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Panasonic Talks 3D, Blu-ray, and the Future

Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, 3D, Industry Trends (all tags)

Panasonic execs sat down with some members of the press for a roundtable event at CEATEC in Japan, and offered some interesting insight as to the future of the industry as they see it.

They view 3D as a potentially huge market, which isn’t a surprise. Panasonic seems to recognize that there’s potential for failure, but they feel it’s important to establish themselves as being at the forefront of the new technology.

Managing executive officer Takumi Kajisha feels that 3D is essential for Panasonic moving forward. “A strong brand must have competitive products like Apple's iPod and Sony's Walkman. Home 3D HD could be that breakthrough product for Panasonic,” he stated.

They also spoke about why they perceive Blu-ray Recorders as being an unimportant product for the US. Yoshiyuki Miyabe, the officer in charge of digital network technology, states that while Blu-ray Recorders are big business in Japan “Our marketing people think there is no need for it in the U.S. given IPTV, TiVo [and] digital video recorders there now.”

Source: TWICE

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Panasonic’s Blu-ray Home Theater in a Box

Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 03:45 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Product Announcements (all tags)

Blu-ray player, sound system and media streaming in one.

Announced yesterday and shipping this month, Panasonic offers up their newest home theater in a box -the SC-BTX70. Entering into an increasingly crowded category, Panasonic hopes to one up the competition with quality components and a robust feature set.

The SC-BTX70 is a 2.1 system that delivers virtual 7.1 surround sound via a pair of rather visually unimpressive looking speakers. Panasonic boasts that the new top mounted speaker design expands the listening area, while low-density bamboo cones enable a pure and crisp sound.

Panasonic’s new HTib also integrates digital media, allowing SD cards, USB devices and iPods to be connected for listening to music and watching videos. An Ethernet connection not only allows the use of BD-Live, but lets the viewer browse and watch videos on YouTube and Amazon Video-on-Demand.

Panasonic’s SC-BTX70 is up against some pretty stiff competition, and a dual speaker setup just doesn’t look as good as 5.1 or 7.1 systems at the suggested $999.95 price. Expect Panasonic’s new HTiB in stores later this month.

Source: Reuters

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Panasonic Takes 3D HDTVs and Avatar on Tour

Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 01:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, 3D, Industry Trends (all tags)

Mobile theaters will start pulling into US cities starting next month.

James Cameron and Panasonic both really love 3D technology, and they want you to love it too. There are quite a few skeptics out there when it comes to the new format, and Panasonic and 20th Century Fox hope to win them over later this year with a new twist on an old marketing campaign.

A fleet of mobile home theater trucks will be traveling throughout the US and Europe later this year, showing off scenes from the upcoming Avatar in 3D. Each truck will be equipped with a Blu-ray player, a 103” Panasonic Viera Plasma TV, and presumably some fairly impressive sound equipment.

This will not only act as promotion for Avatar and Panasonic individually, but as a promotion for the 3D format itself. “I believe 3D is how we will experience movies, gaming and computing in the near future,” said Cameron to the Associated Press “3D is not something you watch. It's a reality you feel you could step into.”

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Panasonic’s New Strada - Blu-ray For The Car

Mon Aug 24, 2009 at 11:00 AM ET
Tags: Panasonic (all tags)

At $5000, Panasonic's newest creation is a luxury item to be sure.

Thanks to the magic of Google Translate, we’ve got full specs on both the CY-BB1000D car Blu-ray player, and CN-HX3000D Panasonic’s matching in dash GPS and media player.

The CY-BB1000D is a fairly capable in dash Blu-ray player, with a signal up to 1080p over HDMI. While not BD-Live compliant, the player is fully compatible with Bonus View. Standard HD audio formats are supported including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio. Retailing at just over $1,000, this is due out September 10th in Japan.

Of course, you’ll need something to watch those Blu-rays on. Panasonic suggests the CN-HX3000D navigation system. The CN-HX3000D features a seven inch 720p display, 5.1 surround processing, and an 80GB hard drive for audio and video playback. Also included are iPod connectors, an SD card slot, and even a digital TV tuner. Releasing September 10th as well, the navigation system can be yours for right around $3,800.

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Panasonic’s New 2TB Blu-ray DVR and More

Tue Jul 28, 2009 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Product Announcement, Industry Trends (all tags)

According to Akihabara News, Panasonic is releasing a new line of DVRs this September.

The lineup is set to include six different units ranging from the very high end to the low. Consumers will have several size options, from 320 gigabytes all the way up to 2 terabytes.

The new DVR line will also feature units with built in VHS and Blu-ray recorders. While it is unclear which DVRs will have which features, it seems likely that the VHS player would be integrated into the lower end models, leaving the higher end to house the Blu-ray recorders. We'll keep you posted as more details come in.

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Panasonic Adds Three Blu-Ray Players To Product Lineup

Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 04:30 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic (all tags)

Panasonic is introducing three new Blu-Ray players to their lineup.

The new offering sinclude: The DMP-BD60 (SRP: $299.95), DMP-BD80 (SRP: $399.95), and DMP-BD70V (SRP: $399.95). These three players have been engineered to reduce power consumption. They also include VIERA Cast’s internet connection for access to Amazon’s video selection, Google’s Picasa and other popular online Blu-Ray applications, and the VIERA Link function that allows users to control all AV components with a single remote.

The video quality is augmented by the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus to produce picture quality that is faithful to the original film. They all include decoders for Dolby(R) Digital Plus, Dolby(R) TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. The BD70V is the first player on the market to include a deck for VHS support. It can also play CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, and can up-convert all video to 1080p.

The BD80 is a 7.1 channel player, allowing for true 7.1 surround sound. It also allows for a playback window with video information to be displayed along with the currently playing disc. All three players use 96kHz surround remastering, to enhance the audio quality of CDs and other sources. These three Blu-Ray players from Panasonic will be available this April.

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Panasonic Announces Blu-ray Home Theater Systems

Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 01:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Home Theater Gear (all tags)

Panasonic has announced two new Blu-ray Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) setups that will not only replace its previous model by April or May, but retail for less.

The two models are the 1,000-watt SC-BT200 (SRP $599) and 1,250-watt SC-BT300 (SRP $699). Both have a 7.1-channel speaker system and the capability to decode all authorized Blu-Ray surround systems. They are greatly improved over their predecessor SC-BT100, however, in that they are BD-Live compatible and include the Viera Cast service via the internet, which allows for streaming videos from Youtube, Amazon.com, Bloomberg News financial information and more.

Other features included in both of these HTiBs are an SD Card slot, playback capabilities for AVC HD camera files, and slide-out iPod dock. The SC-BT200 comes with 2 left-right tower speakers, a small center channel and surrounds. The SC-BT300 comes with 7 mid-sized speakers. The surround speakers from both of these HTiB are wireless-ready, although neither comes with wireless speakers.


News From CES 2009: Panasonic Focused on High-Def

Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 01:15 PM ET
Tags: Blu-ray Players, Industry Trends, Panasonic, 3-D, CES 2009 (all tags)

As CES gets into full swing, some of the biggest early news is coming from Panasonic, with the company making some exciting announcements regarding HDTVs and Blu-ray.

First up, Panasonic has announced the debut of its first 3D Full HD Plasma Home Theater System (3D FHD) which incorporates a 103-inch Plasma HDTV and a Panasonic Blu-ray player. According to a company press release, the system takes advantage of Blu-ray's increased bandwidth and resolution to provide two different images, one for each eye. Wearing special active shutter glasses, viewers are able to experience 3D movies in full surround sound, while taking in dual images captured, recorded, and displayed throughout in full HD quality.

“This goes well beyond conventional 3D” said Bob Perry, Executive VP of Panasonic. “Plasma is currently the only TV capable of delivering a 3D Full HD experience due in great part to its ability to refresh at a speed which enables multiple image display without loss of resolution." He says Panasonic is "fully committed to making [3D Home Theater] a reality, and soon."

In other news, the company is also debuting some new super thin Plasma and LCD HDTVs, which use technology that has been dubbed NeoPDP and NeoLCD, respectively.

The NeoPDP technology has been utilized in two different plasma displays. A highly efficient 42-inch plasma model that uses 1/3 the energy of the company's 2007 model (the TH-42PZ750SK), and an ultra-thin 50-inch plasma display that provides 1080 lines of resolution in a unit that's only 8.8 mm thick.

The NeoLCD technology has been utilized in LCD displays in order to provide high moving picture resolution with a wide viewing angle. The technology also promises dramatically improved image contrast while consuming only 90 kWh per year (roughly half that of the 2008 model (the TH-37LZ85).

Finally, there has been much talk of Panasonic's DMP-B15, which is being touted as the first portable Blu-ray player. The player, which features an 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD screen, internet accessibility, and BD Live functionality, is capable of displaying images in full 1080p. The player will go on sale in May.

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Related links:
PANASONIC’S WORLD'S FIRST 3D FULL HD PLASMA HOME THEATER SYSTEM* MAKES U.S. DEBUT AT CES 2009 [Panasonic.com]
PANASONIC DEVELOPS SUPER HIGH-EFFICIENT THIN-PROFILE PLASMA AND LCD HDTV DISPLAYS [Panasonic.com]
PANASONIC INTRODUCES WORLD’S FIRST PORTABLE BLU-RAY PLAYER [Panasonic.com]

Panasonic Details DMP-BD50 Pricing and Features

Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Hardware (all tags)

Panasonic has announced the spring debut of its much-touted DMP-BD50 player, which boasts BD-Live among other expanded capabilities.

As reported in January and further detailed via press release today, The BD50 adds BD-Live functionality, which lets viewers access online content such as images and subtitles to further enhance the viewing experience.

The BD50 also offers next generation sound capabilities using integrated decoders for lossless Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

"Panasonic was the first to bring a Blu-ray player with Bonus View (Final Standard Profile 1.1) to market and now with the DMP-BD50 we are again leading the industry with the inclusion of BD-Live," said Paul Sabo, Panasonic, National Marketing Manager Entertainment Group.

The Panasonic DMP-BD50 will be available this spring and has a suggested retail price of $699.95.

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CES: Panasonic Intros First BD-Live Blu-ray Player

Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 04:37 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, CES 2008 (all tags)

Panasonic has unveiled plans to release the very first BD-Live Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD50.

The new player will include all of the features of the company's recently-released DMP-BD30K (read our review), plus internal TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and analog outputs allowing for full 7.1 channel surround sound when connected with a 7.1 channel amplifier and speakers.

The player's BD-Live functionality will enable 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.

"Panasonic was the first to bring a Blu-ray player with Bonus View (Final Standard Profile 1.1) to market and now with the DMP-BD50 we are again leading the industry with the inclusion of BD-Live," said Gene Kelsey, Panasonic Vice President Entertainment Group. "The beauty of the Blu-ray player is that we can now see movies the way the film maker intended, in glorious HD video and audio. The consumer can now combine the new generation DMP-BD50 with a VIERA flat screen televison to create a true living in high definition experience."

No word yet on pricing or a release date for the player. Stay tuned...

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Related links:
Panasonic Previews Latest Blu-Ray Disc Player [Press Release]
Earlier on High-Def Digest:
Hardware Review: Panasonic DMP-BD30 (Nov 26, 2007)


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