Guangzhou, China, April 22, 2009—Aimed squarely at making the TV a simple, interactive hub of the digital home media network, the Digital Interactive Interface for Video & Audio™ (DiiVA™) consortium today announced availability of the DiiVA 1.0 specification. Demonstrating the growing momentum and commitment to the consumer electronics (CE) and home-networking standard, global CE leaders, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, Sharp, Wanlida (Malata), XOCECO (PRIMA), Agilent, MediaTek, Tektronix, Foxconn, and JAE, have joined the effort as contributors to deliver on DiiVA’s promise.

Addressing the need for a worldwide standard for consumer electronics and home networking, the DiiVA interface enables a simple and interactive experience by providing a single, low-cost cable (such as a CAT6 LAN cable) to handle both the transmission of uncompressed video and audio plus bi-directional high-speed data and audio.

Led by Chinese CE manufacturers Changhong, Haier, Hisense, Konka, Panda, Skyworth, SVA, TCL and chip developer, Synerchip, the DiiVA consortium has the support of the Chinese national, regional and local governments. Nearly 70 percent of the world’s televisions are manufactured in China. With its commitment to the DiiVA standard, China is solidifying its role as an advanced technology innovator and enabling the delivery of consumer-friendly digital features in its own market and around the globe.

The DiiVA specification is open to companies developing CE products such as TVs, set-top boxes, DVD and Blu-ray players, AV receivers, PCs, game consoles and mobile devices and enabling technology. The following functionality can now become a reality:

• Easy access to internet-based content from the TV
• Content discovery and device control from any DiiVA-enabled TV
• Reduction in cabling by carrying video, audio, Ethernet and USB over a single DiiVA cable
• Playing a game console from any TV in the house

DiiVA supports 13.5Gbps of bandwidth dedicated to video and over 2Gbps aggregate bandwidth in the Hybrid Channel for bi-directional data and audio. DiiVA will also simultaneously support HDCP 2.0 and DTCP-IP content protection systems for uncompressed and compressed video streams, respectively, and may also additionally use other CP systems developed in China. Data types that are simultaneously streamed include current and future uncompressed high-definition video and audio formats, USB, Ethernet, and device control commands. The DiiVA specification includes transport and network layers that enable video streams, audio, and data packets to be securely routed from any source to any display on the DiiVA home network. Additionally, the DiiVA specification will provide connectivity and charging power to portable devices.

“With its ability to carry high-bandwidth streams and its support for underlying home networking device discovery and content sharing protocols such as DLNA, DiiVA has the opportunity to play a significant role in creating a larger market for home multimedia networks,” stated Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates, a market research firm that studies emerging consumer technologies. “With major consumer electronics manufacturers joining the DiiVA consortium and with the official release of the specification, DiiVA’s presence in the networked household is expected to grow significantly.”

“The world stage is set for a ‘perfect storm’ for a standard like DiiVA to come to market,” said Ms. Weimin Bai, Secretary General of the China Video Industry Association (CVIA) and Director, Department of Electronics & I.T. Products, Division of Broadcast & Television, Ministry of Information Industry, China. “The global swell in demand for digital media from the convenience of the living room makes now the time for the TV to once again take its place as the center of the home entertainment experience.”

Becoming an Adopter
Companies interested in accessing the specification and becoming a DiiVA adopter should go to www.diiva.org or email [email protected] to learn more about the program and request an Adopters Agreement.

About the DiiVA Consortium
Comprised of Changhong, Haier, Hisense, Konka, Panda, Skyworth, SVA, TCL and Synerchip, the DiiVA Consortium is committed to bringing to market the next-generation interactive TV and CE home networking standard. As consumers increasingly use more electronic entertainment devices and digital home appliances, the DiiVA interface will streamline and simplify all the technology in the home, offering ease-of-connection and use while maximizing the entertainment experience. DiiVA's high-bandwidth and bi-directional data channel coupled with its networking protocol elegantly solves issues enabling any TV to access and control any source device, allowing mobile, PC and CE networks to converge and communicate within a home, and establishing a personal domain that enables the secure transmission of content providing flexibility yet respecting the rights of content owners. For more information on how to become a DiiVA adopter, visit www.diiva.org.