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Philips introduces new Blu-ray Disc products and media - the ultimate consumer storage platform for high definition entertainment (26/1/2006)

Philips Electronics, a world leader in optical storage and a founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, announced the introduction of a Blu-ray Disc consumer electronic player (BDP 9000), an all-in-one PC Writer (TripleWriter(tm)) and new Blu-ray media (BD-R and B-RE, single layer 25 GB1 and dual layer BD-R and BD-RE 50 GB) today at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Both the BDP9000 consumer player and the TripleWriter (SPD7000) will be available in the second half of 2006.

Philips' new Blu-ray solutions offer consumers the ultimate storage platform for high definition (HD) entertainment and digital archiving, providing consumers the ability to store massive amounts of content on a single disc. Additionally, Blu-ray Disc is the next generation platform for HD playback of video content and will be supported by most of the major movie studios and other content providers.

The new solutions from Philips will help fuel the growth of Blu-ray as the next generation HD format for both PC and Video platforms. The new technology provides consumers with the highest quality level of HD content: not matched by any other HD video source. Blu-ray Disc has the support and technological innovation behind it to be the industry leader and is supported by more than 160 of the world's largest gaming manufacturers, movie studios, consumer electronics and PC manufacturers.

"As consumers worldwide gain access to HDTV, they will demand the ability to record their favorite programming in HD quality. With more and more consumers enjoying HD content at home, it is important that Philips provides them with a simple solution to record and playback their favorite programs in HD quality," said Scott Levitan, vice president of marketing and sales, Philips Consumer Electronics, North America. "The introduction Blu-ray Disc offers consumers an additional way to enjoy HD content, widening their choice of HD quality content to view when they want. With the current amount of support from studios and manufacturers, consumers can be sure that the future of optical recording lies with Blu-ray."

The next generation in data storage and recording Blu-ray Disc is the most advanced optical storage standard that satisfies next-generation requirements in terms of storage capacity, data speeds, copy protection, interactivity, convenience and cost. Blu-ray Disc technology is based on blue lasers, rather than the red laser used with CDs and DVDs. This allows for a much sharper laser focus, smaller pits on the disc and a huge increase in storage capacity.

Blu-ray Disc is the only recording format with the capacity of 25 GB on a single-layer disc and 50 GB on a dual layer disc. Providing massive storage capacity, Blu-ray Disc enables the playback of full-length feature movies using high definition MPEG2 encoding - the native compression technique for HDTV broadcasts - or even more capacity with advanced codes such as AVC. Through Blu-ray Disc, consumers can enjoy enough storage for nine hours of HD movies, 23 hours of standard definition content or 72 CDs on a single disc.

Blu-ray Disc has sufficient capacity to include bonus materials and interactive sessions for an unparalleled entertainment experience. For PC users, archiving photographs, video or other data on the hard disk, Blu-ray Disc is the only recordable/re-writable format that provides such a quantum leap in optical storage capacity and gives a seamless experience between PC and CE environments. Additionally, Blu-ray Disc is based on today's most advanced technological breakthroughs and offers full backwards compatibility.

For further convenience, Philips introduces four robust and easy-to-use disc types: 25 and 50 GB versions of BD-R and BD-RE. The Blu-ray Disc has a revolutionary protective cover layer utilizing an advanced hard coating technology, offering superior robustness, better than CD and DVD. This coating prevents fingerprints and scratches and will provide ease of use by improving cleansibiliity without the risk of damaging.

Philips new TripleWriter PC drive

The new Philips TripleWriter (SPD7000) showcases Philips' ability to integrate PC products and technologies into the consumer electronics realm. The drive features recording and playback capabilities of all popular optical storage formats including CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc, which allows users to select their media of choice depending on the preferred application.

Philips' TripleWriter features a 2x (72 Mb/s continuous data-rate) read and write speed on BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE media. The drive reads and writes a variety of legacy media including CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD+RW and DVD-RW. Additionally, Philips will launch four types of discs (BD-R and BD-RE, single layer 25 GB and dual layer BD-R and BD-RE 50 GB) together with the introduction of the TripleWriter. The TripleWriter can be built into any PCD featuring S-ATA interface.

Both the BDP9000 consumer player and the TripleWriter (SPD7000) will be available in the second half of 2006.

www.philips.com