NetTV High Resolution DVD And Digital Television Demonstrated By Microsoft At DVD Pro Conference
NetTV, a leading provider of DVD-ROM Digital Entertainment set-tops and progressive-scan digital television, demonstrated with Microsoft Corp. NetTVís High-Resolution Extreme DVD and digital television at the DVD Pro Conference, August 16-17, at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. At DVD Pro, the largest-ever gathering of DVD professionals saw NetTVís ExtremeDVD Entertainment System. NetTV President Ron Perkes said, ""NetTV is pleased to be associated with Microsoft at DVD Pro. NetTV was founded in 1996 on the concept that computing technology will eventually take its rightful place at the core of the living room entertainment center. In the digital age, many consumers want the highest quality and variety of digital entertainment possible, at affordable prices. At DVD Pro, NetTVís digital entertainment system will display razor sharp high-resolution DVD playback, and todayís entire range of digital content, in one easy-to-use set-top."" ""Microsoft selected NetTV to demonstrate the outstanding picture quality that can be produced with a DVD PC and an affordable big-screen monitor,"" said Jim Taylor, DVD Evangelist for Microsoft (and Widescreen Reviewís DVD Zealot). ""When the decoder is tightly coupled to a progressive digital display, the true potential of DVD-Video can be realized."" Progressive Scan DVD NetTVís Perkes said,"" Anyone who has seen ExtremeDVD is awestruck by the clarity of the image and the quality of the Dolby Digital 5.1 channel audio. The high-resolution capability of DVD is wasted when displayed on a conventional TV. In contrast, ExtremeDVD is a digital entertainment PC that performs the function of a very expensive line doubler. This system has the intelligence to de-interlace content that originates as video in so-called ëbobí mode and display film in so-called ëweaveí mode. In both instances, the system steps up the resulting output to a progressive scan monitor at a horizontal frequency of 47kHz, instead of stepping down the resulting display to a slow, interlaced 15.755kHz. The improvement in on-screen quality is breathtaking. The resulting 480- or 600-line progressive display closely resembles the clarity of HDTV at 730 lines progressive."" Kilroy Hughes, Microsoft ITV Evangelist, explained that, ""With digitized film content, the PC exactly reproduces the original high-resolution frame scan without chopping the resolution in half and without introducing artifacts by converting to interlaced fields at a different display rate."" Perkes contended, ""DVD playback in a PC environment is no longer the exclusive domain of technologically savvy computing gurus, and it has a place in your entertainment area. Our ExtremeDVD gives you DVD, high-speed Internet, streaming media, digital music, HDTV, and computer games, along with conventional PC functionality in an entertainment set-top box that is extremely user-friendly. NetTVís products are designed to provide consumers a near-cinema quality entertainment experience in the comfort of their living rooms."" ""Microsoft wants to help developers and consumers enhance the DVD viewing experience,"" said Taylor. ""We believe that most facets of DVD can be made more interactive, more personal, and more effective by combining PC and DVD technologies. Microsoft is excited to work with NetTV and others to give DVD Pro attendees a peek at the possibilities."" About NetTV NetTV is a leader in defining and building innovative digital entertainment systems that combine progressive scan video with the highest quality audio. NetTVís ExtremeDVDô digital entertainment set-top, DTV Series digital televisions (29, 34 and 38 inches) combine to produce superior digital entertainment. A new 38-inch widescreen 1.78:1 monitor is due in January. Each component is produced with the requirements of the discriminating home entertainment enthusiast in mind. To learn more about NetTV, visit the Web site at www.net-tv.net. For more information, contact Michael Carrier at NetTV at 800 440 6388 or email: michaelc@net-tv.net.