Panasonic Increases Commitment to High Definition Production Community

Los Angeles-Based High Definition Business Development CenterEstablished

Secaucus, NJ (October 1, 2001) -- Underscoring its commitment to thefurther development of high definition in broadcast, cinema andcommercial applications, Panasonic Broadcast & Television SystemsCompany today announced the establishment of the High DefinitionBusiness Development Center, based at 3330 Cahuenga Boulevard West, LosAngeles, CA.

The establishment of the HD Center is the latest development in aseries of recent investments in Hollywood by parent company,Matsushita, to support high definition and video networkingtechnologies and their application in digital cinema, broadcasttelevision, scientific analysis and e-commerce.

"Panasonic has enjoyed great success with our D-5 HD format in theHollywood film mastering and television episodic productioncommunities," said Frank De Fina, President, Panasonic Broadcast."However, it is clear that the range of applications for HD increaseswith each passing month, and new businesses opportunities including HDCinema and HD Commerce demand the focused attention of a dedicated teamof market and technology specialists. The High Definition BusinessDevelopment Center is designed to provide just these resources to theHollywood community -- and to the related technical communities ingovernment, education and business that are now requesting widebandwidth, high resolution, real time video network and displaysolutions."

The facility is one of three strategically-located PanasonicBroadcast facilities, including Secaucus, N.J., servicing New York andEast Coast-based television networks; and Washington, D.C., servicingfederal government agencies such as NASA, already a user of Panasonic'shigh definition camera systems for scientific analysis and publicrelations relating to the space shuttle.

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company is a leadingsupplier of broadcast, professional video and presentation products andsystems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Matsushita ElectricCorporation of America, the principal North America subsidiary ofMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), one of the world'sleading producers of electronic and electric products for consumer,business and industrial use. For more information on PanasonicBroadcast products, access the company's web site atwww.panasonic.com/broadcast