MULTIPLAY TEST DISCS FROM OSTA ENABLE MANUFACTURERS TO ASSURE CD-R AND CD-RW COMPATIBLITY IN CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DEVICES

MultiPlay certification program now ready for rollout to enable consumers to recognize CD or DVD players that can utilize CD-R and CD-RW discs recorded on PC

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – July 23, 2001 – The Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) today announced that test discs for its recently approved MultiPlay Compact Disc compatibility specification are now available to manufacturers of consumer CD/DVD players. Manufacturers who complete and pass the self-certification requirements can receive a license from OSTA to use the MultiPlay logo. The logo will enable consumers to recognize CD and DVD players that can utilize Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) and Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW) discs recorded on personal computers, and do so as readily as they use pressed discs.
Upon successful completion of the self-certification program, OSTA will license the MultiPlay logo to qualifying consumer electronic device manufacturers on a royalty-free basis. The logo license will grant the right to apply the MultiPlay logo on qualifying products and related documents. The licensee will pay a one-time fee for the test discs and logo license and must comply with the licensing rules.
The MultiPlay compatibility specficiation, originally proposed by Oak Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: OAKT), was completed and adopted by OSTA at its December 2000 meeting. The availability of the test discs and implementation of the certification program complete the roll-out requirements for the compatibility specification.
"The MultiPlay effort builds on OSTA’s successful MultiRead compatibility specification, which in the past three years has accomplished full compatibility of CD-R and CD-RW discs in essentially all computer-based CD or DVD devices," said Felix Nemirovsky, chairman of the OSTA MultiRead Subcommittee. "MultiPlay will in a similar way accomplish much needed CD-R and CD-RW disc compatibility in consumer CD and DVD players. Now that our testing and licensing requirements are complete, we expect the MultiPlay logo to appear in the market as early as third quarter 2001."
The need for the MultiPlay compatibility specification stemmed from recent dramatic growth of CD-RW drive adoption by computer users, fueled by the low price and widespread availability of CD-R and CD-RW discs. Consumers have found that audio or video discs written on a PC using CD-R or CD-RW media cannot always be played in consumer CD or DVD players. All CD and DVD players available to the consumer clearly state that they are designed to play audio Compact Discs. However, consumers expect that, regardless of the type of CD/DVD player (home, portable, car), it should play all types of audio discs. It is a great disappointment to consumers to discover that they cannot play an audio disc written on CD-R or CD-RW media in some CD or DVD players.

Manufacturers of CD players designed to play audio discs may apply this MultiPlay logo to signify that they are also capable of audio playback from CD-R and CD-RW discs. Similarly, DVD players that can play pressed DVD movie discs or CD audio discs may apply the MultiPlay logo to signify their capability to play audio from CD-R and CD-RW discs. A large number of CD and DVD players can also play CD-Text audio discs and VideoCD Movie discs. The new specification defines the following requirements for a consumer CD/DVD player to be MultiPlay capable:

• CD Players capable of only CD Audio must play CD Audio from CD-R and CD-RW discs.
• CD Players capable of CD Audio and CD-Text must play CD Audio and CD-Text from CD-R and CD-RW discs.
• DVD Players capable of only CD Audio (besides DVD Movie), must play CD Audio from CD-R and CD-RW discs
•DVD Players capable of CD Audio and VideoCD must play CD-Audio and VideoCD from CD-R and CD-RW discs.

Consumers will benefit greatly from the improved compatibility, since more and more consumers have access or ability to record CDs. With MultiPlay, the consumer will be enabled to play not only commercially available content but also personal content, such as compilation audio discs made from their own library of commercial audio discs or from compressed audio files stored on their PC. Digital photos downloaded to the PC from digital cameras or scanners can also be recorded onto CD and played in MultiPlay-capable DVD or VideoCD players. Furthermore, personal video in MPEG1 format can be recorded on CDs and played in MultiPlay capable DVD or VideoCD players.

For further information, please refer to the OSTA MultiPlay compatibility specification and test plan, available at www.osta.org/multiplay. To obtain the test discs and self-certification requirements, manufacturers may contact Ray Freemanray@osta.org.

The Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) was incorporated as an international trade association in 1992 to promote the use of recordable optical technologies and products. The organization’s membership includes optical product manufacturers and resellers from three continents, representing more than 85 percent of worldwide writable optical product shipments. They work to shape the future of the industry through regular meetings of CD/DVD, file interchange, high performance, market development, and planning committees. Interested companies worldwide are invited to join the organization and participate in its programs by contacting an OSTA representative at +1 805/963-3853, by fax +1 805/962-1541 or by addressing its Web site. More information on this technology and other optical technologies used widely today is available at the OSTA web site, www.osta.org.

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