January 8, 2009 12:12 PM PST

Panasonic's DMP-BD70V puts Blu-ray, VHS playback in a single box

by Matthew Moskovciak
(Credit: Panasonic)

It seems weird to put Lo-Fi VHS tapes and 1080p high-definition Blu-ray movies in the same box, but that's exactly what you'll be able to do with Panasonic's DMP-BD70V, which (as far as we know) is the first combination VHS/Blu-ray player. Aside from adding VHS playback, the specs look to be identical to the standard DMP-BD60 Blu-ray player. Here are the details.

Key features of the Panasonic DMP-BD70V series:

  • Blu-ray and VHS playback from a single player
  • Profile 2.0 compatible
  • Onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-Master Audio Essential decoding
  • SD card slot and USB input
  • Access to Viera Cast Internet content, including Amazon Video On-Demand

This might be a compelling option for those who still have home movies in VHS format, but this seems like a niche product. It's time to convert your VHS tapes to DVD, everyone. For more information on this player, check out our more in-depth coverage of the DMP-BD60, which is similar but lacks VHS playback.

On Sale Now: $289.95 - $399.95
View the latest prices for Panasonic DMP-BD70V

Covering home audio and video, Matthew Moskovciak helps CNET readers find the best sights and sounds for their home theaters. E-mail Matthew.
Topics:

CES - Home video

Tags:

CES 2009,

Blu-ray,

VHS,

Panasonic,

DMP-BD70V,

Viera Cast

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (23 Comments)
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by TheNish228 January 8, 2009 1:43 PM PST
ha the irony
Reply to this comment
by Eric Mason January 8, 2009 1:43 PM PST
Ummm.... what is VHS?! HAHA....
Reply to this comment
by steve5200 January 8, 2009 2:47 PM PST
Who would actually buy such a thing?
Reply to this comment
by tomsoundman January 9, 2009 7:27 AM PST
Corporate market that has old training VHS tapes, churches with ancient VHS collections, etc...
by January 8, 2009 3:48 PM PST
Will this upscale my VHS tapes to 1080P????
Reply to this comment
by dctech08 January 9, 2009 12:14 PM PST
lol
by khicon January 8, 2009 5:44 PM PST
Where's the betamax...seems like it would be a more fitting combo.
Reply to this comment
by gerardosalazar11 January 8, 2009 5:55 PM PST
I think they are saving the betamax will come with an HD-DVD combo. For a very select group of people.
Reply to this comment
by bob1xxxx January 8, 2009 10:47 PM PST
No its a very cool idea alot of hard core film collectors have a large volume of films that were release on vhs tape but never on dvd. So this isnt as dumb as it should especially if panny buts a high quality vhs player in .
Reply to this comment
by W1gglesnarf January 9, 2009 4:38 AM PST
whats scary is i know several people who still dont use dvds. Might be worth it for them.
Reply to this comment
by Weeji January 9, 2009 10:58 AM PST
If they don't use DVDs, why in the world would they ever need a Blu-ray player?
by someguynamedbob January 9, 2009 6:48 AM PST
can you burn on blu-ray yet?
Reply to this comment
by green2u January 9, 2009 7:44 AM PST
I saw recordable blu-ray discs at Office Depot the other day. Expensive suckers!
by tomsoundman January 9, 2009 7:35 AM PST
I love this product. I have old VHS stuff (probably because of my mid 30 age) and I don't want to convert every tape to DVD or Bluray or ??what is next???. It will take up less room in my equipment rack. Just wait, you will be old some day!
Reply to this comment
by Weeji January 9, 2009 11:01 AM PST
There's no reason to convert VHS to Blu-ray or anything better than DVD. DVD is an up-conversion as it is, and its not like you're gaining any quality by converting to DVD. You would just be doing it to preserve the quality digitally, since VHS degrades.
by green2u January 9, 2009 7:43 AM PST
Would've been nice if it could record VHS to regulary or blu-ray recordable DVD discs. Some of us still have old VHS home videos that need transferring.
Reply to this comment
by Rick Cavaretti January 9, 2009 8:09 AM PST
Simple. Some genius at Disney decried that not all of their movies will be moved to DVD, ever. There are allot of classic movies (cartoons mostly) that I want my kids to see, but they would never have had the chance unless I owned them on VHS. That's the one reason for still keeping a VHS around.
Reply to this comment
by VHSBEST February 8, 2009 10:14 AM PST
Blue ray, schru-may! VHS is superior to DVD when recording/time-shifting TV programs! Just try taking your freshly-recorded DVD out of the player in the middle of a program, so you can take it to another machine in another room. WIth VHS, you simply pop in the tape and resume playback from where you left off. No buzz-saw sounds while reloading and no blasted menus to deal with and wasted time. Just pop in the VHS and go. And no fingerprints or scratches on the tape, if handled by butterfingered DVD hounds.
Reply to this comment
by gonno1 February 24, 2009 9:49 PM PST
thank god theres still someone out there that isnt criticizing the vcr.most people dont know what they are talking about,even the so called experts in magazines.youve made 1 good point but i could give you more such as the vcr doesnt skip scenes when in search mode.try fast forwarding between points in a tennis match on dvd and youll see what i mean.thats just 1 example.also,with hard drive recording,if it crashes,say goodbye to everything youve recorded.it happened on my computer with limewire.i had to download the songs again and there were a lot.
Reply to this comment
by gonno1 February 24, 2009 9:55 PM PST
in my comment above,i meant to say forward searching on dvd rather than fast forwarding.that is,fast forwarding during play
by jw55 March 4, 2009 4:15 PM PST
Lots of movies came out on vhs and never made it to dvd. Now with the switch over to bluray the chances of seeing these old movies on disc are even slimmer. Many of them are also copy guarded so most of us non-techheads can't copy them to dvd. Also, those of us who amassed large collections of vhs just don't have time to dub them all.
Reply to this comment
by bigmamou March 16, 2009 5:30 PM PDT
So........I take it that the lack of mention about recording with this new panasonic combo unit means that it is playback only!!?? Stooooopid! Or am I mistaken about its not having a "record" mode?
Reply to this comment
by techenvy April 21, 2009 6:16 AM PDT
i was def. about to buy, then found there is no dvd record,, i was bumin, but after thinkin about it,,, i can just buy this pack for $60. record the vhs to my pc, burn dvd... i saw this for under 300 and im goin for it cuz im lazy n dont have time to transfer all my vhs to dvd anyway,, and i looked at all the vhs to dvd record models and there all 250 to 300 anyway, with no bluray,, it will be nice to have all the players neatly stacked together, plus vierra cast, im in,,, no net flix though, but if your a gamer who cares u got your trusty xbox360,, ill let yall know how it looks!!!!!!
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