Best Buy to Offer HP Digital TVs

April 2006 -- HP has signed a national distribution agreement for its award-winning line of digital televisions with Best Buy Co., Inc., the nation’s largest electronics retailer.

Beginning in late April, Best Buy stores nationwide will offer HP high-definition TVs, including LCD and plasma models. In late August, Best Buy also will add HP’s groundbreaking MediaSmart TV in select U.S. markets.

The industry’s first TV to connect home networks to home entertainment systems, the HP MediaSmart TV allows customers to access music, movies, photos and videos stored on any PC or notebook computer and to enjoy them in their living rooms.

“We look forward to being able to offer customers the opportunity to purchase HP’s televisions in Best Buy stores,” said Mike Vitelli, senior vice president, Merchandising, Best Buy. “Flat-panel television is growing at a tremendous rate. We believe that the addition of HP to our television lineup at this time gives customers another reason to make Best Buy their retailer of choice when shopping for a flat-panel television.”

HP’s latest lines of LCD and plasma HDTVs have a dynamic contrast ratio of 6,000:1, which sets a new standard for black levels on an LCD, and a 6ms refresh rate that virtually eliminates motion blur. The 37- and 32-inch LCD models feature the company’s innovative Visual Fidelity technologies, which provide an advanced video pipeline that combines information about a room’s ambient lighting with photorealistic sharpness enhancement and a 3D color enrichment system to deliver stunning detail and color.

HP’s 2006 line of plasma HDTVs, including 50-inch and 42-inch models, display more than 1 billion colors and have a contrast ratio of 10,000:1. They feature ultra-long life panels and integrated HDTV/analog tuners so viewers can watch HD or standard broadcasts with a cable box or off-the-air antenna.

“HP TVs will provide Best Buy customers with a great user experience in a way that no other company can by combining ease of use, reliability and our unique IT heritage,” said Jan Luc Blakborn, director, Digital Entertainment – North America, HP. “By distributing through a company with Best Buy’s scope and reputation, HP will make it even easier for customers to take digital entertainment technologies out of the box and into their lives."

More information about HP is available at www.hp.com.

SOURCE HP