The Briefing Room

CT CBS Affiliate WFSB-TV Eyewitness News 3 shoots news with Panasonic AG-HPX300 P2 HD camcorders.

SECAUCUS, NJ (December 17, 2009) – Hartford-New Haven, CT CBS affiliate WFSB-TV Eyewitness News 3 recently took delivery of eight Panasonic AG-HPX300 P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorders as part of its ongoing transition to tapeless newsgathering. The station had already begun shooting news, a daily magazine show and HD promos with Panasonic AG-HPX500 and AG-HVX200A P2 HD camcorders.

WFSB-TV, the market leader in local news and highly esteemed for its coverage of breaking stories statewide, is owned by the Meredith Broadcast Group. Last year, Panasonic Broadcast announced that it has signed an agreement with Meredith Broadcast to supply P2 HD solid-state camcorders group-wide to its 12 stations producing local news.

Prior to upgrading to solid-state P2 HD camcorders, WFSB-TV had been shooting news with Panasonic DVCPRO tape-based models. Currently equipped with the eight HPX300s, four HPX500s and two HVX200As, the station has assigned seven HPX300s to ENG and one HPX300 to the production of “Better Connecticut,” a one-hour magazine-style show devoted to “living tips and local living” that airs at 10 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. Three HPX500s are assigned to ENG and the fourth to shooting station promos. With the addition of the HPX300s, the two HVX200As have been reassigned to the promotions department. WFSB’s complement of 16 news photographers shoots more than 30 hours of local news weekly.

“The HPX300 is the ideal ENG camera,” said WFSB News Media Manager Frank Glowski. “Especially now that P2 cards offer expanded capacity and reduced cost, the two-slot HPX300 represents an affordable way to migrate to P2 newsgathering with a full-size broadcast package. It shoots a really nice picture and is solid overall, comfortable to use and attractively priced.”

WFSB edits news with Aurora Edit and Edius 5.1.2, and edits promotions with Avid Media Composer. The station uses Grass Valley’s K2 servers for ingest and playout.

“We consider P2 media the most resilient in the industry, and count on P2’s non-moving parts reliability,” Glowski said. “With the combination of the HPX300s and HPX500s for ENG, we know we have some of the very best broadcast gear on the streets, which we feel is commensurate with our standing as the market leader.”

About WFSB-TV

WFSB TV is Connecticut’s most watched television station and is owned and operated by Meredith Broadcasting. Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; http://www.meredith.com) is one of the nation’s leading media and marketing companies with businesses centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media. Meredith owns or operates 12 television stations that reach nearly 10 percent of television households across the country and one radio station: WGCL-TV (CBS), Atlanta; KPHO-TV (CBS), Phoenix; KPDX-TV (MyNetwork), Portland, OR; KPTV (FOX), Portland, OR; WFSB-TV (CBS), Hartford-New Haven, CT; WSMV-TV (NBC) Nashville, TN; KCTV (CBS), Kansas City, MO; KSMO (MyNetwork), Kansas City, MO; WHNS-TV (FOX), Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC-Asheville, NC; WNEM-TV (CBS), Flint-Saginaw, MI; KVVU-TV (FOX), Las Vegas, NV; TN; WSHM, (CBS), Springfield, MA; and radio station WNEM-AM in Saginaw-Bay City, MI. For more information about WFSB-TV Eyewitness News 3, visit www.wfsb.com.

About the AG-HPX300

The new AG-HPX300 is the world’s first affordable 10-bit, 4:2:2 professional HD camcorder, featuring individual frame AVC-Intra recording, native 2.2-megapixel imagers and variable frame rates. Incorporating an innovative, low profile shoulder mounted design, the 1/3” AG-HPX300 P2 HD camcorder offers the flexibility of interchangeable lens but comes standard with a 17x HD Fujinon lens. The HPX300 imager incorporates advanced 1/3” 2.2-megapixel 3-MOS technology to acquire full native resolution HD images. With a redesigned optical block and a high-precision prism bonding technology, these advanced 3-MOS imagers provide exceptional image quality while minimizing any flare or chromatic aberration. A new 20-bit digital signal processor (DSP) also enhances the HPX300’s image performance. Delivering the impressive quality of AVC-Intra 100 and AVC-Intra 50, the HPX300 also records individual frame images in 100Mbps DVCPRO HD and in standard definition in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV. For more information on the HPX300, visit www.panasonic.com/P2HD.

About the AG-HPX500

The AG-HPX500 teams the full production-quality of 2/3” 3-CCDs, DVCPRO HD, 4:2:2 sampling and independent frame encoding with the versatility of interchangeable lenses and the creativity of variable frame rates. Offering the highly popular features of the incredibly successful AG-HVX200 P2 HD hand-held camcorder but with many new enhancements, the 8.2-pound HPX500 features progressive 2/3” 3-CCDs that provide a larger light receiving area resulting in increased resolution and sensitivity, superb low-light performance and wide dynamic range. The HPX500 records in 32 high definition and standard definition formats, including 1080i and 720p in production-proven, 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD. The HPX500 records on removable P2 solid-state memory cards in 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p; in 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, and 24p; and in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV. For more information on the HPX500, visit www.panasonic.com/P2HD.

About P2 HD

P2 HD all solid-state products offer high definition recording without the mechanical wear and environmental limitations of tape, hard disk, and optical disc based systems. P2 HD ensures the highest reliability, especially in challenging conditions of extreme temperature range, shock, and vibration. P2 HD products provide a significant reduction in maintenance costs, longer useful product life, and immediate access to recorded video (no need to digitize, ingest or create proxy video files) and metadata. P2 HD provides the reliability of solid-state production; the immediate connectivity to existing IT infrastructures; the speed, ease of use and portability of P2 cards; and the interoperability with leading NLE systems.

About Panasonic Broadcast

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a Unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC) and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.

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Editorial Contacts:

Stacy Moore Pat Lamb

(201) 392-4458 (518) 692-8150

moorest@us.panasonic.com patalamb@aol.com