Panasonic Accelerates Arrival of BD-ROM Title Creation in Hollywood

Panasonic Accelerates Arrival of BD-ROM Title Creation in Hollywood

Panasonic Facilities in Torrance, and Universal City, Calif., to Launch 0.1 mm-based Blu-ray Disc Pilot Production and High Definition Content Authoring Technology Center in mid-May

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic, the brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC) is known worldwide, will start operating a pilot production line for Blu-ray Disc replication within its Torrance disc manufacturing facility and open a technology center for creating Blu-ray Disc titles in a Universal City-based Panasonic lab in mid-May. Blu-ray Disc is the next generation optical disk with a capacity of up to 50 Gigabytes, enough to hold an entire high definition movie plus additional features.

By opening the BD-ROM replication line and authoring technology center, Panasonic expects to spur the development of a local end-to-end BD-ROM technology base for title production services and further demonstrate actual Blu-ray Disc title creation to Hollywood studios, replicators and production houses.

Panasonic has led in the development of the ultra-precise spin-coating technology used to form the 0.1mm covering layer used in Blu-ray Disc. Now, working with production-machinery manufacturer Origin Electric, Panasonic has developed technologies for the efficient mass production of BD-ROM discs using cost-effective resin coating.

"Panasonic has established this Blu-ray Disc pilot production line and authoring technology center to help the Blu-ray Disc industry get off to a smooth start," said Mr. Kazuhiro Tsuga, executive officer of Matsushita Electric. "Now, working with solution providers, Panasonic will meet the industry's needs for both 0.1mm-based Blu-ray Disc replication and High Definition content authoring."

The Blu-ray Disc line, which is based within the Panasonic Disc Manufacturing Corporation facility in Torrance, will begin full pilot production of single-layer BD-ROM discs by the end of May, and dual-layer BD- ROM discs in December. The company's Blu-ray Disc technology center, which will collaborate with Sonic Solutions for Blu-ray Disc authoring, is based in Panasonic Hollywood Lab in Universal City.

Visitors to the MediaTech 2005 Expo, which will be held May 10-12 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, will be able to see a presentation and video demo on the BD-ROM pilot production line at the Marubeni Disc Systems, Inc. booth.

About Panasonic

Best known by its Panasonic brand name, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of $81.44 billion for the year ended March 31, 2005. The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, New York (NYSE:MC), Euronext Amsterdam and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.co.jp/global/index.html.

Source: Panasonic

CONTACT: Will Safer, +1-201-392-6124, saferw@us.panasonic.com, or Jim Reilly, +1-201-392-6067, reillyj@us.panasonic.com, both of Panasonic; Maggie O'Neill, Peppercom, +1-415-438-9823, moneill@peppercom.com

Web site: http://www.panasonic.com/

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