Hi Larry,
As you guessed it, here is the reason for the decline. Philips Digital Networks won the T order for 1 million boxes.
Good luck,
Eric
biz.yahoo.com
Monday August 14, 4:05 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: AT&T Broadband
AT&T Broadband Selects Philips Electronics for
Advanced Digital Cable Set-Top Boxes
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T Broadband and Philips Electronics
(NYSE: PHG - news) plan to market Philips' advanced digital cable set-top boxes to U.S. consumers beginning in 2001, the
companies said today.
The companies said they are forming a new business alliance with a goal of increasing the competitive retail marketplace for advanced digital cable set-top boxes.
The new retail marketplace will spur competition and innovation among world-class technology suppliers, increase choices for consumers, and stimulate the introduction of new broadband video, voice and data services via cable set-tops. This retail alliance will accelerate the innovation in the marketplace. In addition, AT&T Broadband also expects to purchase set-top boxes directly from Philips. The companies have agreed on an initial volume of one million set-tops.
``We are pleased to have Philips working with us to help us continue to meet the incredible need for digital video delivery,'' said Tony Werner, chief technology officer for AT&T Broadband. ``Philips continues to demonstrate a superb ability to innovate in consumer electronics equipment. This innovation, combined with Philips' knowledge of retail distribution channels, will be beneficial as we start to move into retail distribution.''
``Philips is excited to be working with AT&T Broadband to create an open and competitive environment,'' said Rob van
Oostenbrugge, CEO, Philips Digital Networks. ``World-class suppliers now have a clear entry point upon which to develop
innovative new technologies. The ultimate beneficiaries of this alliance will be AT&T Broadband customers, who will soon be able to purchase digital cable set-tops just as they do other consumer electronics products, allowing them to select the services that best suit their interests and needs.''
The digital set-top boxes that Philips will provide to AT&T Broadband will accept an OpenCable(TM) compliant
point-of-deployment (POD) module. This feature enables separable security, a key requirement for portability. Such portability is important to consumers, as it means that they still will be able to use their set-top box even if they move to a new home. OpenCable(TM) is a Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®) initiative aimed at developing a new generation of set-top boxes that are interoperable with the legacy of proprietary systems already deployed in the United States. The companies have made arrangements to create compatibility with AT&T's existing headends, based upon the Motorola-GI DES conditional access system, a breakthrough accomplishment for the broadband industry.
The Philips open set-top platform is an important step in establishing a new consumer electronics business model, offering several combinations of digital cable, personalized television and Internet access services. This platform, which will be deployed in high-bandwidth cable networks, could lay the foundation for creating a residential gateway and a whole new category of in-home accessories. The Philips digital set-top boxes will also feature the versatile and high-performance TriMedia(TM) programmable media processor to be integrated with AT&T Broadband's interactive software platform, which together are expected to provide critical technological advantages over conventional digital set-tops. The TriMedia processor is based upon the Nexperia Digital Video Platform (DVP), which incorporates the TriMedia VLIW processor for advanced media processing. This advanced technology will enable broadband cable subscribers to access the most comprehensive menu of interactive services available. The TriMedia processor, developed by Philips, is a special-purpose microprocessor for the real-time processing of audio, video, graphics and communications data streams. The advanced processor is well suited for
high-performance Internet-based applications such as streaming media, e-commerce, gaming, and other two-way interactive services as well as a wide variety of new television entertainment services such as video-on-demand and personal video recording employing an internal hard disk drive.
The Philips set-top platform is intended to be the catalyst for developing a residential gateway and a whole new category of in-home accessories, including speech recognition input devices, wireless speakers and display devices, cameras for teleconferencing, and voice and data communications products. The Home AV networking specification (HAVi) will be used to provide ease-of-use and application interoperability between the Philips set-top box and connected devices.
AT&T Broadband, a business unit of AT&T, is the nation's largest broadband services company, providing analog and digital television entertainment services to about 16 million customers across the nation. The company also provides advanced services, such as high-speed cable Internet services and competitive local phone service. AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T - news) is the world's leader in telecommunications services and technology.
Philips Digital Networks -- a business group of the Philips Consumer Electronics division -- is a world-leading provider of advanced digital system solutions for Service and Network providers in broadcasting and video distribution. Philips Digital Networks offers product and service solutions for customers in both the professional side of the distribution chain, as well as for consumers to use in the home. In the consumer domain, Philips Digital Networks is a leading provider of set-top boxes for digital television and internet delivery, as well as personal video recording. A pioneer in the development of Internet-enabling
technologies, Philips Digital Networks is playing a key role in the introduction of MPEG4-based media streaming solutions. The broad professional product portfolio includes a comprehensive range of television cameras, studio and compression equipment, conditional access systems and transmission systems for broadband cable networks to deliver a full array of interactive services. A flexible customer support program and active involvement in the bodies setting tomorrow's entertainment and information delivery standards makes Philips a natural partner for the digital broadcast era.
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 31.5 billion in 1999. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture tubes for televisions and monitors, and one-chip TV products. Its 232,433 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, medical systems, and IT services (Origin).
Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.news.philips.com.
Editorial note: Product and company names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks and are owned by the
companies mentioned.
SOURCE: AT&T Broadband |
