Digital Harmony Gains Momentum Licensing Its IEEE 1394 Technology To Leading Home Entertainment Device Manufacturers Boston Acoustics, Harman International And Sensory Science
Eliminating connectivity barriers in the home entertainment industry, Digital Harmonyô Technologies, L.L.C has announced new license agreements with leading manufacturers Boston Acoustics, Inc., Harman International Industries, Inc. and Sensory Science Corporation. Developing an intelligent connection and control technology for home entertainment devices, Digital Harmony enables interoperability of multiple components and multiple brands in a single network. Digital Harmonyís implementation of the open 1394 interconnect standard empowers these licensees with the technology necessary to bring 1394 home entertainment devices to market. IEEE 1394, also referred to as FireWireô or iLinkô, is the high-bandwidth, multichannel connectivity technology gaining considerable interest from consumer electronics and computer manufacturers. Interoperable, flexible and upgradeable, 1394 links a virtually unlimited number of home entertainment devices through a single cable connection. Ultimately, manufacturers will be able to lower the cost of goods through a reduced number of necessary jacks, cabling and circuitry. Boston Acoustics, Harman International and Sensory Science selected Digital Harmony to eliminate the potential for product incompatibilities caused by differing 1394 implementations. Based on the IEEE-1394 standard, the Digital Harmony Protocol Suite is the platform through which digital home entertainment devices can operate in a network. Digital Harmony simplifies 1394 implementation for manufacturers and reduces the time-to-market of these devices. By providing a neutral and unbiased advantage over manufacturer-owned 1394 technologies, Digital Harmony guarantees interoperability of multiple devices and multiple brands in a single digital network. ""Soon, 1394-based systems will simplify installation of extremely complex, high performance audio, video and multi-room systems,"" said Phil Muzio, CEO of Madrigal Audio Labs, a division of Harman International. ""With a simple daisy-chained, plug-and-play architecture, 1394 devices running Digital Harmony protocols should set the standard for both flexibility and ease-of-use,"" Muzio continued. Madrigal demonstrated a prototype of its soon to be released DVD transport, based on Digital Harmony 1394 technology, at this yearís Consumer Electronics Show. ""We believe Digital Harmony offers a superior 1394 implementation for use across a wide variety of applications,"" concluded Muzio. Offering a full range of consumer and professional audio products, the Harman International family of brands includes JBLÆ, Mark LevinsonÆ, ProceedÆ, AudioAccessÆ, CitationÆ, Harman/ KardonÆ, InfinityÆ and RevelÆ. ""Our newest licensees bring powerful technological capabilities and vision to the process of developing products that will launch a new age of innovative home entertainment networks,"" said Mark Bridgwater, Vice President of Marketing at Digital Harmony. Boston Acoustics, based in Peabody, Massachusetts, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high performance audio systems for home entertainment and computer environments. Sensory Science Corp., is a diversified audio and video company expanding into new product categories that take advantage of the transition from analog to digital technologies. Sensory Science brands include California Audio LabsÆ, Go-VideoÆ and LoeweÆ. In addition to the Protocol Suite, Digital Harmony offers 1394 circuit designs and firmware. Digital Harmonyís Product Certification Centers help eliminate the burden of technical support through independent and rigorous testing measures and reports on interoperability details and issues. Once products are certified, the Digital Harmony logo is licensed to manufacturers for consumers to easily identify compatible devices. For more information, contact Mark Bridgwater at 206.682.3600 or email: mark@digitalharmony.com.