Philips and Sony announce multimedia CD format supported by Acer, Alps, JVC, Mitsumi, Ricoh, Teac and Wearnes

First U.S. demonstration of video on dual-layer disc proves flexibility to satisfy the requirements of business applications and home entertainment

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1995--Philips Electronics and Sony Corporation announced today endorsements from Acer Peripherals, Alps, JVC, Mitsumi, Ricoh, Teac and Wearnes Peripherals in support of their high-density MultiMedia CD format.

In addition, Philips' and Sony's motion picture and music affiliated companies, two of the largest entertainment providers in the world, will adopt the format.

With the first U.S. presentation of video on dual-layer, high-density CDs by any company, Philips and Sony demonstrated the viability of MultiMedia CD as the solution for business and entertainment industries that are demanding a single format for computer applications and home entertainment.

The international press preview of the new MultiMedia CD format was accompanied by remarks from Henk Bodt, executive vice president, Philips Electronics N.V., Teruaki Aoki, director, Sony Corporation, Jan Oosterveld, president, Philips Key Modules Business Group and Michael Schulhof, president and CEO, Sony Corporation of America.

"Philips had begun research and development on the single-sided, dual-layer format nearly twenty years ago, and has been awarded several key patents in the process," said Bodt. "Now that the demand for this technology is on the rise, the PC and CD-ROM drive industries recognize the opportunities for our format to provide cost-effective mass storage that is both highly reliable and flexible enough to accommodate multiple form factors."

"MultiMedia CD also gives the entertainment industry everything it asked for," said Aoki. "MultiMedia CD gives motion picture and music companies, as well as interactive multimedia developers, the vehicle to move into the next generation of innovation and creativity. As a result, we believe that consumers will embrace products that support MultiMedia CD with even greater enthusiasm than at the time that CDs were introduced by Philips and Sony 15 years ago."

"The prototype player we demonstrated illustrates the seamless, uninterrupted playback of movies between the two layers," said Oosterveld. "It also showed how developers can combine video and audio content in the next generation of high-density Multimedia CD titles."

"Philips and Sony believe that the positive responses to the prototype demonstrations and the multi-industry expressions of support are testimonials to our vision and strategy for a high-capacity storage technology that is backward-compatible, affordable and multifaceted," said Schulhof.

CD-ROM Drive Manufacturers Supporting MultiMedia CD

Acer Peripherals Inc., Alps Electric, Mitsumi Electric Company, Ricoh Company, Teac Corporation and Wearnes Peripherals announced that they will build CD-ROMs that can play MultiMedia CD discs. In conjunction with Philips and Sony, these manufacturers hold approximately 60 percent of the CD-ROM market.

Karaoke Industry Leader Supports Multimedia CD

Karaoke is a fast-growing industry, and JVC, a major Karaoke systems supplier, is supporting MultiMedia CD. JVC agrees with Philips and Sony on the suitability of the MultiMedia CD proposal, as a fully backward-compatible platform that will expand the Video CD format. JVC had developed the Video CD format with Philips, Sony and Matsushita.

Entertainment Companies Supporting MultiMedia CD

Sony's and Philips' entertainment operations also said they will make available movies and related products on Multimedia CD discs. This will allow viewers to watch up to 4 1/2 hours of their favorite movie without flipping the disc.

Sony Pictures Entertainment's production companies include Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics and Triumph Films. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment includes Interscope, Propaganda, Island Pictures and Egg Pictures.

Consumer Electronics Companies Supporting MultiMedia CD

Aiwa, Bang and Olufson, Grundig, Magnavox and Marantz announced that they will manufacture products for consumers based on the MultiMedia CD format. These companies currently produce products such as stereos, CD players, TVs, VCRs and home entertainment systems.

The Philips/Sony MultiMedia CD Format

The high-density MultiMedia CD specification proposed by Philips and Sony calls for a 12-cm disc capable of storing approximately 7.4 GB in a single-sided dual-layer configuration -- more than ten times that of the current CD format.

In collaboration with the 3M Company, Philips and Sony have designed the dual-layer, single-sided disc format to retain all the user-friendly features of the billions of CDs already sold.

As part of their specifications, Philips and Sony have taken into account the needs of disc replicators. MultiMedia CD media can be produced at existing facilities with only minor modifications required. This means that the production costs of high-density MultiMedia CD will be similar to existing discs.

The Multimedia CD Specification in Brief -0-

    Disc diameter        120 mm                 80 mm
    Disc thickness       1.2 mm                 1.2 mm
    Disc capacity        7.4 GB (dual layer)    2.6 (dual layer)
                         3.7 GB (single layer)  1.3 GB (single layer)
    Wave length          635 nm                 635 nm
    N A                  0.52                   0.52
    Modulation           EFM plus               EFM plus
    Error correction     CIRC plus              CIRC plus
    Track pitch          0.84 microns           0.84 microns