Panasonic and Apple Collaborate on FireWire for DVCPRO50 & DVCPRO HD Tape Decks

LAS VEGAS, Nevada—April 7, 2002—Panasonic and Apple® today announced at NAB they are collaborating on two important technologies for the professional video industry: the addition of FireWire® to upcoming Panasonic DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD tape decks; and support for Panasonic’s new AG-DVX100 24P mini-DV camcorder in a future version of Final Cut Pro®, Apple’s professional non-linear editing application.

“Panasonic’s DVCPRO and High Definition tools are leading the industry in technology innovation, and we’re pleased that we share a similar vision for the professional video market with one of the most innovative hardware and software companies in the world,” said Stuart English, vice president of Marketing, Panasonic Broadcast. “We are delighted to have Apple add support for our revolutionary new 24 frames-per-second DV camcorder to their immensely popular Final Cut Pro software, and we look forward to bringing FireWire to our next-generation VTRs.”

FireWire, also known as industry standard IEEE 1394, is an Apple-invented technology that provides high-speed serial input/output for connecting devices such as digital camcorders to desktop and portable computers. Panasonic will be adding FireWire to upcoming DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD VTRs, making them the world’s first tape decks to support full ITU-601 digital 4:2:2 quality video at 50Mbps, and High Definition video at 100Mbps data rates over FireWire. The addition of FireWire to the VTRs eliminates the need to add a specialized PCI capture card in the computer, as well as the need to decompress the video prior to transfer.

“We are thrilled to be working with Panasonic to bring FireWire technology to their DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD tape decks,” said David Moody, Apple’s senior director of Applications Marketing. “In addition, with Final Cut Pro and Panasonic’s new mini-DV camcorder working together to support progressive scan 24-fps DV, Apple and Panasonic are bringing affordable, cinematic-quality tools to visual storytellers everywhere.”

Panasonic’s new AG-DVX100 24P mini-DV camcorder was announced today at NAB, and Apple has committed to supporting it in a future version of Final Cut Pro. This integration will allow video professionals to acquire, digitally transfer via high speed FireWire, and edit content in Final Cut Pro at the camcorder’s native 24 frames-per-second, 480-line progressive-scan resolution.

The AG-DVX100 is the world’s first mini-DV format camcorder to capture 24-frames-per-second digital video, which more closely approximates the look of film. The AG-DVX100 is equipped with three newly-developed 1/3-inch, 410,000-pixel progressive-scan CCDs that allow the camcorder to capture high-sensitivity images in both standard 60-field-per-second interlace scan (NTSC) and 24-frames-per-second progressive scan.

About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast, professional video and presentation products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North America subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), one of the world’s leading producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Final Cut Pro and FireWire are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.