MUMBAI: Panasonic, the brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is best known, and IBM Corporation has demonstrated for the first time a collaborative environment which enables next generation digital entertainment models at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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.
In an official statememt, Panasonic is 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, " said Homma.
"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 US market and technology leader, or in the mobile entertainment experience that will be demonstrated by Panasonic and IBM at the NAB Show," added Panasonic Corporation of North America VP and chief technology officer Dr. Paul Liao.
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. 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," said IBM Media & Entertainment, Digital Media general manager Dick Anderson.
