Technological Breakthrough By Thomson And Divx Leads To First Demonstration Of High Definition
Thomson Consumer Electronics and Digital Video Express (Divx) conducted the first-ever demonstration of high definition programming on Digital Video Disc (DVD). This significant technological breakthrough, jointly developed by the two companies, is expected to lead to an HDTV Divx-featured DVD player in 2000. Current Divx-featured DVD players provide movies on a five-inch disc with picture resolution more than twice that of conventional VHS VCRs. High definition technology offers even greater picture resolution (in excess of one million pixels) in the widescreen 1.78:1 format. ""We have developed a system that combines an HDTV receiver and the advanced picture performance of DVD players with the highly secure Divx cryptographic technology. This system provides movie studios with the assurance that high definition movies can be produced on DVD discs with adequate security against duplication by video pirates,"" said Thomsonís Larry McKinney, Vice President ñ DVD Product Management Worldwide. For consumers, movies in high definition will offer the ultimate in picture performance combined with the capability for producing theatre-like surround sound in Dolby DigitalÆ or DTSÆ Digital Surround formats. Other features would likely include parental rating control capability, subtitles and multiple language sound tracks (when discs are specially coded). ""High definition DVD also addresses the high-end consumerís demand for widescreen 16:9 viewing capability,"" said McKinney, ""making this the most realistic home theatre experience ever available. Based on the existing chassis design of Thomsonís RCA and PROSCAN DVD players with the Divx feature, the new players will read digital bits encoded on Divx discs and channel the fully encrypted signal through a VSB interface port to the viewerís RCA or PROSCAN brand high definition television. Using smart card technology, the TV will decrypt the signal and display the high definition image on the television screen. ""Thomsonís high definition design is uniquely suited for this joint development program,"" said Thomsonís Larry Pesce, Manager ñ Worldwide DVD product Planning, ""because our system employs smart card technology that ñ when implemented in a high definition environment ñ provides very stringent and yet renewable piracy protection. The beauty of our high definition process is that the HD signal is never exposed in an unencrypted form prior to being sent to the display. For more information contact: James Harper at HarperJ@tce.com