LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At a press conference here prior to the National Association of Broadcasters convention, Panasonic announced several new products, technology initiatives and technology alliances. Chief among these were the AG-HPX600 P2 HD camcorder with 10-bit, 4:2:2 AVC-Intra recording and the lowest weight of a shoulder-mount unit, and a new series of memory cards called microP2 card, which have an SD card form factor to further cost-efficiencies in media pricing.
Both the HPX600 and the microP2 card, will support Panasonic’s newest video compression platform, AVC-ULTRA.
Weighing less than 7 pounds and using low power, the HPX600 incorporates a newly-developed 2/3 type MOS sensor to produce beautiful HD and SD images. The HPX600 will allow the user to upgrade his camera as new functionality becomes available. This future-proof camera will provide inventive functionality and improved workflows, with options such as wireless metadata input, proxy recording, and variable frame rates (available this Fall), and then AVC-ULTRA recording.
“With its ultra-light weight and low power consumption, the HPX600 is the first shoulder mount that’s easy on the shoulder while being super-efficient on battery usage,” said Joseph Facchini, Vice President, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “With its innovative design and selectable options, the HPX600 is upgradability to new technology such as wireless remote from a smart phone and much more.”
The AG-HPX600 will be available in the Fall at a targeted suggested list price of less than $16,000 (body only).
The new series of 64GB and 32GB microP2 cards will ensure high-speed transfer, high reliability and the writing assurance of all P2 frame rates, formats and codecs, The simultaneous introduction of a microP2 Card Adaptor assures that microP2 cards will operate in current P2 hardware.
“Since introducing this Emmy Award-winning, solid-state recording format nearly a decade ago, Panasonic has continued to make improvements to P2,” said John Baisley, Executive Vice President, PSCNA. “The development of the microP2 card brings additional innovation to the owners of the more than 250,000 P2 products in use worldwide.”
The microP2 media and microP2 Card Adaptor will be available in spring 2013.
Other new product introductions included the PT-DZ21 3-chip DLP projector series, the world’s smallest and lightest 20,000 lumen projectors; the expansion of the company’s high-end LCD production monitors with the BT-LH2170 21.5” and BT-LH1850 18.5” models; and increased functionality in key products with upgrades to the AG-AF100 Large Sensor HD Cinema camera, and the AG-HPX250 P2 HD and AG-AC160/AC130 AVCCAM HD handheld camcorders, as well as to the AJ-HPM200 and AJ-HPD2500 solid-state recorders.
The company highlighted a suite of alliances with industry technology companies:
- Panasonic and Dejero Labs announced plans to offer the Dejero LIVE+ NewsBook, a complete cellular uplink solution for remote production and electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations. Dejero, a leader in solutions for transmitting live, broadcast-quality video through cellular networks, has created a version of its LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitter that enables the Panasonic Toughbook 53 semi-rugged notebook computer to transmit live video, edited packages, or media files over public broadband networks.
- Panasonic announced that it is teaming with Aframe to create the Panasonic Production Network (PPN), a cloud video production network that allows professionals to rapidly upload and view their high-quality video from dedicated cloud servers. Panasonic has targeted New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and Dallas as the first cities to locate its upload centers, which link to Aframe’s cloud video production servers in the U.S. Panasonic anticipates that its first upload center will be operational in May of this year.
- Panasonic and LiveU, a pioneer in portable video-over-cellular, are announcing a new collaboration to deliver an integrated camcorder and live video uplink solution, utilizing the groundbreaking LU40i video uplink device and the new AJ-HPX600 P2 camcorder with planned wireless integration features.
- VITEC has introduced the Focus FS-P250 Proxy Recorder, which records H.264 proxy clips in parallel with the high-resolution clips of Panasonic’s AG-HPX250 P2 HD handheld camcorder. Users can both instantly view streamed clips and input custom metadata from the Focus FS-P250 web interface.
Panasonic also unveiled the results of its recent ‘Shoot It. Share It” online video contest featuring users of the AF100 HD cinema camcorder. Director/cinematographer Graham Streeter was named the Grand Prize winner for his music video featuring Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist Dave Koz. Streeter was awarded a Panasonic 42” TH-42BT300U Pro Plasma reference Monitor and Vocas Micro Four Thirds to Prime Lens adapter, prizes valued at more than $5,000.
For more information about Panasonic’s NAB announcements, visit www.panasonic.com/nab.
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Through its broad range of integrated business technology solutions, Panasonic empowers professionals to do their best work. Customers in government, healthcare, production, education and a wide variety of commercial enterprises, large and small, depend on integrated solutions from Panasonic to reach their full potential, achieve competitive advantage and improve outcomes. The complete suite of Panasonic solutions addresses unified business communications, mobile computing, security and surveillance systems, retail information systems, office productivity solutions, high definition visual conferencing, projectors, professional displays and HD and 3D video production. As a result of its commitment to R&D, manufacturing and quality control, Panasonic engineers reliable and long-lasting solutions as a partner for continuous improvement. Panasonic solutions for business are delivered by Panasonic System Communications Company of North America, Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC).
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About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America provides a broad line of digital and other electronics products and services for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC), and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic was the only Consumer Electronics company to be listed in the top ten brands on the Interbrand Best Global Green Brands 2011 ranking (http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/Best-Global-Green-Brands/2011-Report/BestGlobalGreenBrandsTable-2011.aspx). As part of its continuing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, Panasonic Corporation of North America will relocate its operations to a new eco-efficient office tower adjacent to a mass transit hub in Newark, NJ in 2013. Information about Panasonic Eco Ideas initiatives is available at http://panasonic.net/eco/ecoideas/. Information about Panasonic and its products is available at www.panasonic.com. Additional company information for journalists is also available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom.