RCA Introduces Wireless mp3, Recordable DVD, and Portable A/V Jukebox at CES

January 2003 - Thomson just unveiled its new line of 2003 RCA home entertainment products at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas designed to simplify digital technology and bring it into people's lives. The high-end range of RCA Scenium products expands to include new high-definition microdisplay technology. The exclusive RCA Alert Guard system is being introduced so that the family television can now maintain a constant watch on emergency advisories and weather conditions, and a new selection of RCA mp3 audio products will simplify digital music and make mp3 music files more accessible through the home theatre in the living room.

"With RCA Alert Guard, television viewers can expect their family television to keep a constant vigil on ever-changing conditions through the extensive digital broadcasts of the NOAA Weather Radio network. RCA Alert Guard can be personalized to more than 3,000 distinct geographic locations throughout the United States and its territories, and Alert Guard will monitor for the latest information on natural disasters and even man-made emergencies," said Thomson's Michael D. O'Hara, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Consumer Products Marketing and Sales.

"To build on the success of the new RCA Scenium line of home entertainment products, we're adding new features like Digital Light Processing microdisplay technology to our high-definition TV range. DLP means outstanding picture clarity, a thin cabinet profile, and less bulk in HDTV. Our 50-inch DLP HDTV joins the complete range of RCA and RCA Scenium HDTV Sets that will now feature built-in digital tuning, expansive wide screens, and secure connections for the latest high-definition content," said O'Hara.

"Our expanded range of digital mp3 audio products will include the RCA Home Theatre Music Jukebox, a hard-drive device that can create and store thousands of mp3 files from your CD collection. You can literally build a playlist on your TV screen, and then fill up an RCA mp3 player to take your music on the go," explained O'Hara.

RCA Alert Guard
A new series of full-performance RCA Alert Guard color TV sets will soon provide consumers for the first time with the means to monitor localized and national emergencies even when the television is tuned to a cable channel, playing a VHS tape or DVD disc, viewing a satellite channel or playing a video game.

With the new RCA Alert Guard models, television viewers are assured of receiving the latest information on natural disasters threatening their area - such as hurricanes, tornados or floods - as well as nuclear power plant alerts, chemical spills and even threats to the national welfare in the form of terrorist attacks. Even while the consumer is sleeping (and electricity is available), the RCA Alert Guard TV can be set to sound a built-in chime or alarm when danger is imminent.

The six RCA Alert Guard models - in 20-, 27- and 32-inch (diagonal) screen sizes - are designed to receive Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes and Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) data covering National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) advisories and alerts, State and County civil emergency alerts and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) alerts broadcast over the all hazard NWR network. Additional advisories can include school closings and emergencies and AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) alerts where provided from counties and states.

Slim, Sleek, and Svelte HDTV
The new flagship model in the RCA Scenium line is a widescreen 50-inch (diagonal) fully integrated rear-projection HDTV based on Texas Instruments' DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology. Like the entire RCA Scenium digital television line, the 50-inch RCA Scenium DLP HDTV embraces 16x9 widescreen display panorama and boasts the industry's most advanced performance technologies integrated in a user-friendly design. Some of these features include a 16x9 widescreen panoramic display with an anti-reflective protective shield, a built-in ATSC tuner/decoder, 720p high-definition display, high-speed broadband connectivity for networking and Internet browsing, QAM modulation that enables the TV to receive local broadcasts over digital cable channels, and secure digital DVI-HDTV and DTVLink(1394) interfaces that assure optimum display capability of uncompressed digital video images as well as convenient recording of HDTV programming. The lightweight (under 100 pounds) and slim cabinet (16 inches deep) make the 50-inch RCA Scenium DLP HDTV the ideal model for consumers seeking giant-screen picture performance in a compact cabinet design at a suggested retail price of $4,499.

mp3 Filling Station: RCA Home Theatre Music Jukebox
Consumers can easily create and manage thousands of mp3 files using their television and the RCA Home Theater Music Jukebox, a 20GB DVD Home Theatre system that features surround sound speakers, on-screen song sorting, and the ability to encode CD music as mp3 files. With a suggested retail price of $699, the RCA Home Theatre Music Jukebox is an affordable, easy to use, all in one solution that gives consumers the ability to manage their content on the very familiar television display. Ease of use and flexibility are key elements of the RCA RTD750.

The RCA Home Theatre Music Jukebox is the first home theatre system that enables users to transfer digital music to an RCA flash-memory portable digital audio device without the use of a PC. Through a USB connection to a portable RCA mp3 player, music fans can take their digital playlists on the go as organized through their central home theatre system.

The RCA Home Theatre Music Jukebox is an amplified DVD home theatre system with a 20GB hard drive that can store an entire CD library of up to 350 hours of content (4,000 songs). CDs are ripped 4x the play speed, with sampling rates ranging from 96 to 320 kbps. Using a graphical on-screen display, users can easily create personalized playlists and organize their tracks by different categories such as artist or music genre. With Internet connectivity via broadband Ethernet or dial-up modem to OpenGlobe, consumers can also "dig deeper" into their media by gaining access to artist biographies and discographies.

The RCA Home Theatre Music Jukebox integrates AM/FM radio with high quality Internet Radio. Local AM/FM Stereo information (with call letters, broadcast location and genre) can be displayed on the on-screen Radio Guide along with Internet Radio stations.

RCA LYRA Lineup Adds Portable Video
Expanding its strategy of enabling consumers to enjoy digital entertainment whether hooked to a PC or on the go, a new line of RCA LYRA digital audio and video products emphasizes portability, popular playback formats, and affordable price points. The six new models in the 2003 RCA LYRA lineup include LYRA Wireless, which allows music from the PC to be digitally transmitted to a home stereo system anywhere in the house, and the RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox, a unique portable hard drive player that can play both video and audio files. The tiny, 1.5GB RCA LYRA Micro Jukebox, redesigned 20GB RCA LYRA mp3 Jukebox, and two new pocket mp3 players are other new additions to the RCA mp3 product line.

Targeted at consumers who want to enjoy the vast collection of digital audio files stored on their PC on a home stereo system, the RCA LYRA Wireless system (Model RD900W, suggested retail price $99) uses Thomson's proprietary Digital Sound Mix technology to transmit 900mhz signals at near CD-quality up to a range of 100 feet. Using a transmitter that connects to the PC via a USB connection and a receiver that plugs into the home stereo system via a standard RCA audio jack, the RD900W plays PC-based music through a stereo system or bookshelf audio system.

The first RCA LYRA portable to incorporate video playback, the palm-sized 20GB RD2780 RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox delivers a complete digital entertainment experience in the palm of the hand. About the size of a small picture frame with a 3.5-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT) LCD screen, the RCA LYRA Audio Video Jukebox also acts as a computer storage device, compatible with multiple audio and video codecs, and can be easily connected to most standard television sets. Measuring a compact 5.2 x 3.14 x 0.98 inches, the versatile RD2780 can play mp3, mp3PRO and Windows Media Audio files.

Consumers can watch up to 80 hours of pre-recorded television shows, feature films, or home videos directly on the RD2780. It easily connects to a television set via its composite video output and includes both audio and video recording mode. Since the device is essentially a computer peripheral with a hard drive, the display screen can also be used to organize digital audio song files or other types of stored data, including computer files such as word processing documents and presentations. The RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox is also a portable photo album, since JPEG images can be viewed on the RD2780, by either transferring them directly from the PC using a USB 2.0 high-speed connection or by inserting a Compact Flash memory card. The vast hard drive in the RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox can accommodate up to 100,000 JPEG images.

Affordable and Recordable
Recording with DVD will become more affordable when Thomson delivers its first RCA DVD+RW/+R recorder priced to encourage mainstream consumers to enter this fast-growing home entertainment product category. The full-featured recordable DVD player, Model DRC8000N, will carry a suggested retail price of $599 when it ships this June. The +RW format offers numerous features and benefits that provide consumers with time saving and easy operating capabilities.

Combining the recording ability of a VCR and the digital quality of a DVD, the RCA DVD recorder allows consumers to record their favorite television shows and home videos onto a DVD. This is the first DVD recorder to incorporate the easy to navigate GUIDE Plus+ interactive TV guide and with one touch record, recording off air programs is simple.

In 2003, Thomson will introduce its second combination DVD player and personal video recorder. This versatile progressive scan DVD player has a 40GB hard drive with up to 40 hours of recording time and incorporates a no-fee GUIDE Plus+ interactive program guide with one-touch recording for easy time shifting of favorite shows. Other key functions include the ability to pause a live program for up to 45 minutes, one button fast forward, 10-second instant replay and the ability to watch one program while recording another. The RCA DRC7005N Digital Media Recorder will offer audio, video and photo album capability and can store thousands of JPEG images with RCA's Digital PhotoView.

For more information: www.thomson.net

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