Good vision as good business

In the ancient ’80s (yeah, the era of The A-Team and MacGyver), the technology for television was in a sort of Stone Age, so to speak. I remember the blasted TV set we had: the colors were so muddled a green and violet B.A. Baracus fought crime alongside Col. Hannibal Smith whose epidermis had yellowish streaks. Sometimes, it conked out completely, or took a good half an hour before you could see images. By then, Don Johnson’s white pants would already be smeared with the blood of a Miami thug, or Norm already left his seat at the Cheers pub. Drat!

Thankfully, the boys in the lab never let up in their quest to give us entertainment junkies better images, better sounds and better, well, entertainment. This was (and still is) the vision of the brains (marketing, as well as research and development) in appliance companies. These days, if you have the right TV set, it is not surprising to see a couple watching the skies on the beach and then the night rainbow appears. The rainbow is so vivid, you get the urge to don a grass skirt and dance to the tune of My Blue Hawaii under it.

Panasonic – an appliance company that is always "looking to the future with confidence" by coming up with new products – recently launched the new Viera Plasma and LCD TVs at the Harbor Garden, Westin Philippine Plaza.

The Viera line boasts "8.6 billion colors with remarkable freshness, vividness and depth." (So, watching Liquid TV today would probably be like watching a Jackson Pollock painting move.) It also has the Viera Color Management System that helps deliver superior gradation, brilliant color and crystal-clear images with crisp detail. (Imagine watching Mr. T now and seeing the vivid chrome colors of his necklaces and earrings.) Another feature is the G8 Plasma Panel, which lets viewers enjoy "deep, rich blacks and bright, sharp images with stunning contrasts."

Aside from the crisp, clear images that the Viera line offers, another key feature is the Versatile Digital Networking – the SD/PC card slots. Users can view images from a digital camera on the TV set; record their favorite television programs directly onto an SD memory card (then take the card anywhere and watch the program using an SD viewer); and even connect the TV set to a personal computer for a kick-ass PC monitor.

Panasonic also launched the Lumix digital still cameras. An eye-catching model is the 4.0-megapixel DMC-LS1, which has the MEGA OIS or Omega Image Stabilizer (a Panasonic original), which eliminates spoiled or blurred shots due to hand-shake – the digital photographer’s biggest enemy. The image processing LSI Venus Engine has also been upgraded to the newly developed Venus Engine Plus, which achieves about 50 percent low-energy consumption while providing even higher image quality and quick response.

Of course, coming up with the latest technology is a race – a fast one at that. But what makes Panasonic’s business philosophy different from the other companies?

"We have always relied on key technologies," says Hiroyuki Iwaki, Panasonic Philippines marketing director. He adds that the company sticks to the requirements of the users. "For cameras, the key is picture quality, so what we did was collaborate with German company Leica. We never sacrifice quality. Our products have always been user-friendly." The user-friendliness of the appliances is key to the success of Panasonic, he reiterates.

The newly appointed president of Panasonic, Rene Almeda, considers the latest products a fusion of "technology and art." Or, according to one observer, a combination of "good vision and good business."