NAB 2010: Panasonic Touts P2, 3D Progress

Nets Univision deal for newsgathering

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/21/2010 9:47:51 AM

NAB 2010: Complete Coverage From B&C
Since launching its solid-state P2 camcorder format seven years ago, Panasonic had sold some 140,000 units, the company announced at NAB.

P2 customers include some 360 U.S. television stations in the U.S. such as the NBC Local Media and Telemundo station groups, which have standardized their newsgathering on P2 HD camcorders. Fellow NBC Universal property and cable network CNBC has also adopted P2 HD, and is now shooting in the field with AJ-HPX2000 2/3" 3-CCD P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorders.

Panasonic's most recent big P2 newsgathering deal is with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, which is making a multi-year commitment to P2 HD for field production and newsgathering at the local and national level as well as major event coverage. Univision's purchase will include P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorders with AVC-Intra recording, AJ-HPM200 P2 Mobile recorder/players, AG-HPG20 Portable recorders, AG-HPG10 P2 Gear portable recorders and the new AG-MSU10 P2 Media Storage Units (due to ship this fall). As the exclusive Spanish-language broadcaster of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Univision will also be using AJ-HPX3000 P2 HD camcorders to broadcast the month-long competition.

Panasonic also closed a deal with the National Basketball Association in which the WNBA and NBA Development League (NBA D-League) will use Panasonic's AG HPX300 P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorders to provide fans with live streaming coverage of games through the Websites WNBA.com and NBA.com/dleague.

Panasonic also announced the first customer for the AG-3DA1 dual-lens 3D HD camcorder that it unveiled last January at the Consumer Electronics Show. Major rental firm Video Equipment Rentals (VER) has purchased 10 of the fully-integrated Full HD 3D camcorders, and will take delivery in the early fall. Los Angeles-based VER will rent the products from its locations in major markets throughout the U.S., which include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, among others.

Elsewhere on the 3D front, Panasonic announced that it will work with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to create a 3D production studio at AEG's L.A. Live complex in Los Angeles and that it will collaborate with the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California to study the psychophysical effects of 3D viewing in the home and create production guidelines for 3D content.

The company also introduced the BT-3DL2550, a 25.5-inch 3D LCD production monitor. The monitor displays 3D content using an Xpol polarizing filter, allowing content to be viewed with polarizing (passive) 3D eyeglasses, and can switch between various modes including Left to Right image display, overlay, Left and Right two window display and 3D.

NAB 2010 marked Panasonic's first show exhibiting as Panasonic Solutions Company, the new B2B-focused company formed on April 1 that incorporates the operations of Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company and Panasonic Professional Display Company. John Baisley, former president of Panasonic Broadcast, is now president of Media & Production Services for Panasonic Solutions Company.