Hitachi To Unveil Digital Convergence Products At Winter CES Show
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1998--
Products Slated to be Shown Include HDTV, DTVs, PTVs, D-VHS
and DSS Systems, Handheld PCs, DVD Players, MPEG Camera, and Plasma Displays
Highlighting its continued march into the digital convergence marketplace with top quality products and technologies, Hitachi
Home Electronics (America), Inc. announced today its broad and diversified product line-up and technology demonstrations
for the 1998 Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (Display Room N-203).
"Our CES lineup is full of stars," said Gary Bennett, executive vice president. "From our 61" HDTV to our state of the art
MPEG camera to the ultrafunctional next generation Handheld PC, each product on display incorporates advanced digital
technology and features that enhance a user's entertainment or productivity. In our typical no-nonsense style, our engineers
have assembled products that make the eyes pop and the ears perk."
HDTV
Foremost among its digital product offerings is Hitachi's first demonstration of its forthcoming 61" High Definition TV (HDTV).
The result of more than a decade of research and development by teams of engineers in both the U.S. and Japan, Hitachi's
HDTV provides pristine, high resolution picture quality (1920 x1080 I) on a 61" screen. The UltraFocus super bright lens
system, UltraFocus super bright CRT's, Magic Focus auto digital convergence, digital 3DYC comb filter, and advanced
velocity scan modulation, complement full Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound and a 60 watt bass reflex
speaker system for superb home theater enjoyment. Its tuner section allows for receipt of all 18 ATSC DTV formats, includes
a built-in DSS IRD with Smart Card Input Slot, and a 181 Channel NTSC Tuner. Hitachi has also incorporated an impressive
array of advanced and convenient features that have become expected with Hitachi's UltraVision line of leading projection TV.
Digital-Ready TV
Fresh off the phenomenal reception of its 27" MMVision PC-Ready TV in recent months, Hitachi will unveil its 36"
Digital-Ready TV at CES aimed at the consumer market. Available in the third quarter of 1998, this new Digital-Ready TV
offers enormous picture quality through its industry-leading UltraBlack Invar picture tube with .78mm dot pitch, all time
progressive scanning (a full 60 frames per second) which eliminates flicker, dynamic focus, digital comb filter, complete BBE
and SRS stereo sound and the advanced tuner features that are common among Hitachi's high quality TV product lines.
Hitachi's Digital-Ready TV is ready for out-of-the-box connection to DTV set-top boxes, laptop or desktop computer
systems, PC or game systems, and other presentation hardware through VGA or SVGA inputs.
D-VHS and DSS
Hitachi will also be showing its UltraVision D-VHS VCR and compatible DSS system on a 60" UltraVision Projection TV.
The DSS system IRD incorporates a "Digital Interface" consisting of a simplified digital audio/video bus and proprietary
software and protocol allowing for digital bit-stream recording and 2-way communication with the new D-VHS VCR. By
recording the digital bit-stream directly to videotape, and playing it back through the DSS IRD for decoding of the MPEG-2
signal, a recording with virtually no picture quality degradation is possible. The UltraVision D-VHS VCR establishes a new
standard of recording, producing the very best in picture quality with over 500 lines of resolution, and is compatible to record
and play standard VHS. In its digital mode, it can record up to 5 hours at 14.1 Mbps with no tape jitter and superior signal to
noise ratio of any standard VHS recorder.
Handheld PC
With a large and superbright seven-inch screen with backlit display and a user-friendly oversized keyboard, Hitachi's second
generation Handheld PC was designed from the ground up for fast moving mobile professionals who demand both
functionality and portability. Weighing just 16.9 ounces and measuring 7.7"W x 4.3"D x 1.1"H, Hitachi's Handheld PC is
powered by a lightning quick 80MHz SH 7709 Hitachi chip, and includes 8MB of memory in the base unit, a superfast
software modem with fax, one Type-II PCMCIA slot, and one Compact Flash Card Slot. Maximizing ease of synchronization
with desktop and laptop computers, Hitachi's Handheld PC also offers an optional cradle with Ir-DA, VGA serial and AC
Adapter charger interfaces. Placing the Handheld PC in the cradle automatically engages the synchronization and charging
procedures.
DVD
Hitachi will also show two full-featured DVD players each with two lasers and lenses for enhanced performance, scheduled
for shipping in the third quarter of 1998. Designed specifically for movie lovers who want the highest quality picture and sound,
Hitachi's DVD players offer 2X speeds allowing the player to read more of the frames produced by the MPEG compression.
With support for a 5.1 channel discrete Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Dolby Pro Logic and high fidelity stereo, Hitachi's
DVD players enhance sound for maximum home theater enjoyment. Other advanced and unique features include multiple
aspect ratios and disc navigation that allows a user to quickly search thumbnail screen shots and initiate playback immediately.
MPEG Digital Camera
The recipient of many prestigious industry awards for technical excellence and functionality, Hitachi also will show its highly
innovative MPEG digital camera. Hitachi's revolutionary and award-winning MPEG camera records up to 20 minutes of
full-motion digital video (MPEG) with sound, 3,000 full-color images (JPEG) or a combination of both -- yet weighs only
19.3 ounces and fits in a pocket or purse. The camera's MPEG files are compressed automatically for quick transfer to a PC,
Macintosh or notebook computer using an adapter card or the camera's removable 260 MB PCMCIA Card drive. With the
included editing software suite, users can easily drag-and-drop digital imagery into popular presentation programs like
PowerPoint 97 and Corel Presentations 8, send as e-mail attachments, or insert into Web pages.
Plasma Displays
Hitachi will also show 25" and 41" XGA color plasma displays. The XGA capability of the plasma displays allows for a
resolution of 1024 x 768, or 2.36 million on-screen dots, 2.5 times more than a VGA display (640 x 480). Ultrathin and light,
the displays have a wide viewing angle of 160 degrees, both vertically and horizontally, and feature excellent brightness and
contrast. The color plasma displays incorporate multiscan technology that automatically adjusts to XGA, SVGA and VGA,
and also have video input ports.
Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., develops and markets a variety of consumer
electronics and commercial multimedia products, including handheld computers and products for image capture and
information access/multimedia.
Hitachi America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, markets and manufactures a broad range of
electronics, computer systems and products, and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout
North America.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with
fiscal 1996 consolidated sales (ending March 31, 1997) of $68.7 billion. The company markets and manufactures a wide
range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment.
CONTACT: Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc.
Lee Woodring, 770/279-5617
lee.woodring@halny.hitachi.com
or
Crescent Communications
Andrew Dod, 404/287-2000 x 129
adod@crescomm.com
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