Panasonic has reached an agreement with the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co Ltd (BOB) on the use of its DVCPRO P2 HD series with solid-state memory and newsgathering systems for broadcasting as the official video recording equipment for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Panasonic's DVCPRO HD was adopted in May 2006 as the official recording format for the Beijing Olympic Games. All international video delivered from the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) — to be completed in Beijing in June 2008 — to the rights-holding broadcasters around the world will be produced and distributed in 1080/50i full high-definition (HD) format.

HD video equipment was also used during the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, but only on a limited scale, accounting for about 40 percent of the production. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be recorded and broadcast entirely with HD systems, a first in the history of the Olympic Games.

Panasonic's digital broadcasting technologies, which have been used as the official recording format in eight Olympiads, starting with the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, will continue their contribution to recording video of the Olympic Games in the HD era. Panasonic is expected to provide 250 recorders, 100 camcorders, and 1,500 monitors for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games related businesses.

"Video has played a vital role in the development of the Olympic Movement," said Tadao Shimozuru, director of professional AV systems business unit, Systems Business Group, Panasonic AVC Networks Company. "Panasonic has been contributing to the recording of Olympic Games as an Official Worldwide Olympic Partner since Calgary 1988.”

“The Beijing 2008 will be the first Olympic Games in which everything will be broadcast from the venues in high definition," said Manolo Romero, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting's CEO. "Approximately 20-25 percent of residential TV sets are either high definition or 16:9 wide screen, which means that we will televise in the highest technical standard available, but many people around the world will see it in the format of 4:3 television sets. For those people who have the upgraded sets, they will enjoy a great viewing advantage."