panasonic BD80 being replaced by...? (1 Viewer)

[rcantor]

I ordered a Panasonic BD 80 Bluray player for $199 and was told it's no longer being produced. (it was out of stock but new ones were expected, none showed up) Any idea what will replace it, what new features it might have and at what $$ point?

Thanks

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Its hard to say. The BD80 fully supported all Blu-ray features and streaming Amazon titles. Odds are the new model won't be that different. Maybe a bit faster, or it could be essentially the same as far as the end user is concerned with a chassis that is less expensive for Panasonic to make.

The next big thing from Panasonic this next year will be 3D capable Blu-ray players. I'm not sure if the replacement for the 80 will be one of these, and if so what the price increase will be. You will need a TV that is 3D ready to work with a 3D Blu-ray player.

 

[rcantor]

And those are all upwards of $3000, right?

 

[Adam Gregorich]

There are some DLP sets on the market made by Mitsubishi that are "supposed" to be ultimately compatible for just over $1000. Expect to see new plasma and LCD models announced in January from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and others that "will" support 3D. There will be a few hundred dollar premium over non-3D sets, and I think you should be able to do a 3D player and set for under $3k, but we won't know for sure until January.