Mitsubishi unveils prototype in-dash Blu-ray player
By Darren Murph 
posted Feb 16th 2009 1:54PM
posted Feb 16th 2009 1:54PM
posted Feb 16th 2009 1:54PM
The percentage of returned gadgets that have nothing wrong with them.
Of the $13.8 billion worth of returned products in 2007, only 5 percent were because gadgets were actually broken, according to a 2008 study.
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This could qualify as the most worthless thing ever to be put into a car.
Worthless because people who buy BDs might want to watch them in their car? Or you want them to buy all their titles in BD and DVD?
@Nate - You've identified the problem, yet you are going about the solution in the worst possible way. I’m actually really surprised that people seem to find this workaround acceptable. Instead of replacing all portable DVD devices with brand new, pricey BD decks, Hollywood companies need to focus on implementing combo discs.
Let me ask you a question: What makes more sense; replacing the DVD/Navigation combo you just spent upwards of $1200 dollars on in order to play the BD you just bought or have that studio produce a disc that is compatible with your current system and your BD deck? Are we seriously suggesting that people replace 7” portable players to play a format where they will be (practically) no performance gain on such a screen so small as opposed to the more logical alternative (combo discs)? So, unless I re-buy ALL of my DVDs, I would have to have TWO portable players in the backseat for the kids – one to play DVDs and the other to play BDs?
If I choose to upgrade a movie I really like and get the BD version (assuming it’s the combo version), my current DVD could serve as a copy for the car, laptop, whatever. You can already see the alternative w/o me typing it out. Blu-ray will never go mainstream and rid itself of the ‘niche’ tag if the BDA expects people to shell out for portable players while they are finding it hard enough to get people to purchase a single, dedicated home theater deck. Produce a disc that plays in both, however…..any lights turning on out there Engadget readers?
Not sure I'd say "worthless" but I don't understand why anyone would want to watch Blu-Ray on a tiny screen.
imonit, why should Hollywood, and ultimately all consumers be burdened with the additional expense of combo disks for edge cases and a diminishing minority of people who want to share their disks between DVD and BD decks?
If you absolutely need to play on DVDs on other devices, there are already several ways of doing it with varying degrees of legality / morality / complexity:
1. Buy the DVD. Oftentimes, the same BD title might have been out on DVD for years and therefore available for cheap used or from the bargain bin.
2. Rent the DVD and rip it.
3. Rip the BD (using AnyDVD) and downscale it. It takes an age without a fast PC but its quite feasible. On the plus side, single layer DVDs done this way are often better quality than if you downscaled a dual layer DVD.
@DrXym - The minority of people who want to share discs between DVD and BD decks? I can pretty much guarantee you that 100% of people that own a BD player own a DVD player. And if you think 95% is a "diminishing minority" then I'm not sure where you're getting your BD FUD.
You suggest re-buying the DVD (which people wanted to avoid in the first place) or sure, if you don't want to BUY the DVD, you can rent it and burn it. Same thing with CDs/MP3s, same thing with BDs, same thing with any other media known to man. I'm sure we are all aware that we can get things for free if we so choose to do so. That's getting way off-topic and rehashing info that has been all over the web for years. The main argument here is the viability of people replacing their portable DVD players with BD players (nonsense). You seem to be arguing for these portable BD players, yet I tend to believe you won't be jumping at the chance to revel in 1080p goodness on a 7" screen (for 3-4x the price).
imonit, yes the minority. The number of people who happen to want to play BDs on in-car systems is miniscule so why on earth should everyone be burdened with that additional cost? Even the number of people who might want to play a particular BD on a secondary system is going to be a minority of users overall and will continue diminish as blu ray takes over. Again, so why should everyone be burdened just for that?
Making disk hybrids just adds to the manufacturing cost of disks at a time that people are already complaining they are too expensive. I think it's reasonable to think the cost of equipment, mastering and production would slap a dollar on per disk. What replication facility in their right mind would even splash out millions on equipment to produce a transitional hybrid format?
If you absolutely must watch your video in another room, there are plenty of ways of doing it. If you think my suggestions are too much effort, just go buy another BD player or don't buy the BD in the first place.
I will believe it when I see it as an option at my local auto dealerships. Mitsubishi has yet to even release a standard standalone Blu-Ray player in the US. They've announced plenty but released nothing.
My thoughts as well. Mitsubishi is one of the original BR group members, and yet they still haven't released a stand alone. I've been very happy with the Mitsubishi TVs I have, so I wanted to get a BR player they made as well. But nothing yet..
Deezul, they have released standalones (recorders), but only in the domestic Japanese market. They also sell recordable media, and own replication plants and produce replication equipment. So while they may not be as prominent as other members they're not twiddling their toes either. They also had some stake in HD DVD as well since they produced HD DVD recordable media and possibly did more such as replication for that format while it lasted.