Panasonic Maps The Course Of High Definition By Studying How Real Families Enjoy HD Lifestyles

Today Panasonic announced that it is looking for more families to participate in its Living in HD program, a unique study of real American families experiencing what it means to “live in High Definition.” Panasonic plans to increase the number of participating families to 60 by 2009 and further expand the growing online Living in HD community to eventually include 100 families.

To date, 30 families are participating in the program, providing ongoing feedback to Panasonic about product functionality, design concepts and how living in High Definition has influenced how they think and use technology.

The company will outfit the new families with a full suite of HD products, including a 50” VIERA Plasma Internet-enabled HDTV, HD Camcorder, LUMIX Digital Camera, Network Camera, Blu-ray Disc player, Toughbook® mobile computer, photo printer, home theater system and Nintendo Wii console. Panasonic invites everyone who is interested in participating in the Living in HD program to apply online at http://www.panasonic.com/livinginhd/register.htm

“The Living in HDprogram has established in-home ‘life laboratories’ that study how Panasonic’s High Definition products impact the lifestyle of our participating families,” said Bob Greenberg, vice president of brand marketing for Panasonic. “As we continue to add families to the program, we are able to provide our research team with an expanded data set of product feedback to incorporate into future Panasonic product designs.”

As part of this expansion, Panasonic has re-launched the Living in HD Web site, www.LivinginHD.com. The new site features an introduction to all 30 families currently participating in the program, information about the suite of High Definition products given to the families to use as part of the study and an online mobile tour that allows users to virtually experience Panasonic’s HD products.

In the “Meet the Community” section, visitors can find out more about each Living in HD family and how their lives have changed since joining the study. Each family is profiled and offers information from their personal experiences, including the product they have become most proficient at using, video moments they have captured with their HD equipment and ways in which the Living In High Definition program has affected their lives. The site also offers insight into the families’ lives and illustrates why there is more to living in High Definition than simply having an HDTV.

Over the next few months, the Living in HDWeb site will continue to expand to include more content from the families about how they are incorporating their HD products into their family vacations and summer adventures. One of the families - the Seaman’s of Gray, Tennessee - are about to embark on the ultimate summer vacation with a trip to the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing. Panasonic invited all families in the program to submit essays and/or videos about why their family should experience the Olympic Games in High Definition. The Seaman family won because of their creative use of video and explanation of how they will use their HD camcorder and digital camera to document their experience at the Games and then share it on the Living in HD Web site.

Panasonic welcomes all types of families – from a mother and father with children to a group of co-workers – but all entries must explain why they should be selected and what makes them special or unique. Throughout the program, Panasonic will evaluate the families’ experiences to understand how their lives are transformed as they become aware of the full potential of High Definition technology.

In the fall, Panasonic will launch the next phase of the Living in HD study by adding a social networking element to the Web site that will enable the participating families across the country to communicate with each other and with other consumers. The Web site will serve as a forum for participants to discuss their experiences and offer tips to consumers about purchasing and using High Definition products.