Digital Harmonyô Technologies Acquires PAVO Labs LLC

Merger Adds Digital Audio/Wireless Technologies And Certification Services

4-May-00

Digital Harmonyô Technologies Inc., a leading third-party licensor of IEEE 1394 (FireWire) technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers and others, has acquired PAVO Labs, a technology and product development firm specializing in professional audio products and musical instruments. Through this acquisition, Digital Harmony Technologies will receive valuable intellectual property and experience in product certification testing. Digital Harmony Technologies will make this innovation and expertise available to its family of licensees which includes Harman International Industries, Boston Acoustics, Columbia Records and Peavey Electronics. The acquisition adds several digital audio and wireless technologies to Digital Harmony Technologies' existing IEEE 1394 patent portfolio: - BiDATô - transceivers for sending digital data over speaker wires - WireFreeô - whole house, wireless, digital transmitters - Realmô - encoders and decoders for recording digital data in audio signals - PAWSô - an audio watermarking system that survives MP3 compression - MIDItoolsô - a modular MIDI/serial communications architecture In addition to the patent portfolio, the acquisition of PAVO Labs brings an experienced product certification test team to Digital Harmony Technologies. PAVO Labs, under terms of an exclusive contract with the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA), is currently the worldwide certification test center for products conforming to the Downloadable Sounds (DLS) industry standard for Internet audio playback devices. The DLS standard is quickly evolving into DLS-2, a technology that will be included in the upcoming MPEG4 standard. PAVO Lab's engineering team designed and programmed the DLS Test Suite, distributed by the MMA. The MMA also administers the use of the DLS certification mark on compliant music products. Digital Harmony Technologies and the newly acquired PAVO test team will expand this certification program to provide the first neutral IEEE 1394, multi-brand, multi-product certification center for consumer electronics devices. ""PAVO Labs and Digital Harmony have developed and deployed complementary technologies for audio and music products. By merging the two companies, we can take advantage of a common licensing program, reduce the time-to-market of exciting new products and better serve our partners and investors,"" stated Greg Bartlett, former CEO of PAVO Labs and now President of Digital Harmony Technologies. ""Digital Harmony is committed to developing and licensing state-of-the-art technologies that consumers and artists are demanding in Internet-ready audio/video products. We deliver digital media networking technology that enables the future of entertainment,"" says George Jaquette, CEO of Digital Harmony Technologies. ""By acquiring PAVO Lab's intellectual property and product certification experience, Digital Harmony solidifies its position for manufacturers of networked audio, video and music products."" About Digital Harmony Technologies Based in Seattle, Washington, Digital Harmony Technologies Inc. (www.digitalharmony.com) sells standard hardware/firmware modules for adding IEEE 1394 and other digital interfaces to audio and video devices (e.g., DVD players, A/V receivers, DTVs, speakers, amplifiers etc.), systems (e.g., recording studios), and musical instruments. A Digital Harmony Certification Centerô tests all devices for compatibility with open standards before they are sold at retail. The Digital Harmony logo - the consumer's seal of approval - indicates that the device will operate harmoniously with others in a system. Digital Harmony Technologies' customer list currently includes Boston Acoustics, Nippon Columbia/Denon, harman/kardon, Meridian Audio, JBL, Onkyo, Panja, Peavey Electronics, Connect TV and more

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