people are still needing a VCR (a format now two generations back from Blu-ray) and are upgrading to Blu-ray, that's just silly. You mean it has taken you almost 10 years to replace your VHS copies? Seems to me then that next-gen equipment like Blu-ray isn't likely your cup of tea. Certainly the quality of VHS tapes over 10 years old will have seriously degraded over time with multiple replays. Time to pitch them and move on!

There are some people that just can't give up the tape. My uncle still has a bunch of obscure music video and concert material on beta and he refuses to give it up. He'll wait until the machine gives up the ghost. He's been slow to upgrade to HD because he still has beta, VHS, in addition to a full collection record albums and home made cassette tapes.

Makes more sense...

I don't see the problem in having a VHS/DVD/Blu player AIO unit. It makes sense really.

Did you know Bluray players play DVDs? OMFG WTF BBQ?

I'm sure, if given the funding, somebody would create a LD / HD VHS / HD DVD player too.

Since it has a hard drive, I would assume it allows you to record high-def TV programming, either off antenna or an HD cable box, then burn it to Blu-ray. It would be the first easy way to archive HD programming.

But yeah, the inclusion of VHS is weird. I guess at this point VHS drives are so cheap, Panasonic figured "Why the hell not?"

I, myself, wonder if the decision might also have had to do with one or more of the following:

1) a frat-house prank
2) a triple-dog-dare
3) copious amounts of alcohol

Who the hell is still playing a VHS tape on an HDTV? I have no clue who this is being marketed at.

I still see lots of VHS tapes -- at yard sales, flea markets, and the back of people's closets. None of these folks are spending $1450 on a recorder, regardless of how many GB the hard drive has.

The article says you can "dub all of your old VHS onto Blu-ray, or vice versa as well as standard-def DVD". Aren't the macrovision copy proctection rules still in effect? Are they saying this one allows it. What are they saying about the Vice Versa, that you can copy BD discs to VHS?

That would be an erroneous assumption. There is no way they negotiated an unrestricted HD recording deal to allow that.

Sorry, but for $1450, you just paid for the rights to copy all the fucking VHS movies you could possibly desire.

If a VHS tape has Macrovision, usually the DVD recorder will say "I can't record this!" if you try to copy it.

macrovision is one of the easiest systems to overcome. infact, if the machine doesn't recognise the macrovision system then there'll be no problem at all.

there are still titles on vhs which have never surfaced on dvd, and may well never do so. there are also people who bought movies on vhs and decided not to upgrade them to dvd, just as some are doing with dvd -> bd. this device will occupy a niche market, but it will have some sales.

But that is just my point. If they didn't bother to upgrade from VHS to DVD, why would they be interested all of a sudden in Blu-ray?!?!?!

because some want to only buy new movies in the new format, not replace their catalogue titles. this machine accomodates that desire. i'm not saying it's gonna be a top seller, but it does fulfill a niche in the market.