Vestel Announces the “Vestel TV Recorder”, the World’s First TV with Integrated PVR Capabilities
The Vestel Group, Europe’s second largest TV and monitor manufacturer, has announced the Vestel TV Recorder, the world’s first television to offer integrated personal video recorder (PVR) capabilities. The Vestel TV Recorder is an all-in-one TV that enables viewers to easily record, pause, fast forward and replay TV, DVD and VCR programming using the remote control. The Vestel TV Recorder continuously records TV programming thereby enabling end users to fast-forward through programming as well as initiate instant replays of live TV without the need for set-top boxes or additional remote controls. The Vestel TV Recorder is targeted for OEM partners who require highest-quality technology at cost-effective prices.
“As a leading global consumer electronics manufacturer, Vestel is again first to market with revolutionary television technology at cost-effective prices for our OEM partners,” said Hakan Kutlu, product manager, Vestel Group. “The Vestel TV Recorder effectively transforms standard analog TV into high-resolution digital video output to give end users an all-in-one TV that offers simple control and operation of programming by simply clicking the remote control—the Vestel TV Recorder is ideal for storing favorite movies which can then be easily accessed and viewed as frequently as desired.”
Vestel TV Recorder provides end users with simultaneous recording and playback (time shifting) features that enable the viewer to pause live broadcast at anytime and then resume watching television without missing any part of the program. Vestel’s TV Recorder allows end users to create their own instant replays, and a full set of trick-play modes allows the viewer to move backward or forward in varying speeds such as slow motion backward. With one click of the remote control, the user can return to live broadcast TV at any time.
The Vestel TV Recorder includes 4-8 drawers/files and 40 Gigabytes of memory to allow for up to 40 hours of recording and includes programmable compression ratio to allow for the best quality and storage combination. Vestel’s TV Recorder incorporates Exatel’s PVR design which utilizes Broadcom’s (Nasdaq: BRCM) (formerly Vision Tech’s) leading Kfir II chip. The European version of Vestel TV Recorder will include an interactive European Programming Guide (EPG) which will be localized for each country.
The Vestel TV Recorder is available for the U.S. market in 26”, 27” and 32” models and for the European market in 28”, 29”, 32” 16/9, and 33” models at cost-effective prices. The Vestel TV Recorder will be compatible with a variety of video sources (NTSC/PAL). The Vestel TV Recorder will be available in Europe with EPG functionality in the second quarter 2001 and will be available in the U.S. in the third quarter 2001.