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macweek.zdnet.com
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JULY 9, 1998
Apple plugs PB G3 into DVD
By Matthew Rothenberg (matthew_rothenberg@macweek.com)
New York -- The iMac may be Apple's major talking point at this week's Macworld Expo, but the company also introduced an important new twist to its PowerBook G3 line: full-screen, full-motion DVD video.
At yesterday's Expo keynote address, interim Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed off the DVD-Video Kit, available now for $499 from authorized resellers and Apple's online store.
The system, which Jobs said Apple designed from the ground up, includes a DVD-ROM module that occupies one of the two hot-swappable drive bays in the PowerBook G3, a PC Card equipped with MPEG-2 decoding technology and QuickTime 3.0-based software.
Apple said the system delivers full-screen video at 30 frames per second, as well as Dolby audio. Besides DVD content, the DVD-ROM module accommodates a variety of CD-ROM formats, including CD-Recordable, CD-i, PhotoCD and audio CDs. Users can control features such as progressive slow motion, step-frame controls, subtitles and multiple-angle viewing through a photo-realistic onscreen control panel.
Apple said online buyers can order a PowerBook G3 with the DVD-ROM system in place of the standard CD-ROM for $400 more. Owners of PowerBook G3 systems that contain the DVD-ROM module can buy the PC Card and software for $199 from the online Apple Store.
In addition, Apple said Web-based DVD outlets NetFlix Inc. and DVD Empire are making limited-time offers to purchasers of the PowerBook DVD-Video Kit.
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