[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    APRIL 12, 2002, GRAND OPENING OF PANASONIC'S DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 
                           RESEARCH FACILITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 10, 2002

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
Panasonic for the April 12, 2002 grand opening at Hollywood's Universal 
Studios of a center that consolidates and expands Panasonic's R&D 
efforts to develop next-generation digital video compression 
technologies for the entertainment industry. This proximity to the 
entertainment community will result in new and better products for 
American consumers, while reinforcing Hollywood's preeminent position 
as the center of the global entertainment industry.
  Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd., best known by its brand 
name Panasonic, and a worldwide leader in the development and 
manufacture of electronics products for consumer, business, and 
industrial needs, has a long record of close cooperation with Hollywood 
in developing new digital technologies for the studios, ranging from 
next generation optical disc development to advanced technologies for 
digital cinema and broadband distribution. Matsushita Electric 
established its High-Definition Telecine Center on the Universal 
Studios lot in 1993 with the mission of converting film-based content 
to High Definition video. Today HDTC is a leading high-definition 
center--digitally converting, restoring, and enhancing film for 
theatrical, cable and home video purposes.
  In 1996, on the same lot, the company opened the Digital Video 
Compression Center, a pioneering DVD authoring center. The DVCC 
currently authors numerous studio titles and provides video 
compression, complex special editions, and multi-angle/multi-story 
authoring capabilities. Five years later, Panasonic Hollywood Lab, a 
division of Panasonic Technologies Company, opened a research center to 
develop next-generation digital video compression and technologies for 
broadband distribution of video and other digital content. The new 
center, under the direction of Mr. Masayuki Kozuka, now will add a 
digital image evaluation facility to its areas of focus. Here industry 
professionals will interact with lab engineers to evaluate High 
Definition image quality for digital cinema, digital TV and next-
generation optical disks, as well as highly compressed imaging for 
future mobile devices.
  On this important occasion, my special congratulations go to Sukeichi 
Miki, chief technology officer and senior managing director of 
Matsushita Electric; Kazuo Toda, senior managing director of Matsushita 
Electric; Don Iwatani, chairman and CEO of Matsushita Electric 
Corporation of America (Panasonic); Dr. Paul Liao, president and COO of 
Panasonic Technologies Company and vice president and chief technology 
officer for Matsushita Electric Corporation of America; and Ron Meyer, 
president and COO, Universal Studios. I am very proud to have this 
important digital technology research facility in my district, adding 
to Hollywood's recognized leadership in the entertainment industry.

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