For a long time, you probably pooh-pooh’d getting a better TV. However, it is a fact that once you go high-def, it’s hard to go back. The same can be said for Blu-ray.

If you haven’t replaced your old DVD player yet, you may not notice a difference. However, once you’ve made the upgrade to Blu-ray, you’re going to want to take that movie magic everywhere and anywhere. Panasonic’s DMP-B500 makes that possible.

Boasting 3.5 hours of battery life, this portable Blu-ray player features a nifty 10.1-inch screen so you can catch a movie on a plane, in the car, or just out in by the pool.

However, it will be hard to hoard this kind of image to yourself for too long. For those times when you need to share (and they WILL happen), this unit can be easily hooked to any HDTV, via the player’s HDMI output. Using HDMI means one cable for a quick, easy connection. That means there’s no need to fumble around weaving that wire clutter.

Aah — but for $699 (on sale!), you didn’t just expect to watch movies in and out of the house, did you? The DMP-500 isn’t just a portable Blu-ray player, but it’s your key to all sorts of other entertainment. One of the key features on the unit is VIERA Cast. This is Panasonic’s own service, which provides easy, instant access to content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube and a slew of other services.