THOMSON INTRODUCES RCA DVD RECORDER TARGETING BROAD CONSUMER BASE

Affordable DVD +RW/+R Recorder Features Free Program Guide, mp3 Decoding and JPEG Playback

LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2003 - Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453) (NYSE: TMS) today announced it will deliver an 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.

"Recordable DVD is the next step in the DVD evolution," said Mark Redmond, Vice President, Worldwide Audio and Video. "Consumers will quickly realize the advantages and value that a DVD recorder offers, and with affordable prices reaching a mass market level, we expect DVD recorder sales to capture a significant share of overall DVD player sales," he added.

The +RW format offers numerous features and benefits that provide consumers with time saving and easy operating capabilities.

"Backward compatibility is essential to ensure a rewarding consumer experience. This format was developed from the beginning for both consumer DVD recording and PC data storage applications. This means that +RW/+R discs can be played in most DVD-ROM drives and DVD players currently on the market. In fact, a recent compatibility study of write-once and rewritable formats conducted by Intellikey Labs, an independent DVD quality control company, showed that the +RW and +R products achieved higher compatibility results," Redmond stated.

Other key advantages of the +RW/+R format include the ability to append and edit video right on the disc and support of editing, overwrite, partial overwrite and append, thus enabling users to record video using the DRC8000N recorder and data using a DVD+RW/+R PC drive on the same disc. There is only one recording mode necessary for both video and data and the finalization time for a DVD+R disc is the fastest of all DVD recording formats.

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. The DRC8000N records in six modes: one, two, 2.5, three, four and six hours. In addition, when using the timer record function, the DRC8000N offers an option to automatically set the quality level to the best quality that fits the available space.

Special features include title and chapter creation for easy access to recorded materials; chapter hide/unhide, which allows the user to automatically skip playback of selected sections of a recording; text title labeling; user selectable disc write and title write protection and quick disc erase. The recorded discs will playback on most DVD players and the unit plays all DVD and audio CDs.

More than just a recording device, the DRC8000N incorporates mp3 decoding and Digital PhotoView, which enables playback of JPEG files from a CD-R/RW disc in a rotating slide show format with mp3 playback during the slide show. A USB input connects to a flash card reader for transfer of the digital photos, mp3 files and can decode from flash card without copying to disc for playback and preview.

The recorder has progressive scan capability when playing prerecorded DVDs and plays DVD video, DVD +RW/+R, CD, CDR, CD R/W, CDROM, and multisession CD, VCD and SVCD. The DRC8000N has Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS pass through, SRS TruSurround and satellite and cable box control.

Connections include one set of YPrPb component video outputs, S-Video input and output (one each), composite video input and video output (one each), analog audio in and out (one each), optical digital audio out and coax digital audio out.

About Thomson
With sales of 10.5 billion Euros (U.S. $ 9.3 billion) in 2001, Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides a wide range of video (and enabling) technologies, systems, finished products and services to consumers and professionals in the entertainment and media industries. To advance and enable the digital media transition, Thomson has five principal divisions: Digital Media Solutions, Displays and Components, Consumer Products, Patents and Licensing, and New Media Services. The company distributes its products under the Technicolor, Grass Valley, THOMSON and RCA brand names. For more information: www.thomson.net.
Thomson's Consumer Products division is represented by a broad range of home entertainment products, marketed primarily under the RCA brand in the Americas and under the THOMSON brand in Europe. Thomson is a leader in high-definition digital television, mp3 digital audio, and DVD disc products. The company's most advanced consumer products are sold under the RCA Scenium banner, emphasizing superior technology and elegant design. For more information: www.rca.com.