Panasonic Announces New 60-Hour ShowStopperô Hard Disk Recorder

27-Sep-00

Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company (PCEC) announced the market launch of its first 60-hour-capable ShowStopperô hard disk recorder. Panasonic is one of the first consumer electronics company to offer the industry's largest single-drive hard disk video recorder using ReplayTVô technology. Model PV-HS3000 will be available at retail beginning in October, and will have a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $799.95. This price includes the ReplayTV Serviceô.PV-HS3000 joins the company's acclaimed PV-HS1000 and PV-HS2000 ShowStopper models, which offer up to 20 hours and 30 hours of recording time, respectively. ""Our ShowStopper hard disk recorders have been very successful in the market because the product answers the consumer's needs,"" said Jason Gastman, Product Manager for PCEC's Consumer Video Division. ""Not only does the consumer get a free lifetime subscription from Replay TV, but the product is very easy to use and has quickly become the choice of the end user looking for the best hard disk recorder on the market.""Panasonic ShowStopper recorders use an internal hard disk drive and MPEG-2 compression technology to record hours of high quality video. The ShowStopper recorders allow viewers to record shows in progress, and to control real-time television with pause, rewind, slow motion, frame advance and 7-second instant replay. When viewing recorded programs, the QuickSkipô feature allows users to skip ahead in 30-second jumps. All ShowStopper models offer three recording modes (extended, medium, high), ""one touch"" recording, and the ability to create personalized ""channels"" according to viewers' criteria. All this is made possible with the free ReplayTV Service, which includes an advanced, on-screen channel guide that is automatically updated every night with seven days of program listing information.""With the ShowStopper recorder and ReplayTV Service, every time you sit down to watch television, your favorite shows will be on,"" said Gastman. ""There's no need to worry about whether you have programmed the machine with the correct times, or to depend upon the accuracy of printed TV listings in order to find or record programs."" The ""Find Shows"" feature searches for programs according to actor, director, show title, show description or keyword, like a real-time search engine for TV. All programs matching the criteria that are scheduled to appear during the next seven days will be listed on the screen. Viewers can choose to record one program, a series of programs, or every program matching the search criteria, for on-demand playback at any time.On-screen ReplayZones provide an easy-to-use category guide to find and record types of programs, and to create personalized ""channels."" For example, starting with a general category like ""movies"", a user can create a ""romantic comedy"" movie channel or a ""horror"" movie channel. Personal ""channels"" can be customized according to individual preferences, creating, for example, an ""Opera Channel"", ""Hockey Channel"" or ""Steven Spielberg Channel."" Users can create a channel containing every episode of a favorite sit-com, or create a channel for a favorite team. The ShowStopper will record only those programs selected by users and will not ""guess"" what a consumer wants to watch. It won't take up disk space with undesirable programs.The ShowStopper hard disk recorders are compatible with cable, direct satellite and over-the-air broadcasting systems. Other features include Automatic Clock Set function and a Universal remote control. All models include the following accessories: universal remote control, A/V cable, S-Video cable, AC cord, telephone cord, Duplex T adapter modular telephone jack, alkaline batteries (2), serial cable (9-pin), serial cable adaptor (9-pin to 15-pin), serial cable adapter (9-pin to RJH) and an IR blaster cable.For more information, contact Panasonic's Customer Call Center at 800 211 PANA or visit www.panasonic.com.

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