Panasonic showcases in-dash Blu-ray head unit

by Darren Murph posted Oct 26th 2007 at 10:45AM

Car AV enthusiasts, listen up. Panasonic has a new in-dash head unit that just might be worth waiting for -- if you'd enjoy Blu-ray in your dash, that is. At the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan, Panny was busy showing off a new single-DIN unit that played back Blu-ray discs, sported an HDMI output and is even set to support full surround sound / BD-Java. Unfortunately, that pretty much sums up the details: no price, no release date and no model number, but be sure to check out two more looks posted after the break.

[Via Blu-ray]

Filed under: Blu-ray, Players, Panasonic

Tags: blu-ray, in-car, in-dash, panasonic

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Eddie @ Oct 26th 2007 10:57AM

Pointless and retarded.

What, are you going to watch a 52" LCD in your escalade??

If you seriously want this, just give me the money. Don't throw it away.

Neutral

John B @ Oct 26th 2007 11:20AM

In general I agree with you; however, if someone is going on a long road trip and has the BR version of a movie, do you expect them to go out and buy the regular DVD just for the trip? What if the movie is in moratorium on regular DVD? So, I can see some instances where this might come in handy.

Neutral

ben @ Oct 26th 2007 11:20AM

Ridiculous... i'm holding out for the 1.5" 1080P iPod nano

Neutral

Galley @ Oct 26th 2007 12:27PM

A 720p nano may be closer than you think. ;-)

Neutral

Kevin Murphy @ Oct 26th 2007 11:25AM

I'm still holding out for car LaserDisc. Or DAT, either one.

Neutral

John B @ Oct 26th 2007 11:28AM

You're joking, right? Laserdisc? Pshaw! I'm still waiting for RCA to make an in-dash, CED player!

Neutral

DeadPlasmaCell @ Oct 26th 2007 12:51PM

In the car? almost pointless. In the home theater though... much potential since it's so small.

Neutral

TrentD @ Oct 26th 2007 12:52PM

Blu-ray and HD DVD car head units are a joke - surely they'll never really come to market. A 7 to 10 inch screen can't show any of the advantages of picture quality. What car video display has HDMI inputs, anyway?

This is a stupid waste of time in the format war :)

Neutral

h4ldol @ Oct 26th 2007 1:20PM

Awesome. Thanks Panasonic, Sony, JVC, Hitachi, Samsung, Denon, Sharp, etc., for continuing to reward the blu-ray faithful with technologically advanced device and device. No 1080i here, or 2-channel TrueHD limitation. No problems with lip sync, moire, etc., with this baby. Only the most advanced consumer electronics technology you can buy. No, this is not for Joe 6-pack, but for the blu-fanatics, it's awesome. Yes, we may have to install 20+ inch LCDs in the backs (or fronts) of our Hummers, but that's okay, most of us were planning to anyway so that we can enjoy that awesome game Warhawk while cruising down the highway. Poor HD DUD/Xbox 360 fanboys... hope they are still enjoying the jaggy-filled 680p "masterpiece" Halo 3...

Neutral

Garry @ Oct 26th 2007 2:36PM

@h4Idol:

You know what, you've officially converted me. I thought you were a pathetic Kool-aid drinking Sony shill, but no. I now know the truth.

Blu-ray MUST be the most advanced video system in the world if it can play the semen-caked discs you apparently own.

Get. A. Life.

Neutral

thedamaja @ Oct 26th 2007 1:32PM

The real benefit here is the storage space availabe on the blu-ray disk vs standard dvd.

Highly Ranked

Scott @ Oct 26th 2007 1:41PM

...because getting the format into cars is going to help their cause. Why not spend that time and money on getting costs down and improving the technology?

Highly Ranked

Sean @ Oct 26th 2007 1:49PM

Sounds like more equipment that will cost a fortune and be geared towards a niche market. Is this even going to be released for sale anytime soon or is it just a prototype?

Highly Ranked

JeffDM @ Oct 26th 2007 3:15PM

Barring some 200ppi displays, in-car HD is just out of the question. The only reason to go along with it is so that you can use the HD discs that you bought rather than having to buy DVDs too. Which was kind of my point about the combo HD DVD / DVD discs, you can use them in regular DVD players without having to upgrade your portable and other players.

Neutral

logictape @ Oct 26th 2007 3:21PM

I think with the price of the PS3 no one stands a chance.

http://www.xtremegadgets.net

Neutral

JK @ Oct 27th 2007 2:43PM

In a country that sells $350,000 Phantom Rolls Royces there will be a small market for these. Of greater importance is the free adverting the Blu Ray camp will get out of this. What I find interesting is that in the US it is illegal to install these in the front dash yet not illegal to sell them. BTW as far as the format war goes, my opinion is that it is over. Both formats will survive until fully downloadable eliminates them both.

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