Panasonic

September 3, 2008 - Panasonic Projector Systems Company, Unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, announced today the debut of its newest LCD home theater projector, the PT-AE3000. With full high-definition 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) native resolution, the PT-AE3000 gives home theater enthusiasts a higher level of picture quality entertainment, producing crisp and clear images through new state-of-the-art projection technology.

As an evolution of its award winning predecessor, the PT-AE2000, the PT-AE3000 delivers a captivating 1,600 lumen brightness and powerful 60,000:1 contrast ratio. To achieve sharp and detailed reproduction of fast moving motion images, Panasonic has developed and equipped the PT-AE3000 with new Frame Creation Technology optimized for large screen viewing. And for easy adjustment to different widescreen movie formats like 21:9 or 16:9, the projector is also upgraded with a Lens Memory Load feature which is capable of memorizing and restoring zoom/focus positions for multiple aspect ratio flexibility. Read more

August 14, 2008 – Panasonic, the market leader in Plasma HDTVs and the Official HDTV of the Olympic Games, announced that its entire best-selling 2008 line of 1080p VIERA Plasma HDTVs is rated to last 100,000 hours before reaching half its original brightness. Based upon the U.S. average daily viewing time of six and a half hours, Panasonic 1080p Plasma HDTVs could on average take more than 42 years to reach half of their original brightness level.

“There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about Plasma HDTVs and longevity, and we’re happy to once again set the record straight on the durability of Panasonic Plasma,” said Robert Perry, Senior Vice President, Panasonic Display Products Company. “Quite simply, our Plasma TVs are built to last a very long time – as much as 100,000 hours to half their brightness. “As recently reported in the J.D. Power and Associates and Market Force Information 2008 Television Retail Insights ReportSM, a “high proportion of recommendations of LCD sets is primarily due to retail salespersons’ lack of knowledge regarding recent improvements in plasma technology.” Read more

August 5, 2008 – Today Panasonic announced that it is looking for more families to participate in its Living in HD program, a unique study of real American families experiencing what it means to “live in High Definition.” Panasonic plans to increase the number of participating families to 60 by 2009 and further expand the growing online Living in HD community to eventually include 100 families.

To date, 30 families are participating in the program, providing ongoing feedback to Panasonic about product functionality, design concepts and how living in High Definition has influenced how they think and use technology. Read more

May 20, 2008 – Panasonic, the industry leader in High Definition Plasma TV, announced today that its much-anticipated web-enabled PZ850 series of VIERA Plasma HDTV’s will be available at retail beginning in mid-June. The flagship line’s wide range of cutting-edge features is highlighted by VIERA CAST which provides access to some of the most popular content sites on the Internet today – YouTube, Google’s Picasa Web Album and Bloomberg. The VIERA line was initially previewed at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008.

Panasonic’s VIERA 1080p PZ850 series offers features designed for the most demanding videophile – enhanced contrast ratio, deeper blacks, faster response time and outstanding picture quality in four screen sizes - the 46-inch class TH-46PZ850 (46.0” measured diagonally), the 50-inch class TH-50PZ850 (49.9” measured diagonally), the 58-inch class TH-58PZ850 (58.0” measured diagonally) and the 65-inch class TH-65PZ850 (64.8” measured diagonally). Coupled with Panasonic’s new VIERA CAST technology, the PZ850 series will give consumers on-screen access to a far broader range of unique content than ever before. Read more

May 6, 2008 - Panasonic announces the introduction of the anticipated DMP-BD50, Panasonic's third generation Blu-ray disc player - the ultimate playback source for high definition 1080p content. Blu-ray media offers a wide range of functions that foster the transition to HD - including 1080p image quality, lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and versatile Picture-in-Picture applications. The BD50 adds the new BD-Live function, which uses the internet to further enhance the consumer's entertainment experience and employs VIERA Link, a technology that allows the consumer to operate VIERA Link equipped home theater components with a single remote. The DMP-BD50 will be available this spring and will have an SRP of $699.95.

BD-Live opens up a myriad of interactive possibilities for the consumer. In the future BD-Live will allow users to connect the DMP-BD50 to the internet to download such data as images and subtitles, and to join in multi-player interactive games that are linked to bonus movie content contained on Blu-ray discs. Read more

May 6, 2008 – Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company has announced that its first home theater in a box (HTiB) system with an integrated Blu-ray Disc player will be available for purchase in late Spring, with a suggested retail price of $999.95. The new model, SC-BT100, is the perfect complement to a high definition, flat panel large screen TV.

The new model epitomizes Panasonic's emphasis on media friendly capabilities. It is made for iPod and features an advanced integrated dock which not only recharges an iPod but plays music or video through the home theater system, displays audio tracks and menus on the TV screen and operates with the supplied remote control. Its SD Memory Card slot offers simple playback of digital images or original video footage in either standard or High Definition AVCHD format. The optical input offers simple digital 5.1channel audio connection for a set-top box, digital video recorder and game system. Read more

March 26, 2008--Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, manufacturer of durable, reliable Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers, just introduced upgrades to its Panasonic Toughbook 19 rugged convertible tablet computer. The next generation Toughbook 19F convertible tablet PC joins Panasonic’s flagship Toughbook 30F clamshell notebook with its incorporation of the Core 2 Duo processor and expanded memory capabilities. The 5.1 lb Toughbook 19 also offers an optional integrated camera for use in inspection and incident documentation applications for which the convertible tablet has become widely deployed in military, government and commercial applications.

These MIL-SPEC-certified notebooks incorporate the rugged features—such as magnesium alloy cases, sealed keyboards and ports, hard drive heaters, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounting—that combine to deliver the highest levels of reliability in the industry. Both the Toughbook 19 convertible tablet and the Toughbook 30 notebook include an anti-glare, anti-reflective sunlight viewable display, WiFi 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, a mobile broadband-ready (WWAN) design, along with backlit keyboard, GPS wireless and many more options. Read more

New LUMIX TZ5 and TZ4 Offer 10x Optical Zoom, 28mm Wide-Angle Lenses and Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode Technologies for Increased Ease-of-Use

Panasonic is serious about digital photography. A friend of mine recently went camera shopping and took home a Panasonic point and shoot digital camera and two other similar digital cameras (from two other very well-known brands). After shooting with all three over a weekend, he purchased the Panasonic and has been more than pleased with his decision. Earlier this month, at PMA (the annual photo trade show) the company introduced two additions to its award-winning TZ-family of LUMIX digital cameras, the DMC-TZ5 and DMC-TZ4 – both packing a 28mm wide-angle, 10X optical zoom Leica lens in a compact design. By combining a 28mm wide-angle lens, which lets you capture a wider-framed shot as opposed to most other compact digital cameras, using the TZ-Series 10x optical zoom –you can take expanded shots, both wide and far. Adding to these feature-rich digital cameras, Panasonic also expanded its Intelligent Auto technologies with new Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction. Read more

Panasonic’s new DMP-BD30 High Definition 1080p Blu-ray Disc player is the first Blu-ray player to be introduced with Final Standard Profile, a function which adds features like four Picture-in-Picture modes including Enhanced Commentary (from directors and actors), Backstage Pass, Peek Behind the Animation and Audio Mixing. And with the included SD Memory card slot, you can view JPEG images (the DMP-BD30 even converts the images to 1920x1080 resolution - perfect for viewing on a 1080p Plasma TV) and playback HD content recorded in the AVCHD format.

Technology advances include Deep Color Compatibility and HDMI 1.3B that bumps the step gradation from 8-bit 256 all the way up to 12-bit, 4,096 step gradation. To further enhance viewing, the DMP-BD30 also provides 1080/24p playback, so the consumer can enjoy the same 24-fps (frames per second) reproduction as the original movie. This eliminates the need to utilize 3.2 pull down, a process to convert 24-fps images to 60-fps, resulting in a smoother picture. Read more

January 7, 2008 – Panasonic and Comcast Corporation today unveiled the industry’s first Portable DVR/DVD player powered by tru2way technology at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. The Comcast/Panasonic co-branded AnyPlay Portable DVR (P-DVR) will let Comcast customers record programming at home and take it with them wherever they go. The P-DVR will be available beginning in early 2009.

Developed by Panasonic AVC Networks Company, the video, audio and computer development and manufacturing arm of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., for Comcast, the AnyPlay P-DVR Model TZ-LC100 incorporates digital video recording functionality into a Panasonic portable DVD player platform. The AnyPlay P-DVR features 60GB of digital video recording capacity, an 8.5” folding LCD display screen, and integrated stereo speakers. Dual audio headphone jacks are included to support personal viewing. When placed onto a companion docking station that functions as a standard DVR set-top box, the AnyPlay P-DVR lets viewers watch and record their favorite television programs from their television sets. However, unlike a traditional set-top box, it can be taken out of its docking station, so recorded programs can be watched anywhere in or out of the home on the AnyPlay P-DVR. It also can playback DVDs and audio CDs. Read more