RWPPI Opens U.S. Liaison Office With 41 Members

NEC And Thomson Multimedia Are Newest Members To Support DVD-R/RW Format

2-Mar-01

The RW Products Promotion Initiative (RWPPI), established in Tokyo May 2000 to facilitate a smooth market introduction and expansion of DVD-R/RW products, has officially launched its North America Liaison Office. The opening of the North American office is the first step in expanding RWPPI activities globally. The primary roles of the new office will be to facilitate the exchange of information among RWPPI members in North America, manage joint promotional campaigns and serve as a source of information for the media. ""To date, weíve held four extremely productive RWPPI group sessions and we have increased our membership to 41 companies from 12 original members,"" said Dr. Masao Sugimoto, Executive Corporate Engineering Advisor, Pioneer Corporation and General Secretary of RWPPI in Tokyo. ""With the opening of the U.S. Liaison Office, weíll be able to accelerate our efforts to establish DVD-R/RW as a leading recordable DVD technology.""The RWPPI office is located at Pioneer North America, Inc. in Long Beach, California. Mr. Noburo (Bob) Niimi of Pioneer North America, Inc. is the U.S. Liaison.""The United States is an extremely important market for DVD-R/RW products, so itís critical that RWPPI have a strong U.S. presence,"" said Mr. Aramoto, Executive Vice President, Sharp Corporation. ""We are very supportive of RWPPI and its efforts to establish itself in the U.S. and around the world.""Numerous companies displayed DVD-R/RW products during the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show, including Kenwood Corporation, LG Electronics, Inc. (Zenith), Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc., Sharp Corporation and others. ""Since the format is compatible between products for home entertainment and personal computer use, there will be numerous product launches from both consumer electronics and computer firms,"" Dr. Sugimoto said.The newest members of RWPPI include NEC Corporation and Thomson Multimedia.""Based on its strategic policy of supporting full compatibility for customers, NEC, as the supplier of the PC storage peripheral, agrees with the philosophy and has recently become a member of the RWPPI. We, NEC, would like to work together with many other companies to create simple solution for our customers with full compatibility,"" said Mr. Hayasu, Assistant General Manager, First Storage Products Division, NEC Corporation. ""We expect the DVD-RW market to be very large and we are ready for mass-production of the media. The key to realizing this large market is to ensure compatibility,"" said Dr. Watanabe, Executive Managing Director, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. ""The efforts of the RWPPI have been helpful to ensure compatibility between hardware and disc products so we all can be successful in meeting consumersí needs for rewritable DVD products."" ""The development of RW dual products will support an interoperability of both RW and +RW formats. By offering product that is capable of recording and playback of both RW and +RW formats, Sony strives to avoid any confusion the consumer might have,"" said Mr. Sonoda, Senior General Manager, DVD Division, Network Entertainment Group, Sony Corporation. RWPPI is an action organization with the goal of promoting commercial products that are developed on the basis of DVD-R/RW standards allowing recording and playback of DVD discs. Moreover, the organization strives to arbitrate problems and promote customer satisfaction by proposing a wide range of standard specifications and ensuring hardware/software compatibility. In addition, RWPPI will facilitate the exchange of information about trends in copyright protection legislation in individual countries.RWPPI member companies include Advanced Media Corporation, Aiwa Co., Ltd., Almedio Inc., Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd., CMC Magnetics Corporation, Conexant Systems Japan Co., Ltd., Cyberlink Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujifilm Microdevices Co., Ltd., Funai Electric Co., Ltd., Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., Intervideo Japan Inc., Kenwood Corporation, LG Electronics Inc., MediaTek Inc., Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsui Chemicals Inc., NEC Corporation, Nikon Corporation, Oak Technology, K.K., Onkyo Corporation, Optodisc Technology Corporation, Orion Electric Co., Ltd., Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer Video Corporation, Ritek Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd., Sonic Solutions, Sony Corporation, Spruce Technologies Inc., Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd., TDK Corporation, Thomson Multimedia, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC Media Co.), Yamaha Corporation and Zoran Corporation.