PANASONIC ANNOUNCES ENHANCEMENTS TO DVCPRO P2 SOLID-STATE MEMORY PRODUCTS

SECAUCUS, NJ (February 10, 2005) - Panasonic Broadcast announced today the availability of new enhancements to expand the functionality of AJ-SPX800 DVCPRO P2 solid-state memory camcorder and AJ-SPD850 DVCPRO P2 VTR. New options for the AJ-SPX800 include 24p frame rate recording and proxy video recording with three quality levels. Panasonic is the industry leader in 24p professional camcorders with its highly popular AJ-HDC27 VariCam® variable-frame-rate HD, AJ-SDX900 DVCPRO50 and AG-DVX100A Mini-DV models that produce video that truly emulates the rich look of film. The software upgrade allows the AJ-SPX800 2/3" DVCPRO P2 camcorder to capture film-like 24p images as well as 30p and 60i. The new proxy video option (AJ-YAX800G) permits the AJ-SPX800 to record a low-resolution video copy for rapid viewing on a laptop or desktop PC and on a PDA, and in an emergency situation, for transfer by connecting to an ubiquitous cable modem, DLP or dial-up connection. With proxy video, a low-res MPEG-4 quality copy of the video (with audio) is recorded onto a postage stamp-size SD memory card at the same time as the high-resolution 25Mbps DVCPRO or 50Mbps DVCPRO50 video. Proxy video can be used for rapid browsing and scripting or for transferring onto a PC. With Panasonic's proxy video option, users can select from three quality levels -- 1.5Mbps quality for on-air playback, 768kbps quality to transfer in almost real-time over a TCP/IP network, or 196kbps quality to transfer via a dial-up connection to the internet. The new option for the AJ-SPD850 is an optical disc back-up, the AJ-DVD850 4.7GB DVD-RAM/DVD-R recordable drive. The drive easily installs in the available 5.25" bay in the AJ-SPD850. At less than $2 per DVD-R disc, the AJ-DVD850 is an economical solution for backing up and archiving DVCPRO or DVCPRO50 native video as a file. The 24p software upgrade will be available in April in the AJ-SPX800. The AJ-YAX800 proxy video option will be available in May at the suggested list price of $1,200. The AJ-DVD850 DVD-RAM-R drive will be available in April. 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 core DVCPRO P2 products -- AJ-SPX800 camcorder, AJ-SPD850 studio recorder and the AJ-PCD10 drive -- eliminate 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 stresses such as shock and vibration. 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 Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company's web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.