Digital Harmony Joins HAVi Organization

Digital Harmony Technologies Inc. Friday announced that it has become a member of the newly-created HAVi Organization, a group of consumer electronics companies that will participate to further develop the Home Audio Video Interoperability (HAVi) specification promoted by Grundig, Hitachi, Matsushita (Panasonic), Philips, Sharp, Sony, Thomson and Toshiba.At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) this week, the first generation of Digital Harmony's high-speed IEEE-1394 interface technology is being demonstrated in the first multi-room, multi-brand, home entertainment system of more than 18 new audio/video(A/V) devices from more than 10 manufacturers. The Digital Harmony Reference System 2000ô includes an AV receiver, DVD player, broadband and CATV set-top boxes, powered loudspeakers, legacy (non-1394) adapters, and a 100-disc CD jukebox. Current Digital Harmony customers include Boston Acoustics, ConnectTV, Denon, Harman/Kardon, Loewe, Madrigal, Meridian, NEC, Panja, Revox, and Sensory Science. Monster Cable, Digital Harmony's first high-end A/V cabling licensee, will provide certified IEEE-1394 cables that connect each device in the system. Digital Harmony Reference System 2000ô will be demonstrated every hour at Digital Harmony's CES booth, LVCC no.2327.Digital Harmony and the HAVi Organization have a shared goal of enabling interoperable, 1394-based consumer electronics products from multiple manufacturers. HAVi technology specifies a middleware that simply and elegantly provides a way to describe each format of a data stream between devices, as well as formatting each individual device's functions. The Digital Harmony Protocol Suiteô, available now, complements HAVi technology. The Suite is also composed of a family of international standards, specifying appropriate audio/video data formats for home entertainment devices, as well as providing a blueprint for manufacturers adding a 1394 interface to their products. This year, Digital Harmony will consider adding HAVi to the Digital Harmony Protocol Suite.""We are excited to participate in the HAVi Organization, as we have supported the efforts and mission of the HAVi consortium for some time,"" stated Greg Bartlett, President and CEO of Digital Harmony. ""We expect to become a leading third-party provider of HAVi interface technology, including hardware reference designs, firmware, and integrated silicon solutions. We also plan on expanding our participation in the 1394 standardization process by contributing to the HAVi working groups that will be set up to extend HAVi's initial capabilities into the future,"" continued Bartlett. ""Finally, we are considering expanding our Digital Harmony Product Certification Program to provide HAVi device compatibility testing services to OEMs.""""The HAVi Organization welcomes Digital Harmony and its growing family of leading manufacturer licensees,"" said Paul Reinhardt, Marketing Chairman for the HAVi Organization. ""Both HAVi and Digital Harmony share a vision of interoperable consumer electronics products and consumers will ultimately benefit as the industry works together on complementary technologies.""About Digital Harmony TechnologiesDigital Harmony powered the world's first multi-vendor IEEE-1394 home entertainment system in early 1999. Based in Seattle, Digital Harmony Technologies Inc. (www.digitalharmony.com) sells standard hardware/firmware modules for adding high-speed 1394 interfaces to audio/video devices (e.g. DVD players, A/V receivers, televisions, etc.) Digital Harmony Certification Centers(TM) test all devices for compatibility 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 home entertainment system. Digital Harmony Technologies' customer list includes Boston Acoustics, ConnectTV, Denon, Harman/Kardon, Meridian Audio, NEC, Onkyo, Panja, Peavey Electronics and Sensory Science.