Philips unveils its high performance DVD+R/+RW PC Drive at CES

New Philips 4x DVD+R/+RW data drive enables faster write speed on DVD+R.

Philips Electronics will unveil its latest DVD+R/+RW data drive that offers a faster writing speed on DVD+R media. . Its 4x write speed on DVD+R media will allow consumers to create 4.7 GByte DVDs containing home videos, photo albums and PC data in less than 15 minutes.

This DVD+R/+RW 4x data drive is the latest offering to emerge from Philips' integrated roadmap of high performance DVD+RW products. The drive will combine DVD and CD recording and playback functionality into one compact unit. It will employ Philips' EasyWrite, an easy way for robust recording, making writing to CD as simple as using the floppy drive. EasyWrite is compliant with Mount Rainier (a joint standards initiative supported by leading manufacturers worldwide) In addition, Philips' Seamless Link and Thermo Balance Writing technologies ensure the highest levels of reliability and quality during operation.

Philips is committed to the DVD+R/+RW format giving the end-user the compatibility and convergence that consumers demand. "DVD+R/+RW is the best in class for consumer video recording as well as for all PC applications; all within a single, easy to use format", says Arthur van der Poel, Member Board of Management of Royal Philips Electronics." It has the great benefit of being backwards compatible with existing DVD playback devices and adding other formats will not result in any performance improvement, only creating confusion at the customer level."

Mass production of the Philips drive will start early in 2003 and will be made available to both PC OEM customers and in Philips branded kits for the aftermarket.

Key features
4x DVD+R write speed
2.4x DVD+RW rewrite speed
12x DVD read speed
16x CD-R write speed
10x CD-RW rewrite speed
40x CD read speed
EasyWrite compliant for CD writing with the simplicity of a floppy disk

About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 32.3 billion in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 184,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.