Digital TV: So close yet so far

Digital TV: So close yet so far

Philips, one of the world's top consumer product manufacturers,
invited members of the press from 16 countries in the Asia
Pacific, Middle East and Africa to Pulau Penang, Malaysia, from
May 3 to May 5 to get a glimpse of the company's vision and its
latest products. The Jakarta Post's Robert Soelistyo filed this
report.

PENANG, Malaysia (JP): While enjoying a digital TV show is now
quite common in many European countries and America, this is not
the case in many parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia.

In its efforts to bring Digital TV to the entire world,
Philips Consumer Electronics (PCE) has been introducing products
derived from the convergence of digital technologies.

This convergence in the fields of audio, video, communications
and information technology accounts for a whole range of new
products: DVD-Video players, digital television receivers,
Internet TV, personal Video Recorders, Home Theater, CD-
Recordable products and Universal Serial Bus (USB) equipment.

Some of these products, such as the digital and personal TVs,
did well in the European and U.S. markets but are slow in
appearing locally, because they need the support of service
providers/broadcasters to transmit the signals to the units, said
Christian Sudibyo, Philips' Singapore-based television marketing
manager for the Asia Pacific.

"Sometime ago we heard Philips would help the (Indonesian)
state-run TVRI renovate and develop its system with digital
technology," Darsin of Philips Electronics Indonesia said. "But
as of now, we don't know anything about the progress of this
report."

To enjoy full advantage of the latest television technology it
is suggested consumers purchase flat, large TV screens almost one
meter in diagonal, fully earning them the name "home cinema".

The wide-screen TV allows viewers to watch movies at home as
they were originally shown in cinemas. Just like at the cinema,
watching movies on wide-screen TVs makes viewers feel more
involved, and lets them see the movie "as the director intended".

"And because the viewers eyes see in 'wide-screen', watching
wide-screen television feels more natural," Christian added.

Plasma TV

This new generation flat-screen TVs delivers better quality in
both picture and sound. Although plasma technology is still in
its infancy, the black tones are real and yet detailed, and the
whites are brighter than ever before.

The sharpness has been increased dramatically compared with
previous plasma models, and the overall size of the set, with all
its electronics, has shrunk in line with consumer expectation.

Plasma television technology is still new and evolving. Each
year sees new plasma screens with improvements over previous
models, as well as cuts in their prices, Christian explained. "We
put the price globally at between US$11,000 and $12,000 per set."

The forthcoming 42PW9952 model is one of the very first fourth
generation plasma TV. It is so new that some bugs still need to
be ironed out before it is launched in October 1999. This in
itself is a unique feature, as Philips does not normally review
early preproduction Home Entertainment models.

Essentially, the new set is self-contained if it is used in
VGA computer with stereo sound capacity. However, home cinema
users need an additional AV amp-sized box that contains all the
electronics required to convert composite, RGB and S-Video
signals into VGA. "All of this, and the standard TV remote
control, are included in the price," Christian promised.

VGA is short for Video Graphics Array, which roughly means
"pixel ordering". The computer standard defined by IBM is 640 x
480 pixels.

Plasma screens are dependent on donation, so to speak, meaning
they need assistance. They can only reproduce video images by
using technological tricks.

The horizontal resolution of plasma TVs (usually stated in
lines, although "line pairs" would be more accurate) does,
however, correspond to S-VHS or DVD levels. With over 800 pixels
across (horizontal resolution is determined by vertical pixels,
two can create the transition from light to dark, i.e. constitute
a pair) it reaches a level of 400 lines or five MegaHerz

Sale

Philips expects the sale of consumer electronic (CE) products
in the Asia Pacific to account for a quarter of its annual CE
revenue in three to four years, Frans van Houten said.

The executive vice president of Philips Consumer Electronics
in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa), Van Houten said
although the Asia Pacific accounted for about 15 percent of
Philips' global CE sales last year, growth in the region had been
at 20 percent per year compared with global growth of 5 percent.
Presently, the region accounts for between 30 percent and 40
percent of PCE's product volume.

"Undoubtedly, within three to four years the Asia Pacific will
be contributing 25 percent of global sales," he said at the
Philips regional media conference here.

Van Houten said sales in Malaysia grew about 30 percent last
year "and we expect to further expand our business in Malaysia".

Philips (M) Sdn Bhd expects 11 percent growth in sales in CE
this year, said Philips Malaysia CE director Hashim Adnan.

He said Philips had a 9 percent share of the local CE market
and was the leader in the DVD market with a 36 percent share, as
well as being third in the local TV market with an 11 percent to
12 percent share.

Van Houten said Philips traditionally allocated some 7 percent
of its turnover to research and development.

"Technology changes rapidly and the development cycle is fast,
and we run multiple product developments at the same time," he
said.

Philips will invest $70 million (between 5 percent and 6
percent of turnover) in building its brand equity in the region
over the year, Van Houten added.

During the conference, Philips showcased a whole range of
high-tech products scheduled to be launched this year or next
year, including personal TVs, digital TV, newly redesigned mobile
phones and DVD players.

DVD + RW

The Holland-based electronics company showcases the two-way
compatibility of DVD+RW technology with existing DVD Video and
DVD-ROM drives. Unlike other DVD video recording formats, DVD+RW
meets the requirements of compatibility with existing DVD Video
players and DVD-ROM drives. A disc created on a DVD+RW video
recorder can be played back on existing DVD Videos or DVD-ROM
drives, and the recorder will also play back prerecorded DVD
video and DVD-ROM discs.

"We are building on the success of the DVD format. The Philips
DVD+RW video recorder is designed to be compatible with the
installed base of 30 million DVD Video players and DVD-ROM
drives, and this number is expected to grow rapidly in the coming
year," Frank Pauli, vice president of Philips Disc System, told
journalists here.

"In addition, our DVD+RW video recorder will provide consumers
the ability to record two to four hours of high-quality video, as
well as editing functionality. We believe that the recording and
editing functionality is what consumers want, and that two-way
compatibility is what is expected," he said.

The introduction of the first DVD+RW video recorder is
scheduled for the end of this year. The product is designed as a
natural extension of the successful DVD format, and the first in
a family of Philips DVD+RW based products. DVD+RW media does not
require a cartridge. With DVD+RW, the editing of video recording
is easy; with the remote control, a user can simply remove any
unwanted scenes or create a selection of highlights.

MP3

Philips is entering the MP3 player market with one of the most
compact and stylishly designed solid state audio devices to date
-- Rush! Bundled with RealNetworks' Realjukebox software,
Philips' Rush! provides everything needed to acquire, play,
manage and transport a personal library of digital music.

Rush! provides access to Internet-delivered music in a neat
seven-by-seven centimeter device that is just 1.7cms thick --
small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. And as Rush! has hardly
any mechanical parts, it weighs next to nothing -- just 50 grams.

Rush! has been designed to give consumers access to the vast
array of audio material available on the Internet. The device
plays back compressed digital MP3 files downloaded from the
Internet via a PC and stored on Flash Memory cards. A standard
32MB Smart-Media card -- as supplied with Rush! -- can store up
to one hour of near CD-quality music, and can be endlessly
erased, overwritten and reindexed. Furthermore, Rush! will
playback compressed MP3 songs downloaded from CDs.

Rush! is simple to use, and being totally digital, offers
users many functional benefits, including a unique "bookmark"
function and the digital equalization of audio output to optimize
performance quality. For further convenience and ease of use,
Rush! has an extended Long Play mode, providing up to 12 hours of
playback from two AAA batteries.