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New DVD Video Recorder Offers High Capacity, Speed and Convenience for Capturing and Storing High Quality Video

The ability to record high quality images and sound on DVD discs has been a long-sought dream. As the DVD market continues to expand, worldwide demand for the development of such a product has increased in proportion to DVD's popularity.

Panasonic, a prominent leader in every aspect of the far-reaching DVD industry, has applied its accumulated technical expertise to make this dream a reality.

``The DVD format is becoming more mainstream, and its applications are expanding to include not only audio and video but also personal computing and even car navigation,'' said Rusty Osterstock, general manager of Panasonic's DVD Division.

``The Panasonic DVD video recorder offers consumers a practical and flexible way to manage these new, multiple DVD applications, and provides a whole new way to enjoy the world of digital entertainment.''

DVD-RAM is based on the DVD recording standard approved by the DVD Forum. It is being hailed as the new ``bridge'' format for its compatibility with audio/video and PC applications, and is helping to bring about the convergence of various digital media for both consumer and business applications. The DVD-RAM disc format offers consumers a variety of inviting applications. For instance, images from recorded home videos may be edited and put on a disc which can then be played on a laptop or e-mailed to friends and family. As an optical media format, DVD-RAM enjoys huge advantages over tape media, including random access and rewritability.

The Panasonic VDR-10000 uses as its recording medium the newly developed 4.7GB high-capacity DVD-RAM optical disc, model VDR-HB47, which supports real- time MPEG2 compressed video recording. A single-sided 4.7GB DVD-RAM disc can record 2 hours of high-quality motion video in the SP mode and maximum 4 hours recording in the LP mode.

The Panasonic VDR-10000 can serve as the centerpiece of a home theater system, enabling consumers to record and enjoy playback of multiple digital entertainment discs from a single component. Panasonic's advanced technology provides a wealth of powerful features, such as ``Direct Navigator'' for instantaneous cueing. Imagine having the ability to put all your favorite video recordings onto removable DVD-RAM discs, and having instant access to whatever you want to view without searching, fast-forwarding or rewinding.

Recording is activated instantaneously. Unlike video tape, there's no need to rewind or find blank space. With the VCR Plus+ feature, users can easily program the unit to record TV programs by entering the PlusCode® numerical codes that are found in many newspapers' television listings, as well as in every edition of TV Guide®.

Finding and viewing recorded material is fast and easy with the unit's Direct Navigator function. Users can instantly access recorded material from an on-screen menu. The Playlist feature lets the user perform simple video editing and create custom play lists of favorite scenes.

With the VDR-10000, consumers can enjoy easy, convenient storage of, and access to, their personal movie libraries or home videos on space-saving DVD- RAM discs. In addition to its high storage capacity, the DVD Video Recorder offers another important advantage. When transferring video to DVD-RAM, the digital recording and playback is capable of having better picture quality than the analog original. The DVD video recorder enhances old videos using noise reduction processes, input time-base corrector, 3D Y/C separation and 3D DNR.

Panasonic's innovative Hybrid VBR technology is used to manipulate the MPEG2 compression ratio in real time, according to motion, scene by scene. This original method of combining the two encoding technologies of real-time VBR (variable bit rate) and visibility modulation technology enables long recording times with images of extraordinary quality.

For the best possible DVD picture, the VDR-10000 features 480-line progressive scanning with component video output. By scanning all 480 lines in one pass, progressive scanning provides high vertical resolution and flicker-free, high-density image output that does not suffer from the loss of quality during subject movement -- which is characteristic of the conventional interlaced scanning method. When playing DVD movies taken from film-source originals, the VDR-10000 is able to reproduce the individual film frames as they were originally created, without video processing artifacts. Consumers will readily notice the startlingly sharp picture, full of detail and expressive nuances, and virtually free of digital artifacts. In short, they'll enjoy the closest thing to a cinema right in their own homes.

The VDR-10000 includes built-in Dolby Digital® 5.1 channel decoder circuitry. A dts® digital output also is provided. Panasonic's Virtual Surround Sound feature creates a simulated surround sound effect, downmixed from a two- or more channel Dolby Digital® soundtrack, using headphones or the stereo speakers of any home audio system.

The DVD video recorder offers many other convenient features, such as audio level meters, automatic tuner presetting, backlit universal remote control, timer recording, jog and shuttle control, remaining available recording time indicator, and more.

The Panasonic VDR-10000 DVD video recorder and VDR-HB47 4.7 DVD-RAM optical disc are expected to be available Summer, 2000. (Manufacturer's suggested retail prices to be determined.)

Panasonic consumer DVD products are marketed in the United States by Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company (PCEC), a division of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America (MECA). MECA is the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., (NYSE: MC; PCX) of Japan, one of the world's largest producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. All prices are in U.S. dollars. (Consumers seeking more information on the company's products can call Panasonic's Customer Call Center at 800-211-PANA or access Panasonic's home page at www.panasonic.com. Media interested in Panasonic press releases can gain information via the Panasonic Web site or through New Directions Public Relations' toll-free fax-back system at 888-734-7490.)

Dolby, Pro Logic and Dolby Digital are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp.

dts is a registered trademark of Digital Theater Systems, Inc.

VCR Plus is a trademark of Gemstar Development Corporation.

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

SOURCE: Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company