Philips Electronics Commits To ""Make Things Wider"" At CEDIA í99
American consumers and home theatre lovers are missing something, and just might not realize it, suggests leading electronics maker, Philips Electronics at this year's Customer Electronics & Design Installer Exposition (CEDIA). The company, a pioneer in video technology development, is encouraging consumers to seek a new level in video entertainment through a wider television format. Having already introduced widescreen products in Europe, Philips Electronics is confident that American consumers will embrace the more realistic, sensational home cinema format, as their European counterparts did more than 10 years ago. Today the company is drawing on its widescreen success abroad and demonstrating a variety of widescreen products to encourage CEDIA's influential audience of installers to help consumers get the ""full picture"" they have been missing for years. ""If you stop for a moment and think about the 16x9 widescreen format versus the typical 4:3 (1.331) U.S. format, you realize that with most mainstream sets, a large part of the picture is missing!"" said Jim Newbrough, Senior Vice President and General Manager of TV/Video at Philips Electronics. ""The widescreen format also corresponds to the visual field of the human eye, which means it creates a better, more natural viewing experience. Because more widescreen digital sets are coming to market, the technology is becoming more affordable, making this season `prime time' for widescreen product introductions."" The Bigger Picture Philips Electronics began its widescreen leadership in the U.S. with the introduction of its popular FlatTVô at the 1997 COMDEX Show. Since that time, the company has introduced several new widescreen products including its 64-inch HDTV and a full line of widescreen-capable DVD players. Philips plans to continue to build upon this foundation of cutting-edge, widescreen technology with new widescreen products at CEDIA ë99 including the following: - Integrated High Definition Digital Televisions -- In addition to an enhanced version of its impressive 64-inch, rear-projection HDTV, Philips will demonstrate a new 34-inch widescreen direct view HDTV. Packed with top-notch audio and video features such as Real Flatô picture tube technology, progressive scan line-doubling, and built-in Dolby Digitalô decoding, the new Philips Direct View HDTV offers consumers a smaller-sized, yet equally impressive, high definition option for future widescreen home theatre enjoyment. - HD-Ready Digital Televisions - Adding even more depth to its line of digital television offerings, Philips also introduced four new widescreen HD-Ready televisions -- two direct view models and two rear projection models--giving consumers more options when making a widescreen, digital investment. Because all four HD-Ready models feature ATSC inputs with displays flexible enough to support the 1080i high definition format when connected to a digital set-top box, these new HD-Ready models enable consumers to take a step-by-step approach into the new digital era. Consumers also can enjoy the immediate benefits of widescreen technology with the confidence that a Philips widescreen home cinema investment will serve them well into the future. - FlatTV - The second FlatTV offering from Philips, the new 42PF9952, is geared towards those who want to combine its impressive 42-inch widescreen display with their own audio system. The product offers an outstanding viewing experience, with flicker-free pictures, high contrast and brilliant, realistic colors. Its wide, 160-degree viewing angle and completely flat, distortion-free screen, enables the picture to be seen clearly and with a constant quality and brightness from virtually anywhere in the room. - DVD - Philips will demonstrate one of its newest 1999 DVD offerings, the DVD940. In addition to powerful audio and video features, the DVD940 contains three distinct Philips DVD attributes: feature upgradablity, dual lasers, and a more effective parental approval system. This player, along with all of Philips DVD offerings to date, will play back DVD titles in either widescreen or standard formats.