(Key point: 3D TV with built-in hard drive and blu-ray recorder is only for Japan because Japanese like to record and save programs. This is not common elsewhere.)
By Juro Osawa
From Japan Real Time:
JULY 22, 2010, 6:51 AM ET
Sometimes Japanese consumers’ taste is so unique that when companies launch a new product it ends up being the first of its kind in the world.
Take Panasonic for example. The Japanese electronics giant unveiled on Wednesday what it claims is the world’s first 3-D television that can record 3-D content on a built-in hard drive and Blu-ray disc. Panasonic has no plans to sell the new multi-function 3D-TV overseas, says Hiroyuki Iwaki, a general manager of Panasonic’s TV business unit.
“Outside Japan, there’s not much demand for this,” he says.
Many Japanese regularly record TV shows on their DVDs or Blu-ray discs and keep them. That makes Japan a major market for DVD and Blu-ray recorders as well as recordable Blu-ray discs. By contrast, there’s little demand for such devices in the U.S. where viewers can easily find many TV shows on demand or on the Web. The U.S. market is mostly limited to Blu-ray players without recording functions.
“The concept of on-demand programs is not that common in Japan yet so people won’t stop recording TV shows any time soon,” says Hiroshi Sakai, an analyst at SMBC Friend Research Center in Tokyo.
Panasonic estimates that Japan will account for nearly 90% of the world’s demand for Blu-ray recorders this year. Last month, 303,000 recorders were shipped in Japan, up 33% from a year earlier, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. Panasonic expects that about 20% of all TV sets purchased in Japan this year will carry some form of built-in recording function, be it hard drive, Blu-ray or both.
The Japanese company, which makes everything from washing machines to rechargeable batteries, already sells a two-dimensional version of the “all-in-one” TV carrying a hard drive and built-in Blu-ray recorder. The new 3-D version is a logical next step since Panasonic believes 3-D is set to become a stable feature on many large TVs in the country.
The all-in-one 3-D TV — the 3-D Viera RT2B — will hit store shelves on August 27. The 42-inch model is expected to sell for around 390,000 yen (US$4,504), while the 46-inch model will retail for 440,000 yen (US$5,081).