Panasonic Exec: Blu-ray at Center of HD Universe

Lee Stewart · 08-02-2008, 02:36 PM

Panasonic Exec: Blu-ray at Center of HD Universe

Quote:

Author: ERIK GRUENWEDEL
egruenwedel@questex.com
Posted: August 1, 2008
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Eisuke Tsuyuzaki
As a charter member of the Blu-ray Disc Association and manufacturer of Blu-ray disc players, Panasonic was at the center of the format war with HD DVD and has been on the forefront ever since, promoting the next-generation-packaged media to consumers and retailers.

Riding shotgun throughout it all has been Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, VP of corporate development of Panasonic Corp. of America and GM of its Blu-ray Disc Group.

A fixture at conventions, conferences and trade shows, Tsuyuzaki isn’t just regurgitating marketing hype. He truly believes Panasonic has staked much of its consumer electronics success on widespread adoption of Blu-ray. To him, Blu-ray is much more than a new format; it is ground zero of a burgeoning high-definition universe.

Home Media Magazine checked in with Tsuyuzaki for a status report on the new home entertainment world order.

HM: The home entertainment industry and studios are putting a major emphasis on Blu-ray in the fourth quarter. How important is Blu-ray to Panasonic?
Tsuyuzaki: The question really is: How important is high-definition to Panasonic? As black-and-white went to color and analog is going to digital, everything around us is becoming high-definition. Big-screen TVs, camcorders and digital still cameras are all becoming high-definition enabled.

What I’ve always said is that Blu-ray completes high-definition. It not only ties together packaged media and laptops; it also does authoring, archiving and other things. Blu-ray has always been in the center of this HD universe.

So from a strategic point of view, it is critical to the health and growth of our industry.

HM: Are consumer electronics manufacturers doing enough to promote Blu-ray?
Tsuyuzaki: The CE industry has always focused on one product category at a time. To me, Blu-ray is not just another disc player. At Panasonic, we have this theme called “Living in High-Definition” to capture all of the CE products we are trying to do. We are giving [a high-def home experience] to 100 families across the United States for feedback. We are an official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, which is another HD event. We have four trucks running around the country at retail and certain events that demonstrate HD on 103-inch displays.

Working with the studios, because you need Blu-ray content, we’ve worked with Disney (mall tour, Sleeping Beauty BD Live gala) and 20th Century Fox at NASCAR events in California. We will continue to do more, as this fourth quarter will be a critical time because once you see [Blu-ray], you get it.

HM: Is the side-by-side visual display still the best tool to promote Blu-ray?
Tsuyuzaki: I think it is a very effective way. Once you have seen it — the picture, sound, interactive applications — the light bulb goes on and people get the “aha.”

HM: What is Panasonic doing in terms of point-of-purchase displays, kiosks and related efforts to sell/promote the new format?
Tsuyuzaki: We have Blu-ray endcaps at retail. Most of the marketing dollars are going into the retail environment and not just into generic promotions on awareness. We are putting our money at retail. The picture quality is a strong component of it. Another component is the 7.1 surround sound.

HM: Is BD Live the killer app to fuel Blu-ray adoption in the United States?
Tsuyuzaki: I wouldn’t call it the killer app. There are two types of Blu-ray. The profile 1.1 is so-called bonus view [picture-in-picture], which is for people who like the basic playback experience of DVD. The profile 2.0 BD Live is really another world on top of Blu-ray. Some people want it, some people don’t want it and others are trying to figure out what they want to do with it.

BD Live is a universe and not an application.

HM: Is it important that every Blu-ray player have BD Live capability?
Tsuyuzaki: No. Our current Panasonic offerings include a bonus view player and BD Live player. They are priced differently because they cater to slightly different segments of the market. Time will prevail. It is not designed that one [profile] will win. The format, unlike HD DVD, has two different versions. It’s not as if one is better than the other. It has two different flavors.

HM: Won’t marketing it like that be confusing to consumers?
Tsuyuzaki: That is more of a marketing job. And it depends how quickly we can bring forward this universe called BD Live. If that is not compelling enough, then it is going to flounder. By working with the studios, we think there is a compelling layer, and it is really for consumers to decide whether they really like it or they like their current [DVD-like] experience. We think you need to push the bar. As a manufacturer, we like to push the bar.

HM: What do you say to consumers who are satisfied with standard DVD? Is there enough of a difference to compel a transition from standard-DVD to Blu-ray?
Tsuyuzaki: When we had VHS, I was very happy with the state-of-the-art 20-inch televisions. When DVD came around, I think the state-of-the-art TV was 32 inches. What you are seeing now from our company is on average we sell 50-inch flat-screen TVs. People are buying flat-screen TVs by the millions. When you have such a big screen, and it is demonstrated correctly what that TV is capable of, then Blu-ray becomes a natural complement to that proposition.

To those people who say they are happy with standard DVD, when you are connected to a big-screen TV, the detail just isn’t there.

HM: You manufacture upconverting DVD players. Don’t they undercut the argument to buy Blu-ray?
Tsuyuzaki: Blu-ray is also an upconverting DVD player. Many people forget that Blu-ray plays back standard DVDs. Right now we cannot dismiss the impact of the standard-DVD market. But what I am seeing is that the DVD player is shifting to your second room, or den or bedroom. We are in a state of transition of formats, so DVD is primarily used in home-theater-in-a-box applications, in portable applications and DVD recorders. That’s where we still see DVD having some meaning.

We do sell DVD players, but for your living room, you are looking for a Blu-ray player. It’s as simple as that.

HM: Which of the current theatrical box office hit releases on Blu-ray will be most important: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, etc.? Any preference?
Tsuyuzaki: Titles will drive the business. There is no doubt about that. It is a symbiotic relationship with titles that will certainly help drive adoption. Hopefully it is not just the title, but what it can do for you. There will be a few titles at the end of the year that will have BD Live. I hope some will have 7.1-surround sound, which we haven’t fully demonstrated yet.

HM: Will there be a $250 Blu-ray player on the market by Christmas?
Tsuyuzaki: Is this an industry comment or Panasonic? (laughing) The right answer is that the retailer is going to decide that. What you are seeing already is that at $399, we can’t make enough Blu-ray players. We (Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer) all have been airfreighting for the last four months straight. The demand seems to be robust. I think we are on our way to sales of 3.5 million players. If you add that to cumulative year-to-date sales, that is a very healthy robust number going into mainstream adoption.

When it comes to mainstream, certain manufacturers will look at pricing. Last week, online blog site Endgadget said we smoked the competition. Hopefully, there is value in things like that.

HM: What’s your fourth-quarter prediction for Blu-ray?
Tsuyuzaki: Tremendous success. From a hardware point-of-view, I think there will be 20 million Blu-ray devices sold due to Sony’s PlayStation 3, players and laptops, which are an underserved area. As we transition toward HD, Blu-ray is going to complete the whole experience. It is inescapable.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/new...ticle_ID=13259

dsskid · 08-02-2008, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

Panasonic Exec: Blu-ray at Center of HD Universe

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/new...ticle_ID=13259

Thanks for the post Lee.

sigill · 08-02-2008, 02:48 PM

Thank's for the link Lee. A very interesting read. Look's like panasonic are putting all there egg's in one basket with blu-ray.

crazyal · 08-02-2008, 02:59 PM

Panasonic's name has limited itself from some areas of the home entertainment market. They do have HDTVs but that's a very competitive market. BD is still pretty open. I think they see it as if they take the lead they could find themselves as the ones to catch. Also not much else is open right now for them. Wasn't Panny also working on something like LG's BD/ Netflix player?

Bravestime · 08-02-2008, 03:02 PM

Sounds reassuring. If we can get out of the economic situation by next year, then blu-ray should have a great 2009.

**PFC5** · 08-02-2008, 04:02 PM

My first thought when I read this was that it was as much marketing as anything else.

I had an issue with his fluff reply about the different BD Profiles. Who would buy the 1.1 player over the 2.0 player if the price was the same and all else otherwise was equal?

I also thought when he said he saw SD DVD players moving to the bedrooms, and BD players being in the living rooms. That doesn't sound like America where I live since most people already HAVE SD DVD players in the bedrooms, and buying a BD player for just the living room would mean buying movies in two versions (SD & BD) to watch them in both. That is just NOT going to happen in my opinion until BD player prices are under the markets price point to get more than one ($100-150.00?). This is one of the main reasons I buy all the kids movies on SD DVD.

MOST people will not buy a new release in two separate versions so they can watch them anywhere. He mentions that SD DVD will be for the car, bedrooms etc, but the interviewer never asked about how they would lose the flexibility of watching a purchased BD anywhere but that living room. That should have been asked and addressed as part of their "strategy" IMO.

Does this Panasonic exec even live or spend enough time in the USA where we usually have a DVD player anywhere we have TVs? I get the impression he is a Japan based exec where this might not be as common as it could be in the USA. Maybe that type of use is also common in Japan but that would even make the case more so for those missing issues I had with this interview.

I agree that BD is great and this is WHY I own 2 BD players, but I feel some key points are missing from this interview myself that I would have liked to have been addressed.

crazyal · 08-02-2008, 05:04 PM

I would have loved to hear about how Panasonic is working on a 200 disc BD player that has the ability to output to wireless recievers throughout your house or using your router. Some way that one player could serve the whole house.

But as I said Panny's only got HDTVs and BD in the HD world so I would expect them to pump up BD.

Super XP · 08-02-2008, 11:17 PM

It sounds like the Blu-ray Disc Association is desperate. The interviewer was not asking the right questions.
Blu-Ray belongs in the living room? O.K. but I want to watch my BD’s in my bedroom or my kid’s room on my/her DVD player? Oh, you mean I have to fork over $1000 more for BD players?

PFC5 said it right.

**PFC5** · 08-02-2008, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyal

I would have loved to hear about how Panasonic is working on a 200 disc BD player that has the ability to output to wireless recievers throughout your house or using your router. Some way that one player could serve the whole house.

But as I said Panny's only got HDTVs and BD in the HD world so I would expect them to pump up BD.

But they do BOTH of those very well IMO. There is something to be said for concentrating on your strengths I think.

sigill · 08-03-2008, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bravestime

Sounds reassuring. If we can get out of the economic situation by next year, then blu-ray should have a great 2009.

I think this winter is vitally important due to the big releases. I also think 2009 has to be the year for for Blu ray to make a serious impact. If it doesn't it may be time to start worrying.

Bravestime · 08-03-2008, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigill

I think this winter is vitally important due to the big releases. I also think 2009 has to be the year for for Blu ray to make a serious impact. If it doesn't it may be time to start worrying.

Totally agree.

The_Omega_Man · 08-03-2008, 04:42 PM

I like the attitude that SD DVD is important too! BD Rah, Rah, Rah, but good old DVD is still paying the bills as of today!

I also wonder if 3.5 million BD SA player sales is only from Panasonic to the retailers or to the customers!?!

**PFC5** · 08-03-2008, 05:09 PM

I find it highly improbable that they are airfreighting all the players because they cannot make them fast enough. Maybe it is true, but they show no proof which is WHY I believe it is improbable.

I guess if these companies start releasing hard numbers we will see they were right, but I will have healthy skepticism myself until the HARD numbers are released, and consider this just marketing hype for the format.

Don't get me wrong, they NEED marketing hype to get a new format going, but I wanted to just point out this part that I have trouble with.

**kamspy** · 08-03-2008, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyal

I would have loved to hear about how Panasonic is working on a 200 disc BD player that has the ability to output to wireless recievers throughout your house or using your router. Some way that one player could serve the whole house.

But as I said Panny's only got HDTVs and BD in the HD world so I would expect them to pump up BD.

HTPC + $70 original Xbox with a little mod work = BD in every room

*add $70 for each additional room.

There are all kinds of different media center boxes that are HD compatible. I just used the original Xbox in this example.

It's not so hard.

ssjLancer · 08-03-2008, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Omega_Man

I also wonder if 3.5 million BD SA player sales is only from Panasonic to the retailers or to the customers!?!

I think he's including every other manufacturer, at the very least Sony and Pioneer.

Quote:

We (Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer) all have been airfreighting for the last four months straight. The demand seems to be robust. I think we are on our way to sales of 3.5 million players.

Interesting thing about airfreighting. That goes in line with the comments from crutchfield.

Quote:

“We had been out of Samsung’s [earlier model] BD-P1400 for several months, and our sales went up significantly when we got the BD-P1500 in stock,” said Rick Souder, Crutchfield’s executive VP of merchandise. “We also have back orders for some of the products that aren’t out yet, including Sony. Our overall view is demand continues to exceed supply.”

08-02-2008, 02:48 PM	#3
sigill High Def fan Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: United kingdom-Manchester Age: 30 Posts: 2,510	Thank's for the link Lee. A very interesting read. Look's like panasonic are putting all there egg's in one basket with blu-ray. __________________ Panasonic 37" LCD 720p/1080i Sony BDP-S350 Sony BDP-S300 Toshiba XDE-500 DVD player Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 AVR KEF1005.2 speakers Latest HD movies bought - Coraline - American Gangster - Moonraker 97 Blu-rays

08-02-2008, 02:59 PM	#4
crazyal Smarter than the ave bear Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,305	Panasonic's name has limited itself from some areas of the home entertainment market. They do have HDTVs but that's a very competitive market. BD is still pretty open. I think they see it as if they take the lead they could find themselves as the ones to catch. Also not much else is open right now for them. Wasn't Panny also working on something like LG's BD/ Netflix player? __________________ Please don't feed the Unicorns

08-02-2008, 03:02 PM	#5
Bravestime Supporter of HiDef Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Aiken, SC Age: 53 Posts: 4,414	Sounds reassuring. If we can get out of the economic situation by next year, then blu-ray should have a great 2009. __________________ Life is Short, Watch a Movie

08-02-2008, 04:02 PM	#6
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,057	My first thought when I read this was that it was as much marketing as anything else. I had an issue with his fluff reply about the different BD Profiles. Who would buy the 1.1 player over the 2.0 player if the price was the same and all else otherwise was equal? I also thought when he said he saw SD DVD players moving to the bedrooms, and BD players being in the living rooms. That doesn't sound like America where I live since most people already HAVE SD DVD players in the bedrooms, and buying a BD player for just the living room would mean buying movies in two versions (SD & BD) to watch them in both. That is just NOT going to happen in my opinion until BD player prices are under the markets price point to get more than one ($100-150.00?). This is one of the main reasons I buy all the kids movies on SD DVD. MOST people will not buy a new release in two separate versions so they can watch them anywhere. He mentions that SD DVD will be for the car, bedrooms etc, but the interviewer never asked about how they would lose the flexibility of watching a purchased BD anywhere but that living room. That should have been asked and addressed as part of their "strategy" IMO. Does this Panasonic exec even live or spend enough time in the USA where we usually have a DVD player anywhere we have TVs? I get the impression he is a Japan based exec where this might not be as common as it could be in the USA. Maybe that type of use is also common in Japan but that would even make the case more so for those missing issues I had with this interview. I agree that BD is great and this is WHY I own 2 BD players, but I feel some key points are missing from this interview myself that I would have liked to have been addressed. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

08-02-2008, 05:04 PM	#7
crazyal Smarter than the ave bear Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,305	I would have loved to hear about how Panasonic is working on a 200 disc BD player that has the ability to output to wireless recievers throughout your house or using your router. Some way that one player could serve the whole house. But as I said Panny's only got HDTVs and BD in the HD world so I would expect them to pump up BD. __________________ Please don't feed the Unicorns

08-02-2008, 11:17 PM	#8
Super XP Star Trek: The Movie! Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Toronto, ON. Canada Posts: 5,775	It sounds like the Blu-ray Disc Association is desperate. The interviewer was not asking the right questions. Blu-Ray belongs in the living room? O.K. but I want to watch my BD’s in my bedroom or my kid’s room on my/her DVD player? Oh, you mean I have to fork over $1000 more for BD players? PFC5 said it right. __________________ Toshiba Regza 46" HDTV (46RF350U) LCD 1080p/24p Toshiba HD-A35 / HD-A3 / XD-E500 LG GGC-H20L Super Multi / PC Drive Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 TrueHD/DTS HD MA Precision Acoustics™ 8Ch. Hi Def Loudspeaker Series DVD's = 200 = 130 = 10

08-03-2008, 04:42 PM	#12
The_Omega_Man Don't touch the remote! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Encino,CA Posts: 3,425	I like the attitude that SD DVD is important too! BD Rah, Rah, Rah, but good old DVD is still paying the bills as of today! I also wonder if 3.5 million BD SA player sales is only from Panasonic to the retailers or to the customers!?! __________________ Lvng Rm Sony KF50WE610 HDTV D* HR-21 HD DVR XA2 HD DVD Onkyo TX-NR905 JVC HR-S3500U S-VHS Hrmony One Energy Encore 5.1 Spkr Mstr Bdrm Tosh 46XF550U HDTV XA2 HD DVD D* HR-21 HD DVR Onkyo TX-SR606 Hrmony 659 Polk 5.1 Spkr Office Samy LNS3252D HDTV D* HR-20 HD DVR A2 HD DVD Sony RDR-HX715 DVD Rec. Fisher FVH-4910 VHS Onkyo TX-SR674 Psyclone PSC47 HDMI Sw. Hrmony 550 Polk RM6750 5.1 Spkr Gst Rm Samy UN46B7100 HDTV D* HR10 HD DVR XBOX360 Elite+HD DVD PS3 60GB Onkyo TX-SR704 Energy C-7 Spkr Hrmony 880

08-03-2008, 05:09 PM	#13
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,057	I find it highly improbable that they are airfreighting all the players because they cannot make them fast enough. Maybe it is true, but they show no proof which is WHY I believe it is improbable. I guess if these companies start releasing hard numbers we will see they were right, but I will have healthy skepticism myself until the HARD numbers are released, and consider this just marketing hype for the format. Don't get me wrong, they NEED marketing hype to get a new format going, but I wanted to just point out this part that I have trouble with. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

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