P.M. BRIEFING : European Firms Join on HDTV
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AMSTERDAM — Dutch and French electronics giants Philips and Thomson said today they have signed a $3.6-billion cooperation agreement to develop high definition television.
Television manufacturers in Europe, the United States and Japan see HDTV, which offers much higher picture quality, as their next great opportunity as the market for conventional TV sets approaches saturation.
Industry analysts say HDTV could represent a $25-billion market within 10 years.
Philips and Thomson, the world’s largest producer of television sets, in January announced a link-up with General Electric Co.’s NBC unit and David Sarnoff Research Center to develop HDTV for the U.S. market.
The five-year deal precedes an international meeting in Dusseldorf this month where delegates will try to set a uniform world standard for HDTV.
The European HDTV strategy calls for the introduction of the system offering compatibility with existing television sets. Japan’s HDTV standard does not have this compatibility.
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