PANASONIC ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF FILM DATA PROCESSOR FOR D-5 HD RECORDERS
* Demonstrates Commitment to D-5 for Hollywood and Worldwide Industry Leaders *
LAS VEGAS, NV (April 18, 2004) – Panasonic announced the future availability of an optional Film Data Processor for the AJ-HD3700 D-5 HD Universal Mastering VTR. The processor accepts 2K film scan data files and processes them for non-real time recording on an
AJ-HD3700 D-5 HD transport for archival applications.
The Film Data Processor has been developed in response to rapid growth in 35mm Digital Intermediate (DI) processing; a workflow that delivers substantial creative and economical benefits for feature film production by converting 35mm film to digital for image manipulation, and then back to film again for distribution. DI provides significant color control advantages during postproduction and eliminates many of the conventional optical printing steps in the film delivery process.
The Film Data Processor converts digitized film at 2048 x 1556 resolution data and full RGB 10-bit for non-real time recording to an AJ-HD3700 recorder. The 2K-to-D5-to-2K conversion algorithm implemented in the Film Data Processor maintains the resolution and maintains the color fidelity of the original film transfer when returning to the data domain from a D-5 archive cassette.
The combination of the processor and AJ-HD3700 significantly reduces the cost of storing a two-hour feature film in the full frame 2K image format, because the film can be stored on a cost-efficient, easy-to-handle D-5 HD cassette, compatible with any existing
AJ-HD3700 VTR.
“With the addition of the Film Data Processor, Panasonic is once again answering the requirements of Hollywood and other industry leaders around the world, this time expanding the D-5 Universal Mastering Format into the data recording domain and the ability to store an entire feature film as a DI on a single D-5 cassette,” said Stuart English, Vice President, Panasonic Broadcast.
Panasonic D-5 recorders are the de facto standard for HD and SD mastering, with substantial investments in the format made by major television networks (including recent purchases by ESPN and Fox), studios and production facilities in Hollywood,
New York, London, and other facilities around the world. In standard definition video applications, the AJ-HD3700B VTR can record and playback both uncompressed 625 line and 525 line digital component D-5 cassettes, while in high definition applications, the AJ-HD3700B provides full-bandwidth 4:2:2 digital 10-bit component recording in a wide variety of image sizes and frame rates, assuring the pristine picture quality demanded in digital television mastering.
For more information on Panasonic’s complete HD product lineup, visit www.panasonic.com/hdworld.

About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast, professional video and presentation products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North America subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), one of the world's leading developers and producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use.