LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/-- Today at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Philips Electronics unveiled its state of the art Pixel Plus 2 HD and Ambilight 2 technologies featured in its award-winning 2005 FlatTV? line. Philips revolutionized the television viewing experience with the original Pixel Plus and Ambilight technologies; now, the enhanced second-generation technologies include improved features to make the viewing experience more lifelike and realistic. Pixel Plus 2 HD pushes video processing technology to its limits, providing ultimate sharpness, true natural detail, brilliant colors and incredible depth impression. Ambilight 2 technology advances upon the groundbreaking Ambient Light Technology that Philips introduced to consumers in 2004, adding a new dimension to the viewing experience.

"As a leader in the consumer electronics industry, Philips continues to set the standard for new display innovations," said Des Power, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Premier, Philips Consumer Electronics, North America. "Pixel Plus 2 HD and Ambilight 2 technologies are revolutionary in their performance. These technologies take television viewing to the next level and provide the absolute best picture quality, ambience and most immersive, cinema-like viewing experience. With the integration of HD into more and more displays, it is increasingly important to provide consumers with the best possible viewing technologies and enhancements."

Pixel Plus 2 HD Technology: Providing advanced sharpness, enhanced resolution

Pixel Plus 2 HD technology offers the unique combination of ultimate sharpness, true natural detail, increased depth impression, and vivid colors from multiple sources including HD and DVD content. Pixel Plus 2 HD technology almost doubles the processing power on improving the HD signals. With Pixel Plus 2 HD, each pixel of the incoming picture is altered to better match the surrounding pixels in a true natural picture. Color purity is analyzed and improved. The end result is an enormously sharper and crisper picture with increased depth impression and more lifelike colors.

Pixel Plus 2 HD technology provides more detail and improved picture color and sharpness and allows the viewer to get more deeply involved in TV content. With this innovative technology, consumers gain a more immersive and pleasurable viewing experience.

Ambilight 2 technology creates a whole new viewing experience

Ambilight technology was first introduced to consumers in Philips' 2004 FlatTV line. This back-lighting system built into the back of the TV improves perceived picture quality and delivers a more immersive viewing experience, all with less eye strain for the viewer. The technology analyzes ? in real time ? the incoming television signals and produces background lighting to match images displayed on the screen.

Ambilight 2 is a further evolution of Ambient Light Technology offering new additional viewing modes. On top of the original Ambilight functionalities, this new version also provides a two-channel left and right adaptation of colors connected to left and right colors shown on the screen (stereo), whereas the original Ambient Light Technology simultaneously adapts colors on both sides (mono).

Philips Pixel Plus 2 HD and Ambilight 2

In other words, the image on the screen can even more completely immerse the viewer as it links the color and intensity changes even more directly to what appears on screen on each side, individually. Ambilight 2 also boasts improved light output, more saturated colors and more customization possibilities with four active viewing modes (sport, relaxed, action, personal), versus two (dynamic, relaxed) from the original Ambilight.

Ambient lighting makes an impressive contribution to the overall viewing experience and adds a new dimension, completely immersing the viewer in the content being watched. The technology creates a unique ambience and results in more relaxed viewing, improved perceived picture detail, contrast and color and provides an even richer, more personalized experience. The science behind Ambilight is well known, and revolves around the working of the human eye, which performs poorly when stressed in response to a single light source such as a TV in a dimmed room. Backlighting the television properly, with no glare, relaxes the eye and allows the perception of all of the detail and color.

Pixel Plus 2 HD technology will be featured in six 2005 Philips FlatTV models, two of which also will feature Ambilight 2. Both Pixel Plus 2 HD and Ambilight 2 technologies are included in both the 42PF9830A LCD FlatTV and the 50PF9830A plasma FlatTV models. These models will be available in Q3. Models with Pixel Plus 2 HD and Ambilight technologies include two LCD FlatTV models (32PF9630A and 42PF9730A) and two plasma FlatTV models (42PF9630A and 50PF9630A). Available in June 2005, these products range in suggested retail prices from $3,999 to $4,999.

The new line of LCD TVs and Plasma TVs are based on Philips' Nexperia semiconductor system solutions (PNX8550/PNX2015/TV300). Philips utilizes Nexperia in all-new integrated ATSC chassis, providing a high level of integration for a digital television (DTV) system solution and unparalleled picture quality by utilizing Philips' proprietary Pixel Plus technology.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 29 billion in 2003. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 166,800 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.