Philips Unveils TV-PC For U.S. Market At Berlin Show
- -September 2, 1997
By Greg Tarr
Philips used the International Funkausstellung consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany to unveil its latest approach to TV-PC convergence: the DVX-8000 "Multi-Media Home Cinema," a combination fully featured PC and video system.
The high-end TV-PC incorporates a hybrid DVD-ROM/DVD movie player and video line-doubling system into a Windows 95-based PC with 233MHz MMX processor and 32MB RAM.
The system is designed to marry with an AC-3 surround sound system and big-screen TV (both of which are optional) and will be sold starting next month through the Marantz network of high-end A/V specialty dealers. Its suggested retail price will be $5,000.
The product will make its U.S. debut in the Marantz booth at the CEDIA show in Atlanta this month.
The AVX-8000 also marks the start of a new attempt to use the Philips brand to market high-end A/V products in the U.S. The Philips logo is displayed prominently on the unit, with the Marantz name mentioned as a sub-brand for its contribution to the audio processing technology.
A Marantz-branded RC2000 learning-style remote is bundled with the system.
The co-branded approach is similar to the Philips Magnavox co-brand used recently for new digital products such as WebTV terminals and DVD players. However, with DVX-8000, Philips is now trying to stretch the brand to encompass a more elite consumer class.
Philips executives said this is being done both to capitalize on the selling strengths of the Marantz dealer network and to play up Philips' role as an innovator of cutting-edge technologies. Marantz is positioned as a mid- to high-end A/V products supplier and is 51% owned by Philips.
The audio capabilities of the AVX-8000 include an FM tuner, Marantz-designed preamplifier and Dolby digital surround sound processor.
The system also offers an Internet-delivered electronic program guide (EPG) through the TV Host service. Users interact with the system through an IR wireless keyboard or remote control, both of which are included.
Brad Beitel, Philips digital entertainment group general manager, said Philips will use the product to test U.S. appetites for TV-PC products. Philips research reveals that consumers are spending proportionately more time on new media, said Beitel, with average spending per household on multimedia products and services rising at a rate of 4% a year.
Doug Dunn, chairman Philips Electronics Sound & Vision, called the DVX-8000 the company's "breakthrough" into TV-PC products, distinguishing the term TV-PC rather than PC-TV, because the system was designed primarily as a home entertainment device. Dunn called the product "an image piece" for the U.S. "that should sell well into the high end of the A/V market."
Philips is also showing a less expensive TV-PC system for the European/Asian market called Ponte, for "bridge" product, which includes a 166MHz MMX processor and Windows 95 OS. The system is designed for light computing work, surfing the Web, and playing MPEG 1 Video CDs and CD-ROM games on users' existing television sets.
Ponte is not slated for a U.S. introduction at this time, but will sell for the equivalent of $1,500 in Europe and Asia. Dunn assured that Philips plans to introduce more products for the TV-PC category in 1998. |
