Dem Convention: Panasonic HD takes Center Stage

A trio of Panasonic 103-inch plasma HD screens is quite literally helping set the stage for this week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver. The three huge HD screens make up part of the convention stage’s sleek multipanel backdrop that has been carrying video, logos, artwork and still images of the party’s candidates and other personalities during the four-day event, which ends on Aug. 28.

Panasonic, designated prior to the convention by the Democratic National Convention Committee as the “Official HDTV and High Definition Equipment Provider,” said the DNCC’s commitment was to present the most extensive HD content ever created at a national political convention. As a result, the manufacturer said it was given carte blanche to roll out as many HD venues as it could, inside the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver.

Panasonic said its on-site HD hardware includes 200 of its Viera-brand plasma HD sets in various sizes, more than 50 HD camcorders and digital SLR cameras, 40 HD production monitors, two portable HD projectors, as well as the mammoth on-stage monitors situated behind the speaker’s podium.

As a result, Panasonic said, this week’s convention is being viewed in HD at home via various networks’ coverage, on the Internet, and by the convention delegates themselves inside the convention hall.