Panasonic Announces Agreement With Post Force 4MC To Establish D-5 HD As Hollywood Production Standard

Panasonic Announces Agreement With Post Force 4MC To Establish D-5 HD As Hollywood Production StandardMulti-Million Dollar Pact Confirms D-5 HD As The Choice For Industry's Most Demanding Production TasksPanasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company has signed an agreement with the country's preeminent post production services company, Four Media Company (4MC), Burbank, California, that establishes Panasonic's new AJ-HD3700 D-5 HD multi-format VTR as 4MC's production standard for in-house feature film mastering, television episodic production, and commercial production. The agreement encompasses the following 4MC facilities: Riot, Encore Hollywood, Digital Magic, Company 3, POP Sound, POP Film, Digital Sound & Picture (Burbank and Culver City, Calfornia), Digital Images (Burbank and Universal City), FilmCore Editorial (Los Angeles and San Francisco, California) and FilmCore Distribution (Los Angeles and San Francisco). These facilities will be equipped with state-of-the-art D-5 HD recorders and AJ-UFC1800 Universal Format Converters for producing 1080/24p film-to-tape work as well as 1080i, 720p, 480i, and PAL video-based distribution mastering. 4MC will take delivery of the first AJ-HD3700 shipped to the U.S. Larry Chernoff, President, Four Media Television Group stated, ""We believe the new Panasonic D-5 HD video tape recorder offers our post studios the quality, performance and affordability that our customers demand for high definition projects. As a company, this is part of our longstanding commitment toward continued investment in offering our customers high-end post services at a price point that cost-effectively provides long-term archival value."" Warren Allgyer, President, Panasonic Broadcast, said, ""We're kicking off the new century with a major HDTV purchase by, and alliance with, 4MC that has the ability to have a profoundly positive impact on 4MC's customers, which include the world's largest entertainment companies. ""Since its formation, 4MC has invested in the most advanced technologies to help its customers succeed. This agreement will bring great value to 4MC's customers by migrating them to the world's most advanced HDTV technologies. In addition, we view this agreement as further proof that the D-5 HD format is delivering the highest quality results for the most demanding post production tasks."" Beyond production equipment, 4MC will outfit its lobbies and viewing rooms with Panasonic DTV set-top boxes, D-VHS VCRs and DT-M3050W monitors to facilitate clients' long-term exposure to HDTV. The new AJ-HD3700 D-5 HD multi-format recording system is a mastering-quality DTV/HDTV videotape recorder that performs the most demanding program mastering, high definition cinema, television commercial and multi-format DTV and HDTV program production tasks. The AJ-HD3700 can support standard definition and multiple high definition video formats without hardware or software exchange. The AJ-HD3700 can play back existing 525 line standard D-5 or D-5 HD cassette and can record 10-bit uncompressed 480/60i standard definition video, in addition to 1080/24p, 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 1035/60i, and 720/60p high definition standards. In addition the recorder can slew between 24 and 25Hz frame rates for international (PAL) program duplication from a 1080/24p master. The AJ-UFC1800 makes it possible to convert television signals between video formats recognized under the U.S. ATSC-DTV standard, as well as ITU-R601 for NTSC, PAL and Slow-Pal. The AJ-UFC1800 can adjust picture aspect ratios on a sub-pixel basis with zoom, pan-and-scan, auto-fit functions. The converter can add or remove 3:2 pull-down film mode conversion and I/O 24 frame progressive or segmented Frame. The AJ-UFC1800 supports multiple frame rates, including 60, 50, 30 and 24Hz. About Four Media CompanyFour Media Company is a leading provider of technical and creative services to owners, producers and distributors of television programming, feature films and other entertainment product both domestically and internationally. The company's services integrate a variety of systems and processes to enhance the creation and distribution of entertainment content. Four Media's client base includes the world's largest entertainment companies. As a result of its investments and acquisitions, Four Media Company is one of the largest and most diversified providers of technical and creative services to the entertainment industry, which enables the company to offer its customers a single source for such services. About Panasonic BroadcastPanasonic Broadcast (NYSE: MC) is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video and audio products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is dedicated to providing customers with comprehensive equipment choices, from Emmy Award-winning D-5 high definition and DVCPRO digital VTRs to ultra-bright presentation systems and advanced digital audio mixing consoles. For more information on Panasonic professional video and audio products, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast or phone 800 528 8601.

For more information, contact Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company, Jim Wickizer, 323 436 3677, wickizerj@panasonic.com, or Pat Lamb, 518 692 8150, patalamb@aol.com.