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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BillyG who wrote (37358)	11/20/1998 12:40:00 PM
From: Cameron Lang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Best Buy first to sell HDTV sets nationwide. nt.excite.com 1st National Retailer Launches HDTV; High Definition Television Arrives at Best Buy MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), the nation's retail leader in digital technology products, will be the first retailer to launch High Definition Television (HDTV) nationwide. HDTV sets and displays are arriving today at stores across the country. "The picture clarity of HDTV is as crystal clear as looking out your window. You have to see it to believe it," said Phil Schoonover, Best Buy's Sr. Vice President - Marketing. "Digital television's introduction is as historical as the dawn of television in 1939 or the transition to color television in 1954. Best Buy is the leader in introducing new technology and making it easy to use, so it makes sense for us to be the first retailer to bring HDTV to customers nationwide." Best Buy will initially feature Panasonic's 56" digital televisions with models by Sony and RCA arriving in stores by year end. Best Buy's interactive, in-store displays allow consumers to experience the superior picture and digital quality sound of this new technology. Digital televisions will be displayed in 135 Best Buy stores in the following cities: Washington, DC Detroit, MI Los Angeles, CA Philadelphia, PA Dallas and Houston, TX Boston, MA Miami, FL Atlanta, GA Indianapolis, IN Madison and Milwaukee, WI Raleigh and Charlotte, NC Syracuse, NY Columbus, OH HDTV's rollout will mirror the successful launch model Best Buy used to introduce Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) to consumers. Best Buy currently dominates the DVD market with more than 30 percent marketshare for hardware and software. Best Buy's HDTV displays will be rolled out in phases to all Best Buy's 312 stores nationwide. Initially, stores in broadcast markets will receive product displays, and all stores are expected to display HDTV by April 1999. "HDTV is the greatest advance in consumer electronics since the invention of television," said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association. "Manufacturers believe in this product and consumers will too, once they experience it." HDTV offers: Picture quality twice as clear as today's analog televisions; Digital audio means CD-quality, 5.1 channel digital surround sound, which brings the clarity and digital bass of movie theaters into the home theater; Multicasting, the ability to broadcast up to four signals on the same channel will provide entertainment information choices from pay-per-view, premium movies channels or web surfing. Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co., Inc. is the nation's largest volume specialty retailer of name-brand consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. The Company is ranked 199 on the Fortune 500 with annual revenues of $8.4 billion. Best Buy operates 312 stores in 36 states, after these openings. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, symbol BBY. Visit the Company's Web site at bestbuy.com