Delphi Tunes into New Market with MP3 Playback Capability

Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Delphi Automotive Systems will showcase its original equipment Communiport MP3 audio playback at the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show next week. Delphi has led the industry in MP3 playback development for new vehicles since the technology's introduction. "MP3 playback is gaining in popularity and has become the music medium preferred by younger consumers," said Dave Wohleen, Delphi executive vice president and president of the Electronics & Mobile Communication Sector. "The flexibility and convenience of the MP3 music format has helped it become a popular choice for home stereo and personal music devices. With Delphi's integrated MP3 players we believe it will quickly become a new vehicle option sought by a large segment of the market."

The Communiport MP3 playback devices demonstrated at CES use several playback mechanisms. One MP3-equipped audio system houses a CD-ROM that looks like a standard CD player. In another, the MP3 unit uses hard-disk drive storage and playback.

MP3 -- which is short for the audio part (layer3) of the MPEG2 (Motion Picture Experts Group) specification -- is an audio compression standard that emerged in the late 1990's and has been growing in popularity on the Internet ever since. It enables digital audio music files to be compressed by a factor of 10 or more without compromising sound quality.

With MP3 encoders, many music lovers are now compressing music off standard music CDs, converting it into MP3 computer files for their personal use, and then copying the files onto recordable CD's or compact flash memory cards. This enables storage of 10 to 12 times more music on a CD-ROM than on a conventional CD.

These files can be played back three different ways on vehicles: via flash memory, CD-ROM and hard disk drive. Audio files can be wirelessly downloaded direct to the vehicle, stored and then played back from the disc drive or memory module.

MP3 playback receivers are among the new innovative products in Delphi's product portfolio that address consumer demand for personalized entertainment, convenience and mobile productivity in vehicles. Delphi's MP3 music players will also be available in the retail market beginning in the second half of 2002.

For more information about Delphi Automotive Systems, visit Delphi's Virtual PressRoom at www.delphiauto.com/vpr .

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SOURCE Delphi Automotive Systems