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Get a Blu-ray/VHS combo player for $139.99

The Panasonic DMP-BD70V doesn't record like your old VCR, but it can play your old tapes. It's also a nicely equipped Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player.

rickbroida
rickbroida
Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
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Panasonic's DMP-BD70V combines a solid Blu-ray player with an old-fangled VHS player. Amazon

Quick housekeeping note: the Cheapskate is traveling this week (hello, San Antonio!), so posts may be scarce for the next few days.

The VCR has been dead to me for a few years now, but I know plenty of people who still play tapes using that venerable device.

If you're in the market for a Blu-ray player but still want to keep VHS in the picture (pun!), Amazon has the Panasonic DMP-BD70V Blu-ray/VHS player for $139.99 shipped.

I believe this is a deal-of-the-day item, and the discount is pretty huge (it's $299.99 just about everywhere else), so if you want in, act fast.

Combo players like this tend to have bottom-end specs, but check out the Panasonic's goodies: Ethernet, Profile 2.0, and support for YouTube, Amazon Video, and PicasaWeb streaming (but no Netflix--rats).

Also included: an SD slot for viewing photos and a USB port for playing AVCHD video from your HD camcorder.

No, you can't copy Blu-ray movies to VHS tapes. In fact, the DMP-BD70V doesn't record at all--it's strictly a player. (I'm not even sure an analog recorder is viable anymore now that everything's gone to digital. Anyone know for sure?)

But if you have a big library of tapes that you want to keep in rotation for another few years, the DMP-BD70V gives you the option for about the same price as a standalone Blu-ray player with similar specs.

CNET hasn't reviewed this model, but the few dozen user reviews at Amazon are overwhelmingly positive.