Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) is one of the largest manufacturers of TVs worldwide. As such we have been closely involved with the migration from analogue to digital in the broadcast arena, and recognise the need for standardisation of formats and APIs. Our leading role in the development and promotion of Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) means that we have an overview of the development and potential synergy of the digital technologies related to three major delivery systems: broadcast, network and package media (e.g. optical disk). As a result, Matsushita already is participating in a number of standardisation arenas which intersect with this W3C initiative - the DVD consortium, DVB, ATSC, ARIB, DAVIC, etc.

The next generation of mass consumer devices will exploit combinations of the various delivery systems in order to deliver compelling information and applications to consumers. As a consumer electronics company, Matsushita understands the need to deliver services to end users in the most convenient manner and through simple user interfaces. It is one of the fundamental challenges to the industry to continue to preserve ease of access while the complexity, volume and scope of the delivered applications and services is increasing. The need to achieve this through agreed, standard formats and interfaces is apparent.

Matsushita naturally sees the World Wide Web as a major component in the delivery of these new services. We have been researching the effective deployment of Web contents in consumer devices such as digital TV. However a considerable amount of work remains to be carried out if we are to achieve the quality of presentation, universality of access and ease of interaction which characterises the world of television. Issues such as display resolution, user interface paradigms and the effect of limited hardware resources all have an impact upon this work.

It is therefore important to examine the role of HTML/XML and other Web content formats in relation to display and interaction through the medium of home consumer electronics devices. Also the relationship between Web content and existing or emerging broadcast/package content format standards such as MPEG-2 and MHEG-5/6 needs to be examined and closely defined, in order to avoid dangerous divergence in differing marketplaces. Services conforming to these standards are already in existence, and many more will come into being in the near future. Coexistence and transcoding issues are therefore also worthy of attention. Matsushita is actively working in these areas.