Panasonic Ready for Blu-ray 3D Full HD Production

Panasonic has opened a 3D laboratory in Universal City that will work towards developing a 3D Full HD (3D FHD) Blu-ray format for consumer Blu-ray 3D Home Theater products by 2010. Panasonic demonstrated a prototype of its Plasma 3D Full HD home theater system at CES this year which was a 3D-ready digital cinema projector with a 380-inch screen which included a 3D ready MPEG-4 AVC high profile encoder.

"Panasonic recognizes that for 3D FHD to succeed, just like Blu-ray, collaboration on research, development and production with studios and content providers is absolutely essential," said Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Managing Director of Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory. " Panasonic is working assiduously, with the cooperation of the Hollywood studios, to promote the 3D FHD system through standardization activities of the 3D format from the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The creation of the new PHL Authoring Center will enable Hollywood to start trial production and ultimately create commercially available 3D FHD titles to realize a new window into reality, and elevate the level of High Definition entertainment that consumers can enjoy in their own homes. We expect 3D FHD to become a reality by 2010."

The new Hollywood studios will also be providing 3D title development services for 3D FHD Blu-ray titles. Operations at the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory Advanced Authoring Center (PHL-AC) began February 1st, 2009.