Panasonic intros first in-car Blu-ray player
updated 04:10 pm EDT, Thu August 20, 2009
Panasonic car BD player
Panasonic in Japan on Thursday introduced the first Blu-ray player made for cars with its CY-BB1000D along with a conventional but HD-capable counterpart, the HX-3000D. The former sports an HDMI input and 7-inch display with 1280x720 resolution that will play the Blu-ray content in HD. While the player will support Bonus View content on compatible BD media, accessing BD-Live content that requires an Internet connection isn't an option.
The double-DIN HX-3000D is rated at 50W through four channels and adds an SD card slot, which allows users to view AVCHD-encoded (H.264) movies from camcorders or other sources. It has its own DVD drive, and there is 5.1-channel audio support as well as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. There is a built-in 80GB hard drive for storing music, which can be transferred onto the drive through CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs.
An included USB cable lets users connect their docking iPods and iPhones, which can play and charge directly through the device. Bluetooth support lets headsets and cellphones sync with car's speakers. Panasonic preloads navigation information from Google Maps and Yahoo Japan.
Other than the HDMI output, there is a standard RCA composite output allowing more conventional hardware.
The CY-BB1000D will be released in Japan on September 10th, priced at the equivalent of $1,060. The HX-3000D will be out at the same time, priced at about $3,874. It's not certain if one or either will be converted for the US. [via Impress]
Panasonic CY-BB1000D
Panasonic HX-3000D
