March 10, 2005

Panasonic, the world's leading global manufacturer of consumer electronics, telecommunication products and Broadcast & Professional products, has announced that it will showcase its revolutionary P2 (Professional Plug-in) technology at CABSAT 2005 (March 8 -10, Dubai International Exhibition Centre). CABSAT is the Middle East's leading satellite, broadcast and communication event. The event will showcase trend-setting broadcast and electronic media solutions from across the globe.


P2 technology is the world's first solid-state memory card technology, based on Panasonic's patented SD (secure digital) memory card. Used by leading broadcasters including CBS, Fox Entertainment Group and Raycom, it is considered to be the most significant development in the news broadcast industry since the arrival of videotape recording over 35 years ago. Unlike videotape, or other newer digital disk-based media, the solid-state P2 card technology offers immediate access to data and compatibility with the DV (digital video) standard on which many of today's digital news equipment is based. Panasonic will be displaying a complete range of products based on P2 technology at CABSAT 2005.

"P2 technology has truly revolutionized the broadcast industry, and we are confident it will generate equal interest among leading broadcast studios in the Middle East. Where bulky cassette tapes have traditionally been used to store and archive data, the introduction of alternative IT based solutions has redefined the whole data acquisition

process and workflow, besides offering scalable future migration to HD ROM (High-Density - Read Only Memory). This fundamental shift from ENG (Electronic News Gathering) to ING (IT News gathering) will deliver significant savings to broadcasters and news organisations in terms of speed, costs, operational efficiency and increased ruggedness of equipment. Owing to their small, convenient size, P2 products also offer portability and reduction in consumable media," said Robinhood, Technical Manager, Broadcast Products, Panasonic Marketing Middle East FZE.

The core technology behind Panasonic's P2 products is the SD memory card, a revolutionary storage medium that offers compact, portable and high-capacity storage options. Panasonic will be introducing a range of P2 technology products at CABSAT 2004, including a 4GB P2 card that uses the DVCPRO (digital video compression on professional media) digital compression scheme. The card comprises four 1GB SD memory cards loaded onto a single, standard PCMCIA card, enabling storage of 18 minutes of DVCPRO at 25Mbps (millions of bits per second) and 9 minutes at DVCPRO50. The P2 card's strongest feature is the rapid rate of data transfer. A P2 card has a maximum transfer rate of 640Mbps, enabling DVCPRO and DVCPRO50 to be downloaded at faster than real time speeds.

Panasonic will also be showcasing a P2 camcorder, which comes equipped with a 3.5 LCD monitor and five P2 card slots for a total potential record capacity of 90 minutes with 4GB P2 cards at DVCPRO. With no moving parts, the camcorder is extremely resistant to shock and vibration and has a lower power consumption compared to previous tape systems. A key feature of the camcorder is the ability to select DV, DVCPRO, or DVCPRO50 as the recording format on the camera. Pictures can also be stored on the P2 card with a MXF (Material eXchange Format) 'wrapper' ensuring broadcast open standard IT compatibility for file transfer.

Other products showcased at CABSAT 2004 will include the P2 editor, a laptop editing system based on the Panasonic Toughbook notebook PC. It comes equipped with a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card slot for P2 cards and a non-linear software editing system. A jog pad and audio fader are also available as options. A key feature of P2 editing is that there is no need for digitisation. Data is immediately accessible on the P2 card in file format, thus dramatically speeding up the editing process, particularly in news gathering. The P2 editor can also connect to a DVD-RAM/R recorder, enabling archive copies of footage to be made.

Panasonic will also display the P2 deck, and the P2 drive, a five P2 card reader/writer equipped with a USB (universal serial bus) 2.0 interface that links the cards into a PC. The P2 drive can act as a route linking ING to newsroom networks. As with the PC, there is no need for digitising and material is immediately available for editing and file transfer. Once footage is on the network, it can be shared by browsing clients, servers and non-linear editors.

"IT News gathering, represents Panasonic's vision for the next generation of true IT-oriented news acquisition solutions Although tape will continue to be used for many years as it is a proven, flexible media, the introduction of P2 solid state technology may reduce the role of tape in broadcast operations. We believe the key to future broadcast systems will be speed of operation combined with cost effectiveness. P2 delivers significant speed improvement in news workflow, eliminates mechanical transports from ENG cameras, lowers maintenance costs, and offers outstanding resistance to environmental stress such as shock, cold, dust and humidity. P2 also offers significantly lighter weight and lower power consumption than conventional ENG cameras without compromising on image quality," added Robinhood.

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About Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., (MEI)
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., (MEI) best known for its Panasonic brand, is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronics products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company posted consolidated sales of US$71.92 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. For more information, visit the Matsushita web site at http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html. Panasonic Gulf FZE (PGF) is MEI's first subsidiary company in the Middle East, followed by Panasonic Marketing Middle East FZE (PMM), which is the regional marketing headquarters of MEI for operations in the Middle East and African countries.

For further information, please contact:
Suraj Padukone
Panasonic Marketing Middle East FZE
Manager, Advertising & PR
P.O.Box 17985, Jebel Ali,
Dubai,
UAE
Tel: +971 4 8819880
Fax: +971 4 8814311
Web site: www.panasonic.co.ae

© Press Release 2005