DV Studio Technologies Demos Low-cost, DV-to-DVD
Support for Panasonic DVD-R/DVD-RAM Drive at NAB

 Apollo d2d Software Converts DV to DVD, Records to Combo Drive's
Rewritable DVD-RAM & Write-once DVD-R General Media

NAB Las Vegas (April 25, 2001) – Panasonic and DV Studio Technologies, LLC announced today that DV Studio's new Apollo d2dä (DV to DVD) software is compatible with Panasonic's breakthrough DVD-RAM/R drive. Apollo d2d converts DV and Panasonic DVCPRO video footage into DVD images and, when combined with the dual functionality of the Panasonic drive, enables users to choose between storing the videos on 4.7GB rewritable DVD discs or write-once DVD-R General discs. DV Studio will demonstrate its Apollo d2d software with the Combination DVD drive at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show (Panasonic Booth #L7020, DV Studio Tech. Booth #S3866) in Las Vegas this week.

Apollo d2d, the newest member of the highly-regarded DV Studio Technologies MEPG-2 encoder and DVD authoring product line, is a software-based solution that provides OEMs and resellers   with substantial savings over hardware-based encoders. Stephen Godfrey, DV Studio Technologies’ Vice President of Marketing & Sales, explains, “Now that  processor speeds have begun to break the 1GHz threshold, it makes more sense to use our lower-cost software-based DV-to-DVD encoder, rather than having to open the computer and install an for expensive plug-in encoder/decoder board."

Godfrey added that Apollo d2d users will realize additional savings with the product's support for the Panasonic DVD-RAM/R drive.  "A single drive can be used to store videos  on rewritable DVD discs and write-once DVD-R General discs. In addition," he noted, "the same drive can be used for backup/recovery, as a CD reader and for playback of DVD videos."

By storing their videos on 4.7GB/9.4GB DVD-RAM media, users have random access capabilities.  They can move to any segment of the disc almost instantly and can write and erase individual sectors more than 100,000 times.

For small-scale distribution and the widest range of playback options, including new and legacy DVD-ROM drives, DVD players and DVD recorders, videos can be recorded to 4.7GB DVD-R media.

Using 4.7GB DVD-R General media, the Panasonic DVD-RAM/R drive provides a transfer rate of up to 11.08 Mbps, which is equivalent to about 9 times the transfer rate of CD-ROM’s 1X speed. The 22.16 Mbps transfer rate for 4.7GB DVD-RAM translates to an 18x CD data rate. Seek times are 75ms for DVD-RAM and 65ms DVD-R, DVD-ROM and CD media.

"System manufacturers and integrators are finding it increasingly difficult to cost justify expensive hardware MPEG-2 encoding solutions,” said Dana Berzin, DVD product manager at Panasonic Industrial Company's Global Computer Group.  “Apollo d2d software solution not only delivers significant cost savings for OEMs and resellers, it simplifies integration, which will reduce their time-to-market schedules. The quality of output that can be achieved with Apollo d2d makes it an excellent companion to the quality and versatility of our DVD-RAM/R drive."

Apollo d2d provides an easy and affordable solution for compressing and decompressing video and audio files that can be used for entertainment, training, education and web site development with virtually no loss in quality. Apollo d2d also offers a fully integrated suite of video applications, including DVD authoring, pre-mastering and DVD burning software. These applications are submerged below the surface of the one-button DVD creation control panel.  The easy-to-use interface simplifies control over powerful encoding options such as stream type, bit-rate size, constant or single-pass variable bit-rate encoding, and filtering adjustments. With real-time MPEG preview, users can see exactly how the video will look on a TV set or a VGA screen as it is being encoded. 

 Availability, Pricing
Apollo d2d software supports Windows 2000, NT, Me, and 98 operating systems in Pentium III and IV computers.  Available now through DV Studio authorized distributors worldwide, Apollo d2d software has a MSRP of $199. A downloadable demo is available on the DV Studio web site at www.dv-studio.com 

The Panasonic DVD-RAM/R drive begins shipping to OEMs and channel partners in Q2 and will be available in retail channels for less than $1,000.

About DV Studio Technologies, LLC
DV Studio Technologies, LLC provides DVD Creation (MPEG-2) and Video Streaming (MPEG-4) solutions as an OEM supplier and under its own Apollo trademark. The firm’s web site is www.dv-studio.com.  DV Studio Technologies, LLC is located in Yorba Linda, California.

About Panasonic
Panasonic is the best known brand name of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), a world leader in electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. Panasonic has introduced some of the world's most innovative DVD products to the market including portable DVD players with a built-in LCD screen, DVD-Audio players, DVD video and DVD-Audio players for automobiles, TV/DVD/VCR systems and DVD-RAM drives. Additional information on Panasonic and Matsushita Electric is available at www.panasonic.com.

For more information on the Panasonic DVD-RAM/R OEM drive and media, contact Panasonic Industrial Company, 1600 McCandless Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035; 408.945-5600, FAX 408.262-4214, E-mail berzind@panasonic.com.  Or, visit the company's Web site at www.panasonic.com/oemdvd-ram.  For more information on Panasonic-branded DVD-RAM/R drives and DVD media, contact Panasonic Digital Document Company, Two Panasonic Way 7D-8, Secaucus, NJ 07094 800-742-8086, www.panasonic.com/storage or E-mail vidalc@panasonic.com.  In Canada, contact Panasonic Canada, Ambler Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 2T3, Canada; (905) 238-2254, FAX (905) 238-2414, E-mail rkwong@panasonic.ca.

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DV Studio Technologies, LLC is not a part or in any way legally affiliated with Panasonic Industrial Company.  Panasonic Industrial Company assumes no responsibility for the performance of or customer satisfaction with DV Studio products.  All company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.