HP Digital Entertainment Initiative Expands into the Living Room HP Digital Entertainment Center to be Demonstrated at TECH EXPO Next Week PALO ALTO, Calif., June 20, 2001
Wind here anywhere?
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Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HWP) today announced the expansion of the company's digital entertainment initiative into the living room. The initiative blends interactive product innovations with easy-to-use services and offers consumers new ways to enjoy digital music, streaming video and Internet information in the living room.
The initiative's first living room component, the HP Digital Entertainment Center, is a stand-alone product that allows enthusiasts to discover new music on the Internet and enjoy their complete music collections from the comfort of their living rooms through high-quality stereo equipment -- without the need for a PC. A prototype of the HP Digital Entertainment Center will be demonstrated at TECH EXPO (Booth No. 2204) in New York City, June 26-28.
"The expansion of HP's digital entertainment product portfolio is a natural diversification," said Pradeep Jotwani, president, HP Consumer Business Organization. "HP plans to leverage its expertise, strategic relationships and knowledge of customer needs to position itself at the forefront of this quickly evolving market."
HP's Digital Entertainment Evolution "HP has been a global leader in CD-writers for more than five years, bringing audio digital entertainment to the public," said John Spofford, vice president and general manager, HP Personal Storage Solutions. "We understand our customers' desire to bring Internet-based, digital entertainment into their living rooms where they can benefit from the best stereo equipment in the house."
According to Cahners In-Stat, worldwide product shipments of this nature are expected to grow more than 900 percent by 2003(1) and Webnoize expects online radio listeners to reach nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population the same year.(2) "The market opportunity for digital entertainment products for the living room, beginning with digital audio components, is significant," said Jotwani. "The HP Digital Entertainment Center is ideally positioned to meet this demand."
The HP Digital Entertainment Center enables customers to:
Record music to CDs with a built in CD-writer; Transfer music to select MP3 players, handhelds and memory card readers; Use its built-in connectivity to download music and artist information and access streaming video through dial-up, DSL or cable connections; Easily store, manage and automatically catalog up to 750 CDs (approximately 9,000 tracks); View music selections and other product features through an easy-to-use on-screen TV display and simple remote control; Access RealNetworks' RealPlayer and RealJukebox services; and Connect to stereo and TV components. The HP Digital Entertainment Center is expected to be available at select retail stores in time for the 2001 holiday season. Pricing will be determined at that time. |
