Panasonic Viera Cast Blu-ray Players Tap Into Amazon Video on Demand

Promised earlier this year, Panasonic's Viera Cast Blu-ray players now have access to movies and TV shows via Amazon Video On Demand.

Although Panasonic promised the capability in March of this year—and brought it to its Plasma Viera Cast TVs back in April—the company announced today that its Viera Cast Blu-ray players can now tap into movies and television shows via Amazon Video On Demand, without the need for additional hardware or gear, so long as the units have access to an in-home broadband connection. The capability is available for Panasonic’s DMP-BD60, BD70V, and BD80 Blu-ray players, along with the B15 portable Blu-ray player.

“Having our Viera Cast feature on our line of 2009 Panasonic Blu-ray players means you can now access the best of the web, directly from your living room,” said Panasonic Entertainment Group director Richard Simone, in a statement.

Via Amazon Video On Demand, Viera Cast Blu-ray player owners can access over 45,000 movie and television commercial-free titles; more than 1,000 titles are available in high definition, including many recent film releases.

In addition to Amazon Video On Demand, the Viera Cast players can also tap into Picasa, YouTube, weather information, and Bloomberg News. The players’ Internet capabilities are available fee-free, although purchases and rentals from Amazon Video On Demand are subject to Amazon’s normal fee structure.