Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 14, 2005. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Philips will offer the Premiere-compatible HDTV receivers through its broad dealer network in Germany and Austria. The set-top boxes will be based on the ISO standards MPEG-4/H.264 and MPEG-2, thus offering the greatest possible compatibility for HDTV reception. Video and audio data are transmitted without loss using the digital HDMI interface (High Definition Multimedia Interface).
“At present, Premiere is taking a pioneering role in the introduction of digital television in Europe. This makes us all the more pleased that, through the decision in favor of our set-top boxes, we are once again at the forefront of a technology revolution in television history,” explains Ronald de Jong, Managing Director of Philips Consumer Electronics in Hamburg.
Dr. Friedrich-Carl Wachs, Executive Board Member for Strategy and Development at Premiere, sees HDTV as a generational change in TV technology: “HDTV is television in a whole new dimension. With the planned launch, Premiere is ushering in a new TV era, comparable to the change from black-and-white to color television. We are pleased to have gained Philips as a partner that offers a comprehensive range of HDTV devices –plasma and LCD displays – from a single source in addition to receiver technology. As a partner of the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup, Philips is also the ideal complement for Premiere.”
The cooperation brings together two companies for which the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup in Germany plays an important strategic role. It will be the first FIFA World Cup to be broadcast entirely in the HD widescreen format in Germany – by Premiere. On the other side, as an official sponsor Philips is working closely with FIFA and Infront Sports & Media AG, FIFA’s worldwide exclusive TV partner, to ensure the broadest possible HDTV transmission of the major football event worldwide.
The set-top box for Premiere is part of a series of new HDTV products that Philips is introducing at the same time as the launch of high-definition television in Europe and other markets. In addition to HDTV-capable set-top boxes, these are flat-screen TVs with the “HD ready” seal.
