Sony Merges PMP and Walkman Line to Create First DVD Walkman That Supports DivX Video
TORONTO, ONTARIO and SAN DIEGO, Calif. — June 12, 2006 — Sony of Canada Ltd. and DivX Inc, today announced that Sony’s new DVD Walkman portable DVD player is fully DivX Certified, allowing users to playback DivX videos on the go.
With over 180 million software product downloads worldwide, DivX is a digital media format that enables video to be compressed so that it uses only a fraction of the amount of data required by a standard-length DVD for secure playback on PCs and millions of consumer electronics devices.
The new ultra-compact D-VE7000S, a slimline tablet design DVD player with a seven-inch widescreen LCD and embedded rechargeable battery, supports a wide range of playback disc formats. The DVD Walkman offers Dolby® Digital surround sound and dts® digital output with selectable video in/out for connecting to a camera, game system or television.
“DivX is a key technology in bridging the gap between computers and entertainment devices,” said Mahesh Sharma, Product Manager, Home Audio, Home Theatre & Home Video Products, Consumer Audio Visual/Information Technology Group, Sony of Canada Ltd. “By integrating DivX technology with the Walkman product, we enable consumers to have a truly mobile entertainment experience–taking their videos from the PC and enjoying them on the road, on an airplane or in a car, or anywhere else they want to go.”
“By supporting DivX technology in their new Walkman line, Sony has recognized the strong consumer demand for DivX support. We believe DivX Certification is quickly becoming a must-have feature across the consumer electronics ecosystem,” said Bill Holmes, Vice President of Consumer Electronics at DivX, Inc. “Sony’s DVD Walkman lets consumers enjoy their full library of high-quality video while on the go, offering convenient movie playback to users.”
Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure interoperability, security and visual quality. DivX Certified products enable consumers to create, play and share high-quality video content across a range of devices and platforms. More than 35 million DivX Certified devices have shipped from the world’s leading brands. To learn more about the DivX Certification program for consumer electronics devices, visit https://www.divx.com/certification/.
About DivX, Inc.
DivX creates products and services designed to improve the experience of media. Our first product offering was a video compression-decompression software library, or codec, which has been actively sought out and downloaded over 180 million times in the last four years, including over 50 million times during the last twelve months. We have since built on the success of our codec with other consumer software, including the DivX Player application. We distribute this software from our website, DivX.com, which averaged over five million unique visitors per month during the first quarter of 2006. We also license our technologies to consumer hardware device manufacturers and certify their products to ensure the interoperable support of DivX-encoded content. Over 35 million DivX Certified hardware devices have been shipped worldwide, including approximately 8.5 million devices reported to us by our customers during the fourth quarter of 2005. In addition to technology licensing to consumer hardware device manufacturers, we currently generate revenue from software licensing, advertising and content distribution. For more information, visit www.divx.com.
About Sony of Canada Ltd. Established in 1955, Sony of Canada Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of electronic and computer products for consumer, business, electronics publishing and multimedia applications on a global scale. With headquarters in Toronto, sales offices in Vancouver and Montreal and distribution centres in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Whitby, Ontario, approximately 1,000 employees support 75 Sony stores and a network of more than 500 authorized dealers across Canada.
For further information, please visit us at www.sony.ca, www.thesonystore.ca, www.sonybiz.ca or www.sonystyle.ca, Sony’s product information and e-commerce Web site, or contact:
Sony of Canada Contacts: John B. Challinor II APR General Manager, Advertising & Corporate Communications Sony of Canada Ltd. (416) 495-3740 john_challinor@sony.ca
Shawna Rossi Senior Counsellor Technology Practice Silverhammer Public Relations (416) 324-2024, Ext. 3 shawna_rossi@silver-hammer.com