NEW SURVEY FORECASTS STRONG RECORDABLE DVD MARKET IN 2003.

According to a recent survey conducted by IDC and sponsored by Panasonic, consumers are expected to purchase some 16 million stand-alone and PC-attached DVD recorders in 2003, a near- threefold increase over 2002, that the study shows will be fueled by attractive pricing and a host of new features and functions -- from worry-free recording and defect management to simultaneous play/record and on-disc editing.

"DVD recording is at the threshold of mass adoption with consumers in the U.S. We expect stand-alone and PC-attached DVD recorder purchases to grow from six million in 2002 to 16 million in 2003," said Wolfgang Schlichting, IDC's Research Director, Removable Storage Research.

The IDC study, "DVD Applications and Usage Patterns," polled more than 1,000 consumers on their views on DVD recording and the factors influencing their purchase decisions. Among its key findings, the study showed that consumers clearly view DVD recording as a video application, and expressed overwhelming preference for a stand-alone unit over a PC-attached device. This held true, according to IDC's study, even for the purchase of a second unit. Additionally, over 80-percent of respondents felt they would view self-recorded DVD disks in their living rooms.

When ranking the importance of several DVD recorder product features and functions which influence purchase, 82 percent of respondents listed defect management (for worry-free recording) as the top feature, followed closely by compatibility with other players (80 percent) and the ability to simultaneously record one TV show while watching another (74 percent). Other desired features and functions included: the ability to record both video and still images on the same DVD disk (62 percent); video editing directly on a DVD recorder (62 percent); and PVR-like functionality, i.e., the ability to record a movie, show or sporting event while simultaneously watching the event from the beginning (58 percent).

The results of the May 2003 survey also illustrated that while consumers like the idea of compatibility with other units for playback, 82 percent of respondents who planned to record TV or video to DVD indicated they would watch self-recorded DVD discs in their own living room and more likely view the discs on the same unit in which they were recorded.

While the IDC survey does suggest that pricing and consumer lack of knowledge remain barriers to purchase, it clearly shows that adoption is on the rise and that consumers already understand the value proposition of the recorder as a greatly enhanced VCR replacement.

"As this survey shows, consumers have very specific ideas on what DVD recorders should do and the features these units should have," said Jeff Cove, Vice President, Alliances and Business Development for Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Corporation of America). "Some of these features are familiar to consumers, while others -- like Time Slip and Chasing Playback -- are new and unique to the DVD-RAM rewriteable format we've incorporated into all our recordable DVD products, from stand-alone recorders and camcorders to our DVDBurner II recordable computer drives. It's unique features and functions like these that we feel will help spark the surge in sales IDC predicts."

About Panasonic

Panasonic, a leader in the development of DVD technology, has launched some of the world's most innovative DVD products in the U.S. market. In 1997, the company changed the way consumers watched movies, with the introduction of the first DVD player to American households, and was the first to market in the U.S. with a DVD Recorder in 2000.

All Panasonic DVD Recorders employ both DVD-RAM and DVD-R formats to offer consumers features intrinsic to each format. For instance, DVD-RAM technology, with its high random access speed and robust defect management capabilities, makes such features as "Chasing Playback" -- the ability to record a movie or TV show while simultaneously watching the program from the beginning -- possible, while DVD-R provides the highest level of compatibility with legacy DVD players. An important feature of the DVD-RAM format is its robust defect management and error correction system which offers users worry-free performance, by more readily recording and reading through scratches and fingerprints on discs. The format's high-speed, random access read and write capabilities similarly allow the recorders to manage vast amounts of data required by today's digital applications.

Panasonic DVD products are marketed in the United States by various division sales companies of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd. (NYSE:MC) of Japan, one of the world's largest developers and producers of innovative electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use.

The complete IDC report can be found on the Panasonic Web site at: www.panasonic.com/recdvdstudy.

For more information, call 201/348-7182 or visit http://www.panasonic.com.