NBC Universal Stations Standardize on Panasonic’s P2 HD

(Feb. 12, 2009) NEW YORK: NBC Universal’s 25 owned-and-operated TV stations and its cable networks will standardize on Panasonic’s P2 HD platform for electronic newsgathering, the gear maker said.

CNBC has already transitioned to P2 HD acquisition, shooting news with the HPX2000 camcorder, according to Panasonic Broadcast President John Baisley. Most of NBC’s and several of Telemundo’s O&Os have taken initial deliveries of the Panasonic HPX170 handheld camcorders, P2 mobile recorder/players and P2 Gear portable recorders. Panasonic said NBC Universal also plans to purchase “a large number” of its AJ-HPX300s, a new $10,700 broadcast-quality HD camcorder that will become available in March.

Baisley also said the Discovery Channel approved the use of several Panasonic P2 HD cameras for production, including the HPX3700, P2 HD Varicams, HPX 2700, and the HPX3000. Two more, the HPX500 shouldermount camcorder and HPX170 handheld cameras have also been approved “a wide range” of Discovery productions, he said.

More than half of the approximately 100,000 P2 units shipped since its introduction in 2004 have been U.S. customers, Baisley said. More than 330 TV stations have adopted the P2 format. (Courtesy of TV Technology