EscientÆ Announces Trade Debut Of PowerPlayÆ , The Ultimate DVD Movie Home Server

Escient, a leading force in developing products that merge Internet power with home entertainment devices, announced at the CEDIA Expo, September 24-26, the debut of PowerPlay, the ultimate home theatre DVD solution. The announcement was made by Scott Jones, President, Chairman, and CEO of Escient, Inc. A revolutionary IEEE-1394, Internet-enabled, 200-disc DVD changer and controller, Escientís PowerPlay will ship in December 1999 and will carry a manufacturerís suggested retail price (MSRP) of $5,000. With the industryís adoption of DVD taking place at a rate unprecedented in the history of audio and video, PowerPlay is the missing link that makes home-theater systems unbelievably easy-to-use. Escientís new product provides CEDIA Dealers / Installers the most innovative DVD solution available on the market today. PowerPlay gives users the unique ability to store, manage, and control hundreds of DVDs - or even thousands when daisy chained with additional Escient changers. At the touch of a button, PowerPlay utilizes Escientís patented automatic transport and identification technologies to instantly find and play any DVD or music CD in the userís collection. Tapping into Escientís world-renowned Internet DVD and music CD databases, PowerPlay delivers disc cover art and data, such as titles, chapters, reviews, and ratings, to the userís TV or display screen. Additional changers to accommodate large collections will be available for $1,500 (MSRP).Simplifying connectivity through the IEEE-1394 FireWire architecture, PowerPlay is truly a ""plug and play"" product. It provides a communications bus that can handle all audio, video, and control functions on one cable. PowerPlayís DVD transport is one of the first A/V home theatre solutions to fully implement and deliver FireWire technology. Following on the phenomenal popularity and success of its family of award-winning TuneBaseÆ CD management systems, PowerPlay offers a complete solution and feature set at an unparalleled price point. Escientís PowerPlay system includes one 200-disc FireWire transport, set-top controller, user-friendly hand-held remote control and wireless keyboard, state-of-the-art graphical user interface, cutting-edge automatic disc recognition technology, and free online support and software upgrades via Escientís server. As with all Escient products, the software updates and disc recognition are accessible through a toll-free 800 phone-line connection in the United States. In making the announcement Mr. Jones stated, ""Through the introduction of PowerPlay, Escient has, once again, created a new home entertainment product category. PowerPlay seamlessly combines state-of-the-art consumer electronics, vast Internet power, and set-top controller technology, and further solidifies Escientís commitment to developing, and bringing to market, future-forward convergence products.""""Escient has made an extensive investment in developing the highest quality DVD and CD carousel transport on the planet,"" added Tom Doherty, Executive Vice President of Product Strategy and co-founder of Escient. ""With IEEE-1394 FireWire as its basic architecture, PowerPlay will provide unparalleled performance, benefiting both the installer and customer. A groundbreaking product, PowerPlay delivers the finest audio and video decoding schemes available today."" Using compelling Internet-based technologies, Escientís mandate is to simplify notoriously complex home electronics while providing new and innovative sources of entertainment to consumers. In a few short years, the company has emerged as a pivotal player in the convergence marketplace, developing products, and services that seamlessly merge the Internet with consumer electronics in powerful, yet simple, ways. Currently these products and services include the companyís critically acclaimed TuneBase family of CD content management solutions, its video management products, and its CDDB World Wide Web site (www.cddb.com), featuring the worldís largest and most comprehensive music CD database on the Internet. Through a vision keenly attuned to the end-user, Escient makes technology behave. TuneBase is a registered trademark of Escient, Inc. CDDB is a trademark of CDDB, Inc. For more information, contact Cat Fowler Escient, Inc., 1.800.ESCIENT ext. 6012, cfowler@escient.com.