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To: Ian deSouza who wrote (27645)	1/7/1998 10:40:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

WG-4 Delivers Draft DVD Audio Specifications to Audio Companies and Associations DVD Audio Working Group Takes Key Step In Ongoing Effort To Develop Next Generation Audio Standard The DVD WG-4 Audio Working Group Wednesday announced that it has released a draft of its DVD Audio specifications to the original DVD Consortium companies, major music industry associations: the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) and International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) as well as WG-4 members. WG-4 hopes the draft specifications will generate feedback from its own members and the ISC that will help guide the creation of future drafts and ultimately the final specifications for DVD Audio. "The release of draft specifications is an important milestone in the development of DVD Audio," said Bike H. Suzuki, chairman of the WG-4 DVD Audio Working Group. "In addition, the WG-4 recognizes that the music industry's top priority is copy protection," Suzuki added. "For this reason, we believe the final format design must be capable of accommodating new secure protection technology such as watermarking, or embedded data technology." Apart from the WG-4 format development, efforts are underway with a number of consumer electronics and information technology companies that are actively developing technologies which can be used to protect artists' music from copyright infringement and/or piracy. The WG-4 is also mindful of the US-based multi-industry copyright protection deliberations (CPTWG) that seek to generate solutions acceptable to the consumer as well as the consumer electronics, information technology and music industries. WG-4 is the committee originated by the ten DVD Consortium companies to create the music industry's next-generation format using the superior disc storage capacity of DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). In contrast to the current DVD format, the audio specifications utilize the disc capacity by emphasizing improved next generation digital sound quality rather than the playback of 135 minutes of video. When the specifications are finalized, DVD Audio will join DVD Video and DVD ROM as a compatible family of formats. The draft specifications are the result of extensive discussions over the last two years. In addition to the views of the ten WG-4 companies of the Consortium, many outside interests expressed views that were taken into consideration. In particular, the International Steering Committee (ISC), representing the major music companies and their trade associations, proposed requirements which were recognized through a series of 14 meetings between WG-4 and ISC representatives. The draft specifications describe in detail how the ISC format requirements will be satisfied. About WG-4 The DVD WG-4 Working Group is a committee of the DVD Forum composed of representatives from more than 30 companies including the ten DVD Consortium companies: Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Phillips, Pioneer, Sony, Thompson, Time Warner and Toshiba; and recently more than 20 new companies. The working group's mission is to create the specifications for the music industry's next generation format utilizing the superior disc storage capacity of DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). CONTACT: Smith Public Relations Scott Robertson/Diana Soltesz, 310/788-0456 scottspr@pacbell.net