UPC and Philips have agreed a strategic partnership to introduce High-Definition TV (HDTV) into firstly the Netherlands and then other
European countries. The agreement provides the opportunity for UPC customers in the Netherlands to watch major events such as the 2006 International football tournament and many other programs in full HDTV quality.
The partnership combines Europe's leading consumer electronics manufacturer with Europe's largest cable TV operator. As a result UPC will introduce an interactive HDTV-capable set-top box in 2006. Joint promotion activities will start in the first half of 2006.
2006 – the year of HDTV
HDTV broadcasts television signals with a much higher resolution than traditional television formats. HDTV delivers extraordinary clarity, colors and definition enabling an enhanced home theater experience. UPC and Philips believe that 2006 will be the year in which HDTV will take off, spurred by the International football tournament as well as other significant events. Broadcasters, operators, filmmakers and TV receiver manufacturers are all investing in making HDTV a success. Philips is playing a major part by working closely with individual broadcasters and operators like UPC to bring the HDTV experience to viewers throughout the world.
UPC Digital TV
The further development of interactive digital TV is crucial for UPC's television strategy. In the Netherlands, UPC has just started a large-scale rollout of digital TV in which it will invest 300 million euros. By making this investment UPC wants to turn digital TV into a mass product in the Netherlands. Philips will introduce its HDTV DCR7000 Euro-DOCSIS set-top box to UPC customers. This will
decode MPEG-4 HDTV streams from UPC to offer viewers a full interactive digital TV experience.
Pioneering HDTV in Europe
"The agreement with UPC places Philips at the forefront of the European HDTV adoption wave", said Rudy Provoost, CEO Philips Consumer Electronics, Senior Vice President Royal Philips Electronics. "We are delighted to be working together with UPC, integrating our leading set- top box technologies with UPC's HDTV value proposition. What's more, 90 per cent of Philips' European range of large-screen FlatTV™ sets will be HD-ready before the end of 2005, giving consumers the benefit of fully immersive high definition viewing. "
Gene Musselman, President and Chief Operating Officer of UPC Broadband added: "We are very happy to work with a partner like Philips so that we can offer our customers HDTV quality television. We believe that the success of new HDTV systems based on the ATSC standard in
other parts of the world will be matched in the Netherlands."
