Date: November 19, 2002

PRODUCT SHOWCASE DEMONSTRATES SUPREMACY OF DVD+RW RECORDING AT COMDEX 2002

COMDEX, Las Vegas, Nevada - November 19, 2002 - The new DVD drives, media and software being exhibited by 29 leading companies in the DVD+RW Alliance Booth at Comdex Fall 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Central Hall, Booth 8141) are demonstrable proof that the DVD+R/+RW standard now has the momentum and industry support to confirm that it has become the format of choice for DVD recording. The world's top PC manufacturers now support DVD+RW/+R in their systems.

"With ever increasing market share, the DVD+RW format is becoming the format of choice, with new innovations such as DVD+R, higher recording speeds and smaller disc sizes proving that DVD+R/+RW has the versatility to meet the demanding needs of consumers in PC, consumer electronics and mobile applications," said Maureen Weber, general manager, HP Optical Storage Solutions Business and spokesperson for the DVD+RW Alliance. "These innovations in DVD+RW recording are not the only proof of its capabilities. Its dominance in the DVD recorder market and tremendous industry support in the PC domain are also illustrations of its success."

Many leading OEMs in the PC, consumer electronics, component, disk manufacturing and software industry now support the DVD+R/+RW format. Earlier this year, for example, Microsoft announced that it will support the DVD+R/+RW Mount Rainier specification in its next-generation operating system.

"Dell supports DVD+R/+RW as a single-format solution because its ease-of-use and strong compatibility across the existing base of DVD-ROM drives and DVD players works for our customers," said Tom Pratt, Strategic Technologist, Dell Computer Corporation.

HP has similarly switched exclusively to DVD+RW drives in its Compaq Presario PC products. "HP is committed to DVD+R/+RW because it provides customers with the most compatible, easy to use format," said John Romano, senior vice president, HP's Consumer PC Organization. "Using the DVD+R/+RW format helps us eliminate costs by no longer having to support multiple standards which can be confusing and add complexity to customer usage, industry testing and limit economies of scale."

High Performance Roadmap

DVD+R/+RW meets end-user demand for continued reduction in the time that it takes to write discs by having an aggressive roadmap of faster writing speeds for both DVD+R and DVD+RW. High performance drives with 4X write speeds are being demonstrated by several drive manufacturers at Comdex 2002. 4X write speeds will allow consumers to create 4.7 GByte DVDs containing home videos, photo albums and PC data in less than 15 minutes.

However, implementation of the DVD+R/+RW high performance roadmap has already taken a further step forward. Philips Semiconductors recently announced its Nexperia DVD+R/+RW chipset and reference design, allowing manufacturers to create drives with 8X write performance for DVD+R and 4X for DVD+RW.

True Convergence

Users can now fully benefit from the full DVD+RW convergence experience, since several independent software vendors are adding support for DVD+RW Video Recording (+VR) in their software. Using such software, consumers can instantly record video on a set-top DVD+RW video recorder; edit, add or delete content directly to/from the same disc using a PC with +VR enabled software; and then play it back on a standard DVD Video player or DVD-ROM drive. This means that users can burn DVD discs in much the same way that they are used to recording with a VCR, and then edit and customize it on their PC without needing to copy the entire contents to hard-disk or rewrite another disc.

Easy-of-use

Set-top DVD Video recorders based on DVD+RW technology offer digital video users unrivaled convenience, maximizing the video experience while minimizing hassles. Ease-of-use now also applies to the PC with the latest fully integrated application software solutions enabling users to have complete control over creating their own CDs and DVDs. User-friendly backup and disaster recovery tools help users to quickly create a complete backup of their PC system on a 4.7 GByte DVD+RW disc.

Large media availability

Thanks to the support of world-leading media manufacturers, such as BenQ, CMC Magnetics, Fuji Photo Film, HP, Hitachi Maxell, I/OMagic, Imation, Memorex, Mitsubishi Chemical Media, Philips, Ricoh, Ritek, Sony, TDK and Verbatim (all present on the DVD+RW Alliance Booth at Comdex 2002), DVD+RW and DVD+R media is competitively priced and widely available.

"With strong worldwide support from PC and electronics hardware manufacturers, there are now many more DVD+RW burners on an end-user's selection list. Due to its high compatibility advantages, DVD+RW could become one of the mainstream products in storage media," commented Ms. Andria Wong, Vice-President of Public Relations of CMC Magnetics Corporation (CMC), one of the world's largest optical disc manufacturers.

Independent Testing Proves Unrivalled Compatibility

Unlike other DVD standards, the DVD+R/+RW format was designed from the outset to fulfill the needs of both the consumer electronics products and PC domains, in the certain knowledge that convergence would result in users demanding cross-compatibility - capturing audio/video clips on their camcorders and DVD-recorders, editing them on their PC, and distributing them to friends and relatives for playback on any DVD player or DVD-ROM drive. The higher reflectance ratio of the recently introduced DVD+R write-once recording media offers even higher compatibility with legacy DVD-players.

Recent independent testing by Intellikey Labs, one of the world's leading DVD testing facilities, has shown that discs recorded on DVD+R/+RW drives are compatible with a larger number of DVD players and DVD-ROM drives than any other DVD recordable/rewritable format in the industry.

Industry Compatibility Initiative

To ensure continued compatibility, the DVD+RW Alliance founded the DVD+RW Compatibility Group for Recorders (DCCG-RG) in addition to the existing initiative for Players (DCCG-PG, also known as the Yokohama 2000 Group). While the Yokohama 2000 Group is improving compatibility of DVD+R/+RW discs on DVD players, the task of the new DCCG-RG is to insure compatibility between DVD+RW/+R media and recorders. The start-up meeting, which took place in the New Otani Inn Tokyo Hotel (Osaki, Japan), was attended by 70 people from 40 different companies.

DVD+RW Alliance COMDEX 2002 Booth (Central Hall Booth #8141)

29 DVD+RW Alliance members are demonstrating and displaying their DVD+R/+RW products and innovations at Comdex 2002. These leading computer, consumer electronics, DVD drive, media, chip-set and software companies will together demonstrate why the DVD+R/+RW format is the ultimate DVD recording format for both PC data and consumer video recording applications.

Companies present on the DVD+RW Alliance booth are Ahead Software AG, Arcsoft, B.H.A Corporation, BenQ, CMC Magnetics Corp., Dell Computer Corporation, FujiFilm, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP, Hitachi Maxell, I/OMagic Corporation, Imation, Kano Technologies, MedioStream, Memorex Products, Mitsubishi Chemical Media/ Verbatim, NEC Solutions, NewTech Infosystems, Oak Technology, Philips Electronics, Philips Semiconductors, Ricoh Company, Ritek, Roxio, Sonic, Sony Corporation, TDK Electronics Corp.(TEC), Thomson Multimedia and Yamaha Corporation.

About DVD+R/+RW

The DVD+R/+RW format is capable of recording up to 4.7 gigabytes of digital video, images or data. This equates to the storage capacity of seven CD-R/RW discs and the potential to store thousands of digital photographs or approximately two hours of digital video. The primary benefit of DVD+R/+RW is its two-way compatibility, meaning that DVD+R and DVD+RW media can be played in most DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives in use today.

About The DVD+RW Alliance

The DVD+RW Alliance is a voluntary group of industry-leading personal computing manufacturers, optical storage and electronics manufacturers including Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), HP (NYSE: HPQ), MCC/Verbatim, Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), Ricoh Company, Ltd. (ADR: RICOY), Sony Corporation, Thomson Multimedia (NYSE: TMS) and Yamaha Corporation. The companies promote the universally compatible, rewritable DVD+RW format that enables true convergence between personal computing and consumer electronics products. DVD+R and DVD+RW discs written on DVD+R/+RW recorder can be read and played in most DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives. More than 50 additional companies have formally pledged support for DVD+RW/+R technology. Further details about the DVD+RW Alliance and supporting companies can be found at http://www.dvdrw.com/.