HAVi Announces New Members and Continued Growth
Fujitsu, hLAN, Konica, PowerTV, ProSyst and Texas Instruments Join HAVi Inc.
San Ramon, CA February 21, 2001 HAVi Inc. today announces the entrance of six more international technology leaders to its organization. The new member companies, Fujitsu, hLAN, Konica, PowerTV, ProSyst and Texas Instruments join the non-profit industry association advancing the Home Audio Video interoperability specification for digital Consumer Electronics home entertainment networking. Since the formation of the HAVi organization in November 1999, membership has grown from the eight founding "Promoter" companies to a roster of almost 50 corporations, Universities and research institutions spanning consumer electronics, semiconductors, software and services.
"We're seeing a growing momentum of multi-industry interest and support for our efforts," says Eddy Odijk, Chairman of the HAVi, Inc. Board of Directors. "We are confident that with this level of collaboration, HAVi is destined to become the de facto standard for home AV entertainment networking."
"Texas Instruments is very pleased to be a new member of HAVi," said Lee Ratliff, product marketing manager for Texas Instruments. "As consumer electronics shift from analog to digital, the interconnect technology will also become digital. HAVi will make this transition easy for the consumer while enabling many new and exciting features, and we at TI intend to leverage our market leadership in IEEE 1394 solutions to become a leading silicon supplier for HAVi enabled products," he added.
"PowerTV is proud to support this initiative and we are currently working to make our interactive solutions HAVi compliant," said Dr. Ken Morse, PowerTV chief technology officer. "Providing a high quality, upgradeable home entertainment network solution to make life easier for consumers has been and will continue to be a major emphasis in our development efforts."
The HAVi specification, v 1.0, is a multi-brand architecture intended primarily for the networking of digital AV home entertainment products. Devices connected in a HAVi network can inter-operate, sharing each other's resources and functionality across the network. HAVi features easy 'plug-and-enjoy' functionality and uses an underlying IEEE 1394 digital interface (i.LINKTM or FireWireTM). HAVi, Inc. provides a forum for the further development of extensions to the HAVi specification through technical Working Groups, as well as programs for promotion and industry education.
Member Meeting
HAVi is holding member, marketing and technical meetings the week of 7-May in London. This is an excellent venue for HAVi member companies to come together, share ideas, and remain informed on recent happenings within HAVi. Additionally, non-member companies are invited to the member meeting to meet representatives from other member companies as well as to learn more about HAVi. Additional details will be posted on the HAVi website as they become available.
Membership information
Interested companies may join the HAVi, Inc. as a Participant member or a Non-Profit Participant member. Participants receive the latest information about the HAVi specification, and may join working groups and participate in other HAVi activities with an annual membership fee of US$ 10,000. Non-profit members, such as universities or research institutes may join the Organization at a reduced annual fee of US$ 2,500.
Further information about HAVi can be obtained from the Organization's website: www.havi.org. An evaluation version of the HAVi specification may also be downloaded from this address.
About HAVi, Inc.
HAVi began as a joint effort on the part of eight of the world's leading consumer electronics manufacturers: Grundig AG, Hitachi Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Royal Philips Electronics, Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, THOMSON multimedia and Toshiba Corporation, which worked together for over two years to develop a common specification for interoperability among networked digital home entertainment products.
HAVi Incorporated, a non-profit association, is open to companies and non-profit institutions interested in extending the awareness, knowledge and understanding of the HAVi Specification. Further information about HAVi can be obtained from the organization's web site http://www.havi.org. The HAVi specification (Version 1.0) can also be downloaded from this site.
About Fujitsu, Ltd.
Fujitsu is a leading provider of Internet-based IT solutions for the global marketplace. Our pace-setting technologies, world-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and global corps of over 60,000 systems and services experts allow us to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help your business succeed.
Comprising over 500 group companies and affiliates worldwide -- including ICL, Amdahl and DMR Consulting -- the Fujitsu Group has 188,000 employees and operations in over 100 countries.
About hLAN
hLAN is a semiconductor company developing integrated solutions for broadband wireless communications. The company was recently founded by President Izhak Kirshenbaum and Chairman & CEO Gidon Barak. The company offers a range of chip sets for wireless networks. The products, combining silicon and software solutions are designed for very high bit rate wireless applications.
About Konica
Since it was founded in 1873, Konica has taken up the challenge to explore unknown business territories and develop completely new products. Over the years, our pioneering spirit has yielded many innovations, including the first brand name camera and first color film in Japan. The Company has also been responsible for a number of world firsts: the first camera with a built-in flash, the first automatic focus (AF) camera, and the first color print paper with a life span of more than 100 years. As people everywhere move into a networked, digitized age, Konica is positioning itself to be an imaging solutions provider based on its accumulated technological expertise. Konica's established analog technology is being combined with digital technology, and its strengths in information processing, communication, and storage. From such consumer-oriented products as digital minilabs and Centuria color print film to medical imaging diagnostics and office equipment- typified by our range of high-speed digital photocopiers-Konica is deploying IT to the fullest, creating a new sense of excitement in fields where speed, partnership, and networking are the watchwords.
About PowerTV
PowerTV, Inc. (www.powertv.com), Cupertino, Calif., is a leading developer of systems software solutions, applications and services for digital interactive cable television. The PowerTVÒ operating system--now on five million set-tops-- will be used by such leading set-top providers as PowerTV's parent company Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE: SFA), Pace Micro Technology, Panasonic and Pioneer New Media Technologies for deployment by cable operators. PowerTV's SofaSOFTâ suite of interactive TV services, which enables consumers to browse the Web, compose email and use other services while watching TV, is in field trials with several major cable operators in anticipation of full-scale rollouts. PowerTV's product line also includes middleware offerings, such as an HTML engine and support for PersonalJava, as well as a family of technical and marketing services to support PowerTV products. Through PRASARA Technologies (www.prasara.com) a PowerTV company, PowerTV has integrated a suite of interactive television applications with Scientific-Atlanta's Explorerâ2000, Pioneer's Voyagerä and Motorola's DCT 2000 digital set-top platforms. These applications include video-on-demand, "take out TV" interactive food ordering, and customer care and education.
About ProSyst
Founded in 1997, ProSyst's development department employs more than 100 experienced Java developers. ProSyst is a leading vendor in the embedded server industry. The company's goal is to connect all household devices with each other as well as to the Internet. ProSyst is headquartered in Cologne, Germany with offices in Atlanta, GA and Sofia, Bulgaria. The company is privately held with investment partners that include SAP and LBB Seed Capital Fund.
About Texas Instruments, Inc.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. The company's businesses also include sensors and controls, and educational and productivity solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
More information is located on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ti.com.
The HAVi name and logo are registered trademarks of HAVi, Inc.. All other third party product or service names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
<Regional Press Contacts for HAVi, Inc.>
Jeannet Harpe (Royal Philips Electronics) - Europe
Tel: +31.40.27.35677
Fax: +31.40.27.32729
Email: Jeannet.Harpe@Philips.com
Bill Chase (Global Inventures, Inc.) - North America
Tel: +1.925.275.6655
Fax: +1.925.275.6691
Email: bchase@inventures.com
Kenichi Nakamura (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) - Asia
Tel: +81.3.3459.9164
Fax: +81.3.3437.2776
Email: kenken@ctmo.mei.co.jp