IFA 2006, Berlin, Germany – Philips is building on its heritage as a world leader in optical storage technology to bring Blu-ray Disc – the latest optical disc innovation – to the consumer marketplace.
Philips, a founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association is exhibiting its first range of Blu-ray Disc products at IFA 2006, including the Philips Showline™ Media Center MCP9480i, the Philips TripleWriter™ SPD7000 multi-format PC drive, the Philips BDP9000 Blu-ray Disc player and a full scope of Blu-ray Disc media, including single-layer BD-R (Recordable) and BD-RE (Recordable and Erasable) discs.
TripleWriter
The all-in-one Philips TripleWriter (model no. SPD7000) can record and playback all popular optical storage formats including CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc. An internal drive for PCs, it features a 2x read and write speed, which equals 9MB/s (72 Mb/s) continuous data-rate. The Philips TripleWriter will be available in Europe and the USA in September 2006.
Blu-ray Disc Player
The Philips BDP9000 Blu-ray Disc player plays back high-definition video content in full 1080p resolution, easily connecting to other High Definition TV (HDTV) and HDMI devices with full digital multi-channel audio, completing the ultimate viewing experience.
It also has an advanced – Java™-enabled – browsing interface for easy set-up and use, playing all optical disc formats, from BD to DVD and CD and supporting all main memory card formats. The BDP9000 is being launched in the United States this autumn and will be available in Europe in early 2007.
Philips Showline Media Center
The Philips Showline Media Center MCP9480i delivers high-definition, high-quality video and audio playback with the benefit of convergent digital technology and the convenience of wireless connectivity. This MCP8480i also carries the additional feature of My Philips Zone, a rich mix of plug-ins that improve and expand home entertainment functionality, as well as a 320 GB hard-disc drive. The MCP9480i will be available in Europe at the end of 2006.
Blu-ray Disc 25 GB Media
The Philips Blu-ray Disc 25 GB disc produces professional-quality high-definition (HD) experiences. Philips recently introduced 25 GB single-layer BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (recordable and erasable) discs, giving the highest storage yet for HD entertainment and digital archiving.
Philips showcases Blu-ray Disc hardware and recordable media at IFA 2006
The capacity of Philips’ 25 GB Blu-ray Disc blank media is equivalent to more than six hours of HD video, 12 hours of DVD or 36 CDs. Containing video, data, and all forms of ‘rich content’, the Blu-ray Disc is a truly convergent media format, enabling PC users to archive photographs, video, camcorder and other data, or television viewers to record HDTV programming. BD-RE has been available since July 2006, with 50 GB dual-layer BD-R discs expected soon.
Next generation data storage and recording
Content for Blu-ray Discs is written and read using a shorter wavelength blue laser rather than the longer wavelength infra-red and red lasers used with CDs and DVDs. This allows for a much sharper laser focus, and a huge increase in storage capacity. Blu-ray Disc is the only recordable and erasable format to provide such leap forward in terms of optical storage capacity, seamlessly linking the PC and home entertainment environments.
Blu-ray Disc technology covers all consumers wishes, including High Definition movies, games and the ultimate recording technology. By holistically creating its own Blu-ray Discs, recorder, and playback solutions, Philips is ensuring users can enjoy complete end-to-end quality, with full compatibility and playability.
One of the founders of the Blu-ray Disc technology in 1998, Philips has been setting world optical media standards since the company co-developed the CD, and the DVD. The Blu-ray Disc is supported by more than 170 of the world’s largest gaming manufacturers, movie studios, consumer electronics and PC manufacturers. Seven out of the eight major movie studios have announced movie titles for the Blu-ray Disc launch: Disney, Fox, Paramount, Warner, Sony, MGM and Lions Gate.