Panasonic will open a testing laboratory Friday for Blu-ray Disc content in Hollywood.
The center will verify whether the Blu-ray Disc content of providers like movie studios meets technical specifications and can be played on a range of Blu-ray Disc hardware, the company said. Panasonic said at present there is no way to do this before discs are replicated.
The new center will be operated by Panasonic Corp. of North America and located within the existing Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory.
Panasonic is one of the major backers of Blu-ray Disc and sits alongside companies like Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on the committee that sets the format. The number of Blu-ray Disc players in the U.S. grew slowly last year as did those for the rival HD DVD format. However Blu-ray Disc got a boost in November when Sony’s PlayStation 3 went on sale.
In the U.S. Panasonic has been selling the DMP-BD10 Blu-ray Disc player and a companion home theater system since last year.
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