Panasonic's New P2 HD Line-up Offers Solid State Reliability and Full DVCPRO HD Production Quality Video for High Definition Applications

Here at NAB, Panasonic (NYSE: MC) announced significant salesgrowth for its DVCPRO P2 solid-state memory recording system over thepast year with worldwide adoption by more than 300 broadcasters andsales of more than 15,000 units. Panasonic also unveiled the broaderexpansion of P2 into high definition products with a new P2 HD line tobring the wide-reaching benefits of reliable solid-state acquisitionand full production quality HD to broadcasters and videoprofessionals.

Panasonic also announced it will offer dual codec capabilityincluding an optional AVC-Intra (H.264 compliant) codec in addition toits widely supported DVCPRO HD codec. The AVC-Intra (H.264 compliant)codec offers significantly better compression efficiency than olderMPEG-2 codecs and can provide high quality for news at half thebandwidth compared to DVCPRO HD. This bandwidth savings, without thecompromises of long GOP compression, will offer advantages in storageand distribution as well as twice the recording time on a P2 card. Theoptional AVC-Intra (H.264 compliant) support for the new P2 HDproducts will be available in April 2007.

The new P2 HD family of products offer P2's solid-state memoryrecording without the moving parts of other tape, hard disk, andoptical disc based systems. This insures the highest reliability,especially in challenging conditions of extreme temperature range,shock and vibration. These new P2 HD products offer a significantreduction in maintenance costs, longer useful product life, andimmediate access to recorded video (no need to digitize) and metadata.And by utilizing a standard PCMCIA interface and computer filestructure, P2 HD acquisition fits easily into any standard ITinfrastructure.

P2 HD products offer production quality, 100Mbps DVCPRO HD withindependent intra-frame encoding, 4:2:2 color sampling, and lesscompression, making HD content easier and faster to edit and more ableto stand up to image compositing versus long GOP MPEG-2 systems. Inaddition, they are backwards compatible with existing DVCPRO50, DVCPROand DV-based facilities. The new, multi-format P2 HD products aredistinguished by their ability to record in 720p, 1080i or 480i, whichaddresses the requirements of diverse HD broadcast applications.

"Our new P2 HD products deliver the highest operationalreliability and full production quality and expand the flexibility andversatility of HD in the field for broadcasters and videoprofessionals," said Robert Harris, Vice President of Marketing,Panasonic Broadcast. "These P2 HD products will build on the solidgrowth of P2 DVCPRO, which has been adopted by more than 100 U.S. TVstations and other well-known broadcasters worldwide."

The new members of the P2 HD family include the 2/3" AJ-HPC2000shoulder-mount camcorder, AJ-HPS1500 studio recorder, the AJ-HPM100mobile recorder and the AJ-PCD20 drive. In addition, the revolutionaryAG-HVX200, a hand-held DVCPRO HD P2 camcorder, is currently available,and provides video professionals a powerful and versatile yet highlyaffordable professional HD camcorder.

P2 HD 2/3" Camcorder Offers the Highest Quality, Versatility, andReliability

The highly-sensitive AJ-HPC2000 is equipped with an HD progressive2/3" 3-CCD system and 14-bit A/D processing and records in 720p, 1080ior 480i, offering exceptional dynamic range and low light recording.The 2/3" CCD imager allows the use of widely-available professionalquality lenses and accessories. The camcorder offers the highsensitivity of F10 at 2000 lux, and can capture images at a minimumillumination of 0.032 lux (at +62dB).

The AJ-HPC2000 features five P2 card slots and each P2 card is hotswappable for continuous recording. With five 8 GB cards, thecamcorder can record up to 40 minutes of full HD quality video andsignificantly more in SD modes. Other recording features include looprecord and pre-record (up to seven seconds in DVCPRO HD). Anadditional card slot is provided for optional accessories such as aProxy Video Encoder. An SD card slot is also included for recordingand replicating setup information useful in multi-camera productions.

The camcorder offers immediate playback from the thumbnail clipsdisplayed on the built-in color LCD monitor, with the option of addinga shot marker to each clip. Extensive signal connectivity and controlcapability comes standard with the camera, including IEEE 1394 (AVC),and USB 2.0 interfaces, HD/SD-SDI, genlock, time code and compositevideo. Four channels of uncompressed audio are supported with XLRs,stereo front mic, and Unislot wireless mic connections.

The AJ-HPC2000 will be available first quarter 2007 at a suggestedlist price of $27,000.

P2 HD "Station" Recorder Provides the Bridge for HD and SDProduction Environments

Panasonic's AJ-HPS1500 P2 HD "Station" recorder/player offers tobridge customers between the standard and high definition productionenvironments. The high-performance DVCPRO HD P2 studio recorder isperfectly suited as an ingest station, up/down conversion station or atransfer station at a broadcast or production facility, because itoffers the ultimate in versatility with G-bit Ethernet, IEEE-1394a(AVC) and USB2.0 standard interfaces as well as HD-SDI and SD-SDIinput/outputs. It is also works seamlessly in tape-based systemscomprised of DVCPRO HD VTRs for transferring, editing, or play-out.

The multi-format, multi-codec P2 Station records in 1080i and 720pin DVCPRO HD, and in 50Mbps DVCPRO50, 25Mbps DVCPRO and 25Mbps DV. Anoptional upconverter and downconverter enables conversion betweenstandard and high definition formats. The AJ-HPS1500's front paneloffers easy operation with its VTR-like controls, Jog/Shuttle dial,video encoder adjustment control, Graphic User Interface (GUI), andplaylist making, editing and copying. The front panel's 3.5" color LCDsimplifies browsing and selection of clips, and reduces therequirement for an external field monitor.

Standard A/V outputs/inputs on the AJ-HPS1500 include: analogcomponent, composite and reference video, digital audio (AES/EBU Ch1 -Ch8), analog audio inputs (XLR, Ch1 - Ch2), monitor out, and time codein/output. Remote control can be accomplished via RS-422A, RS-232C andGPI.

The AJ-HPS1500 will be available in January at a suggested listprice of $19,950.

Mobile P2 HD Recorder Brings Powerful Capabilities into the Field

The AJ-HPM100 is a mobile P2 solid-state memory card recorderdesigned to substantially enhance DVCPRO HD field productioncapabilities. This highly portable and lightweight recorder/player isideal for numerous field applications including playlist editing,transferring and copying P2 content, backup recording for livebroadcasts, and playback for transmission via satellite back to thebroadcast facility.

The AJ-HPM100 is fully equipped for field work with a 9"widescreen LCD monitor, a six-slot P2 drive, an SD card slot, ajog/shuttle dial, P2 deck-like playlist editing functions, stereospeakers and AC/DC operation. The easily-transportable unit records in1080i and 720p in DVCPRO HD and in 50Mbps DVCPRO50, 25Mpbs DVCPRO and25Mbps DV. It can upconvert and downconvert playback between standardand high definition formats.

The AJ-HPM100 has IEEE 1394 (AVC) and USB 2.0 (host/Device)interfaces, RS-422 for remote control, timecode in/out, and an arrayof input/outputs including switchable HD/SD SDIs, analog in/out,composite in/out, HD component output and four-channel analog audioin/out (XLR, ch1 to 4). Simplified Audio Split and Voice Overfunctions are standard.

The AJ-HPM100 will be available in November at a suggested listprice of $12,000

New P2 Drive Offers Enhanced Capacity and High-Speed Data Transfervia USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394b

The AJ-PCD20 internal/external drive is designed for high-speedfile transfer of DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO50 DVCPRO video into nonlinearediting systems and servers. A user can mount five 8 GB P2 cards(containing up to 160 minutes of recordings in DVCPRO, 80 minutes inDVCPRO50 and 40 minutes in DVCPRO HD) at the same time and have accessto the contents on all five cards for continuous editing of recordedclips in sequence. With the AJ-PCD20, digitizing is eliminated, sothat material can be accessed almost instantaneously.

As an internal drive, the AJ-PCD20 installs in a standard PC type5.25" bay drive enclosure, and through its high-speed USB 2.0 or IEEE1394b interfaces, connects to the host computer, and through thatcomputer to a television station's local area network (LAN). Forin-the-field use, the AJ-PCD20 serves as a stand-alone external driveand teams with a notebook PC or Mac PowerBook for editing andplayback. The drive offers Windows 2000/XP and Mac OS X compatibility.

The AJ-PCD20 card drive will be available in July at a suggestedlist price of $1,980.

Panasonic Partners Expand, Displaying an Array of P2-compatibleSystems at NAB

Panasonic also announced that Matrox and Bit Central are thenewest companies to join the P2 Partners Program, which strives toassure the seamless integration of P2 with the Industry's leadingproducts and systems. In addition to Matrox and Bit Central, the P2supporters include Avid, Apple, Canopus, Dalet, Dayang, Dicas, EVS,Focus Enhancements, Grass Valley, Harris/Leitch, Microsoft, MOGSolutions, Omneon, OpenCube, Telestream, Quantel and SGI. Panasonicand its P2 partner companies are displaying a multitude of availableP2-compatible products and systems in the Panasonic booth as well asin many of the Partner's NAB exhibits. In addition, Panasonicannounced that Imagine Products and DVFilm have each developedsoftware products that enhance the interoperability and seamlessworkflow of P2, and that the Quantum SDLT archiving solution, andholographic storage hardware from InPhase Technology will be in thePanasonic booth as well.

"Panasonic and our P2 supporters continue to work in closecollaboration to assure compatibility and expand the integration of P2in our partners' most advanced systems," said Harris.

About Panasonic Broadcast

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplierof broadcast and professional video products and systems. PanasonicBroadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America.The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S.marketing, sales, service and R&D operations For more information onPanasonic Broadcast products, access the company's web site atwww.panasonic.com/broadcast.