Devotees of Gemstar, enjoy! Pertinent details are highlighted in a bold font.
--Mike Buckley
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PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1999--Gemstar International Group Limited (NASDAQ:GMST) announced today that televisions containing its GUIDE Plus+(R) and GUIDE Plus+ GOLD electronic program guides ("EPGs") capable of displaying advertising are now available in eight major consumer electronics brands.
Within the past three months, five brands joined Thomson Consumer Electronics (maker of the RCA, PROSCAN and GE brands) in shipping television models incorporating the Company's GUIDE Plus+ EPG. The Company received information that Sony has shipped two TV models in its V series (KV32V68 and KV35V68); JVC has shipped three models in its D series (AV27D800, AV32D800, and AV36D800); Zenith has shipped four models in its Inteq series (IQB27B44W, IQB32B44W, IQB36B44W, and IQB64B10W) including one high-definition projection TV; Magnavox has shipped four models of projection televisions (9P5044, 9P5544, 9P6044, and 9P6444); and Philips is in the process of shipping two models (27PT40B, 32PT70B).
The Company also received confirmation from Thomson that its shipments of RCA, PROSCAN and GE televisions containing the GUIDE Plus+ EPG has reached the 100,000 units per month mark in July, and is likely to remain so over the remainder of the year. To date, Thomson has already launched 52 GUIDE Plus+ GOLD and GUIDE Plus+ models.
Under the RCA brand, the models are: F25645, F27615, F27625, F27645, G27647, G27646, F32645, F26645, F27664, F27665, F32665, G32665, F36665, G35665, F35665, F31665, F27685, F32685, F36685, P46921, P46922, P46924, P52921, P52928, P56924, P60921, P60924, P60928, G27669, P52923, F32705, G32705, F36705, G36705, P52940, P52945, P56940, P61940.
Under the GE brand, the models are: 46GW947, 52GW947, 60GW947. And under the PROSCAN brand, the models are: PS27500, PS27600, PS32500, PS32600, PS32700, PS36500, PS36600, PS36700, PS50700, PS56700, PS61700. In addition, Sony also shipped one VCR model (SLV-M20HF) with the GUIDE Plus+ feature as well as the SmartFile feature, which utilizes an indexing technology developed jointly by Gemstar and Sony.
The eight brands include the top four brands in the United States and collectively command nearly 60 percent of the total U.S. TV market.
The Company expects additional brands and models containing the GUIDE Plus+ EPG to be introduced later this year and in the year 2000.
"Even though for some brands, the GUIDE Plus+ feature is currently confined to high-end models, we are very pleased with the fact that the launches are slightly ahead of our expectation," said Henry Yuen, chairman and chief executive officer of Gemstar. "Not only does it achieve an important milestone in engineering development, it reflects manufacturers' enthusiasm for the GUIDE Plus+ feature."
Gemstar develops, markets and licenses proprietary technologies and systems aimed at making technology user-friendly for consumers. Gemstar's technology and intellectual property are licensed to major companies in the consumer electronics, satellite, cable and personal computer industries, including Aiwa, Akai, America Online (AOL), Americast, Cox, Daewoo, Funai, GTE, Hitachi, Hughes Network Systems, JVC, LG Electronics (Goldstar), Matsushita (Panasonic, Quasar), Microsoft Corporation, Mitsubishi, Orion, Philips (Magnavox, Philips), Quadravision, Samsung, Sanyo, Scientific-Atlanta, Sharp, Shintom, Sony, Southern New England Telephone, Thomson multimedia (GE, PROSCAN, RCA, Thomson), Time Warner, Toshiba, U.S. West, Uniden and Zenith.
Gemstar has over 75 issued U.S. patents in the general area of audio-visual technologies containing over 1,500 claims and 70 foreign patents containing over 1,000 claims. The Company continues to pursue a worldwide patent prosecution program and has more than 130 pending U.S. patent applications and over 160 pending foreign patent applications.
Gemstar is a leading provider of electronic program guide services, which allow a user to view a television program guide on screen, obtain details about a show, sort shows by themes or categories, and select shows for tuning or recording, all through the remote control.
In the United States, data for Gemstar's electronic program guide services are carried on the ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, UPN and PBS networks and by hundreds of over-the-air broadcast stations and on a number of cable networks. Gemstar's electronic program guide has been built into a number of models of new televisions, VCRs and TV/VCR combination units.
Gemstar's electronic program guide is also licensed to cable, telco and MMDS service providers, and has been integrated into direct broadcast satellite receivers, digital and advanced analog cable set-top boxes, PCTV and other Internet devices and computer operating systems such as Windows 98.
Gemstar's VCR Plus+(R) instant programming system is a world standard for VCR programming. The VCR Plus+ system allows a user to record a television show simply by entering a number -- the PlusCode(R) number -- printed in television program guides. The PlusCode numbers are published by over 1,800 newspapers and television program guides worldwide, with a combined circulation of over 330 million.
The VCR Plus+ system has been licensed to virtually every major television and VCR manufacturer and is now available in 40 countries and six continents, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa.
Except for historical information contained here, the matters discussed in this news release contain forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the management of growth, and the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 1999.
Note to Editors: GUIDE Plus+, VCR Plus+ and PlusCode are trademarks of Gemstar. Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. |
