Panasonic Claims Blu-ray Victory

A senior Panasonic executive has said that the HD format war is over and Blu-ray has won the format battle. He also said that while Panasonic is a leader in the plasma market it has set to expand their LCD TV offerings. In Australia Panasonic has taken to air freighting plasma TVs following the success of their recent advertising campaign.

A senior Panasonic executive has said that the HD format war is over and Blu-ray has won the format battle. He also said that while Panasonic is a leader in the plasma market they are set to expand their LCD TV offerings.

Joseph Taylor, a Vice President at Panasonic in the USA told TWICE Magazine "I'm giving a very politically incorrect answer. I think the battle is over. I think Blu-ray has won."

He said there are two "determining factor[s] ... Who did the content providers select? At the moment, overwhelmingly, the content providers have selected Blu-ray. What are consumers buying? Since the beginning of the year content [sales have been] almost two to one for Blu-ray."

Taylor added, "There may be some noise for a little while, but in the end I think Blu-ray will be the technology that wins the battle."

With so much of Panasonic's emphasis on plasma in the last few years, when asked if the company is comfortable being the leading plasma TV market share leader, while surveys show a trend towards LCD in flat-panels, Taylor remarked, "We are never comfortable and hope we never become comfortable (with the status quo). Really the marketplace will decide which flat panel they prefer."
Joseph Taylor

He noted, "We are in a unique position because we just don't just provide plasma but LCD. In this unique position we can do what our customers need us to do."

In discussing Panasonic's emphasis on plasma in recent years, Taylor said plasma is the centerpiece of the company's strategy to drive sales of high definition devices but, "We are not just pushing plasma ... We are saying 'flat panel' because we are also a major manufacturer of LCD products as well."

In Australia Panasonic are set to roll out a new range of 100Hz LCD TV's however stock will be tight says Panasonic Managing Director Steve Rust" Our recent advertising campaign for plasma has been stunningly succesful and we are now airfreighting stock to meet demand".