COX TELEVISION TO CONVERT ITS 15 TV STATIONS TO DVCPRO P2

--Panasonic announced today that Cox Television (Atlanta, GA) will convert the newsgathering operations of its 15 television stations to the DVCPRO P2 solid-state memory recording system. The stations’ prior ENG format was Beta SP. Cox Television is the 14th largest television group owner in the U.S. and owns and operates 15 TV stations. It is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, one of the nation’s leading media companies. The seven Cox stations that will be outfitted with DVCPRO P2 products this year include: KTVU, San Francisco, CA; KIRO, Seattle, WA; KFOX, El Paso, TX; WPXI, Pittsburgh, PA; WSOC, Charlotte, NC; WFTV in Orlando, FL; and WHIO, Dayton, OH. The sale encompasses more than 130 pieces of DVCPRO P2 equipment including AJ-SPX800 camcorders, AJ-PCD10 Drives, and AJ-SPD850 studio editing recorders as well as over 360 P2 cards. "Cox's philosophy is to make constant improvements in our broadcast quality and work flow while maintaining tight control on our operating costs. We feel this purchase benefits us in all three categories,” said Sterling Davis, Vice President of Engineering, Cox Television. John Baisley, President, Panasonic Broadcast, said, “Panasonic is delighted that Cox Television is entrusting its stations’ electronic newsgathering to DVCPRO P2. It is especially gratifying that Cox, as a first-time Panasonic customer, has embraced not only the innovative workflow advantages of P2 technology, but the Panasonic reputation for support of its broadcast stations as well. “The Cox stations will enjoy the extensive benefits of DVCPRO P2, which include a dramatic increase in the speed of news production due to NLE acquisition and editing and the elimination of digitalizing and downloading.” Panasonic’s DVCPRO P2 series products are fully compatible with DVCPRO, the industry’s standard for digital newsgathering, and provide a seamless migration path to DVCPRO HD. DVCPRO P2 offers nonlinear acquisition and instant access to material, high-speed file transfer, laptop field editing without requirement for proxy videos, and compatibility with off-the-shelf data storage drives for low-cost archiving, while eliminating traditional digitizing and ingesting operations. The DVCPRO P2 system eliminates transports and mechanisms, resulting in a significant maintenance cost-savings because of the absence of any moving parts that can break down or wear out from repetitive use. Moreover, DVCPRO P2 products are resistant to environmental extremes including shock, vibration, cold, dust, moisture and humidity. The P2 card is re-usable up to 100,000 times, allowing a station to substantially reduce its media budget. For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/p2. 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 producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company’s web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.