News & Commentary
Panasonic: Small Market For HDTV DVDs
Company president says standard DVDs will still dominate into 2008.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2006) -- The new High-Definition DVD market will be "small" at least for the next year, according to Panasonic President Martin Kono.

Kono made his comment at a recent Panasonic product display in New York. His remarks were reported by TWICE magazine.

“Pricing for HD DVD, at $499, and Blu-ray are relatively expensive. This is still a 'DVD world' and will probably continue to be through 2007 and into 2008, with the market for high definition discs being small," Kono said according to TWICE.

Sony's Blu-ray player, which is priced at $999, and Toshiba's HD-DVD have struggled during their launch year due to format differences and other issues. Many consumers are reluctant to buy the new players due to fears one could be driven out of business by the other.

In other Panasonic news, CEO Yoshi Yamada said the company would make approximately 5,000 units of its new 103-inch Plasma TV, which will be available this holiday season for $69,999.

Panasonic has already launched a 65-inch Plasma set, but Kono said the company has no plans to release a model in between 65 inches and 103 inches.

"We saw that 70-inch projection TVs never really sold. As for a 90-inch plasma, it doesn't make sense to me. For our manufacturing levels our bread and butter sets are below 60-inches," Kono said.

Swanni Sez:
Kono's comment is more evidence that the industry has concluded that the HDTV DVD industry is DOA. And unless Sony and Toshiba settle the format war, that may not change.

Click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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