Wave Issue 9808 4/15/98 Article 3-01

*** Standards

Electronics companies create open specifications for networking
appliances
(March 18)

Grundig AG, Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,
Ltd., Philips Electronics N.V., Sharp Corporation, Sony
Corporation, Thomson multimedia S.A., and Toshiba Corporation
have created draft specifications that will enable digital AV
appliances to be interconnected and interoperated in an
integrated home network system.

These specifications are intended to guarantee two-way
interconnectivity between digital AV appliances produced by
different makers and to ensure ease of use on the part of the
consumer. Incorporating these specifications into household AV
appliances will give consumers greater selection when shopping
for electronics.

These eight companies will not stop at making these
specifications available to the AV industry. They will make
them openly available to the whole multimedia industry,
including digital broadcast service providers.