LAS VEGAS -- Nov.
14, 2000 -- Panasonic has announced that Compaq Computer Corporation
will offer a 4.7GB Panasonic DVD-RAM drive option with Presario 7000
Series desktop PCs, Compaq Deskpro Workstations and Compaq Professional
Workstations. With the rewritable DVD drive, businesses, content developers
and consumers have a single solution for feature-length video production
and delivery applications, system back-up/recovery, secondary storage,
as well as rich multimedia content development and video playback features.
The DVD-RAM drive
can also be used as a 24x CD reader and for playback of DVD video, DVD-ROM
and DVD-R discs. Offering seven times the capacity of a CD and 100 times
the write/rewrite cycles, the 4.7GB DVD-RAM single-sided media can store
up to two hours of theater-quality video or more than 400,000 documents
for a storage cost of only $.005/MB.
"Providing the
4.7 GB of DVD-RAM option will enable Compaq customers to extend their
storage capacity to that of a full-length feature film," said Keith
Lefebvre, Director, Product Marketing, Commercial Personal Computing
Group, Compaq Computer Corporation. "The Panasonic DVD-RAM drive's rewritability,
as well as its random-read and random-write capabilities, allow it to
function like a hard drive but with a much lower storage cost to consumers."
The Panasonic DVD-RAM
drive will be offered with the following Compaq products:
Compaq
Presario 7000 Series desktop PCs
Compaq's Presario 7000 series of broadband-ready desktop PCs provide
home and home office users with the high performance computing needed
when using the latest games, business software and multimedia applications.
Some models include a complete digital movie making package, MyMovieSTUDIO
with Studio DV Software, which features a user friendly drag and drop
digital editing solution for capturing digital video. Users can personalize
their digital videos with titles, narration and special effects, and
share them with family and friends on videotape. Finalized videos can
also be saved in DV format to a 4.7GB DVD-RAM disc to be emailed, posted
on the Web or used in presentations.
Deskpro
EN, EX, EXS Workstations
Offering easy
integration into enterprise environments, Compaq's Deskpro EN Series
is available with an Intel Pentium III 1 GHz processor. To provide the
flexibility that growing businesses and corporate enterprises require,
Compaq offers Deskpro EX models in either a desktop or mini-tower chassis.
The EX series features Intel Celeron and Pentium III processors with
speeds ranging from 566 MHz to 1 GHz and memory configurations up to
512 MB. The Deskpro EXS models feature similar configurations and options
available on the Deskpro EX models, but add the choice of a pre-installed
Microsoft Office application and include Norton AntiVirus software.
Deskpro
Professional Workstations
Designed for professionals who need the most powerful, dual-processor
capable workstation and industry-leading graphics, Compaq offers the
Professional Workstation SP750 with Intel Pentium III Xeon 1 GHz processors.
Compaq also incorporates Pentium III 1 GHz processors in its dual-processor-capable
Professional Workstation AP550; and in the Deskpro Workstation AP250
which features a single processor for budget-conscious customers.
"Compaq has an exciting multimedia development platform that will
optimize the performance and capabilities of our DVD-RAM drives as a
storage, post-production and video archiving solution." said Jeff
Saake, general manager of Panasonic Industrial Company's Computer
Technologies Group. "Compaq is the world's largest supplier of computing
systems, and we're very pleased to have our drives selected as the DVD
solution for their Presario 7000 Series desktop PCs and Deskpro workstations."
Panasonic Industrial Company's OEM DVD-RAM drive is available as an
internal drive with an ATAPI interface (model LF-D211N) or as a SCSI-2
interface (model LF-D291N). Available as an option in Compaq Deskpro
and Presario 7000 models, Panasonic DVD-RAM drives can be purchased
through Compaq's website, Partner Direct or agent programs.
The Panasonic-branded internal drive, model LF-D201U, is available from
Panasonic Document Imaging Company (PDIC) and has an MSRP of $549. Double-sided
9.4GB DVD-RAM media, 4.7GB single-sided media and 4.7GB bare disc media;
which is marketed under the Panasonic brand name, is also available
from several other leading manufacturers. The 4.7GB bare disc DVD-RAM
media can be played back on the latest Panasonic DVD-ROM drives, as
well as Panasonic's new DVD Player and DVD Recorder.
The Compaq Presario 7000 Series desktop PCs is available through Compaq's
Consumer PC Division and can be ordered at Compaq's "Built for You"
kiosks, via the web at http://www.compaq.com/.
Prices for Presario 7000 series desktop PCs start at $1,111.
Compaq Deskpro workstations and Deskpro professional workstations are
marketed by Compaq's Commercial PC and Workstation Division. Deskpro
EN, EX and EXS models are available thorough traditional Compaq sales
channels including resellers, agents and directly through Compaq's DirectPlus
Web site. Prices for the entry-level Deskpro EN Series models start
at $749 for a model equipped with an Intel Celeron 566 MHZ processor.
The EXS models are only sold direct through the DirectPlus Web site
or through Compaq's Partner Direct and agent programs with prices starting
at $699. Pricing for Compaq professional workstations start at $2,461
for a Deskpro Workstation AP250 model.
About
Panasonic
Panasonic is the best known brand name of Matsushita Electric Industrial
Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), a world leader in electronic and electric products
for consumer, business and industrial use. Panasonic has introduced
some of the world's most innovative DVD products to the market including
portable DVD players with a built-in LCD screen, DVD-Audio players,
DVD video and DVD-Audio players for automobiles, TV/DVD/VCR systems
and DVD-RAM drives. Panasonic's DVD expertise ranges from research and
development to the manufacture of DVD mastering and replication equipment.
In Los Angeles, its Digital Video Compression Corporation (DVCC) performs
DVD encoding, artistic authoring, and services for full-length motion
picture transfer. Torrance, California-based Panasonic Disc Services
Corporation (PDSC) performs pre-mastering, mastering and replication
of discs for DVD and DVD-ROM products. Additional information on Panasonic
and Matsushita Electric is available at http://www.panasonic.com/.
