Pioneer to use Philips' SACD Chip Solution in Advanced DVD Players; The SAA7893HL Delivers Concert Hall Quality to the Living Room

Business Wire, July 22, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG)(AEX:PHI) today announced that Pioneer Corporation (NYSE:PIO) will use Philips' Super Audio CD (SACD) single-chip solution, the SAA7893HL chip. Pioneer will integrate Philips' SAA7893HL chip into its DVD Player (DV-563A-S) and Home Theater System (HTZ-830DV) targeted at the U.S. market, providing consumers with sound quality superior to that of a CD. SACD is a key feature for multichannel audio in DVD players, and Philips' SAA7893HL chip is the ideal semiconductor solution to seamlessly and cost-effectively add SACD capabilities to DVD devices.

"The SACD format has been gaining momentum in the DVD market, presenting a growth opportunity for chipmakers," according to Michelle Abraham of leading industry analyst firm In-Stat/MDR. "By 2005, 35 percent of all DVD players will include SACD as a standard feature." Co-developed by Philips, the SACD format represents the next level of audio reproduction, and offers DVD manufacturers an easy-to-integrate solution that provides consumers with a high-quality audio experience -- equivalent to that of a live concert performance. Equipped with Philips' SAA7893HL chip solution, Pioneer's new DVD Player and Home Theater System will offer DVD-V/SACD and DVD-A playback.

"Using Philips' SAA7893HL chip made it straightforward to integrate SACD into our new range of advanced DVD video players," said Hiroshi Ohtsubo, general manager of video planning department at Pioneer's Consumer Video Product Division. "SACD delivers the highest possible multichannel audio quality, and therefore presents a compelling feature in our premium DVD video players."

"We are providing our partners cost-efficient, flexible chip solutions to bring the latest innovations and developments in laser optics to the market," stated Jeroen Keunen, general manager of consumer and multimedia, Philips Semiconductors. "Pioneer's expertise in DVD applications combined with Philips' leadership position in optical storage proved to be a strong combination, pushing the frontiers of multichannel audio within DVD players and recorders."

Philips' SAA7893HL chip is a flexible and cost-effective single-chip hardware and software solution offering complete SACD functionality, avoiding the need for continual redesign and re-integration of SACD into various applications. The SAA7893HL chip can support many different DVD platforms because of the integrated multiple loader and host interfaces. It enables manufacturers to introduce DVD video players that can support six-channel SACD and DVD-A playback. The six-channel DAC outputs of the DVD host are routed via the chip, which provides a DAC switch function between SACD mode and DVD mode. Offering a complete solution, including Annex J+ level SW API, the SAA7893HL chip also incorporates a full SACD software stack.

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 $30.1 billion (EUR 31.8 billion) in 2002. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 164,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, 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.semiconductors.philips.com