Panasonic and IBM to Showcase Next Generation Digital Entertainment Models at NAB

Technology Demonstration Showcases Benefits of CPRM Adoption

LAS VEGAS, NV - 24 Apr 2006: Panasonic, the brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) is best known, and IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM) demonstrated today for the first time a collaborative environment which enables next generation digital entertainment models at NAB 2006 in Las Vegas, NV. The companies have been working together to develop a standards-based ecosystem that will facilitate the implementation of “download and burn” entertainment models to consumer electronics devices that are SD Memory Card-enabled.
This technology demonstration combined leading-edge Panasonic digital entertainment devices and world-class IBM technology to showcase Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) opportunities throughout the world. Today Panasonic is already considered by many to be the leader in CPRM consumer devices throughout Japan, and is collaborating with IBM to build worldwide support for CPRM adoption.
The showcase includes new models that enable consumers to burn digital entertainment content obtained via the internet on physical media like SD Memory Cards; the ability to download and play content on SD Memory Card-enabled devices like mobile phones, TV’s with SD Memory Card capability, and other SD Memory Card-enabled devices; and IBM’s Media Hub framework that establishes a rich Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) ecosystem that helps clients take smart, evolutionary steps toward implementation of their SOA strategy in order to meet their business needs.
“Through this demonstration, Panasonic wants to focus on showing a total approach toward achieving an excellent mobile entertainment solution for the customer, and CPRM is an essential part of that,” said Tetsuro Homma, General Manager, SD Solution Group, Panasonic AVC Networks Company, the Matsushita Electric divisional company that is responsible for plasma TV, digital cameras, personal computers and other digital products. “IBM has the combination of technology, service experience, research and consulting know-how to help build worldwide support for CPRM adoption.”
“This joint initiative is consistent with Panasonic’s worldwide insistence on the highest quality in the customer’s entertainment experience, whether in HD Plasma TVs, where we are the U.S. market and technology leader, or in the mobile entertainment experience that will be demonstrated by Panasonic and IBM at the NAB Show,” added Dr. Paul Liao, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Panasonic Corporation of North America.
For the demonstrations at NAB 2006, Panasonic has been given access to IBM DMTS (Digital Media Transaction Services), a web service plug-in that enables the flow of entertainment content protected by CPRM technologies. In addition, IBM was given access to Panasonic’s broad line of SD Memory Card-enabled devices, some of which use SD-Audio and SD-Video specifications, in addition to new SD Memory Card-enabled devices, currently being evaluated for the use of CPRM functionality.
“IBM is building on our commitment to an open digital media framework,” said Dick Anderson, General Manager, IBM Media & Entertainment, Digital Media. “By working together with Panasonic on this type of advanced enterprise CPRM technology, we will enable people to leverage content in new and exciting ways.”
IBM and Panasonic will be demonstrating the joint solution throughout NAB 2006 at the IBM booth in the South Hall, #SU 2976.


About IBM
With 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate, IBM is the world’s largest information technology company. Over the past 45 years, IBM has extended its business solutions into entertainment and professional sports by combining real-time scoring, digital asset management, virtualization, and autonomic computing technologies with the expertise of the world’s largest IT consulting services organization. In 2005, IBM received an Emmy award for technical achievement in broadcasting. For more information on IBM, please visit: http://www.ibm.com

About Panasonic
Best known by its Panasonic brand name, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of $81.44 billion for the year ended March 31, 2005. The company’s shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, New York (NYSE: MC), Euronext Amsterdam and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company’s website at http://panasonic.co.jp/global/index.html.

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Jorge Alberni

IBM Media Relations

IBM

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