Panasonic to roll out Blu-ray player in September
Panasonic said will start selling a Blu-ray high-definition disc player in September for under $1,500 and sees up to 5 million of these new DVD players sold industry-wide in their first year.
"We think adoption will be strong, based on broad support. For the first 12 months, we expect 4 million to 5 million units to be sold beginning in May and across all platforms, including standalones, computers and gaming systems," said Reid Sullivan, vice president merchandising, Panasonic's entertainment group. Sullivan said Panasonic sees no need to develop a player to support both Blu-ray and the rival format known as HD DVD, despite a raging war between the two standards and a move to make a dual player for both formats by LG Electronics Inc.
