17 leading companies form working group to simplify sharing of digital content among consumer electronics, PCs, and mobile devices
Announcement posted by Intel 26 Jun 2003
Seventeen leading consumer electronics, computer, and mobile companies today announced the formation of the Digital Home Working Group (DHWG), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the simplified sharing of digital content, such as digital music, photos and video, among networked consumer electronics (CE), mobile devices and PCs. The group consists of industry leaders including Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Intel, IBM, Kenwood, Lenovo, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Microsoft, NEC CustomTechnica, Nokia, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, STMicroelectronics and Thomson.
The group shares a common goal of establishing a platform of interoperability based on open industry standards and will deliver technical design guidelines that companies can use to develop digital home products that share content through wired or wireless networks in the home. Examples of these products include PCs, TVs, set-top boxes, printers, stereos, mobile phones, PDAs, DVD players, digital projectors and other devices.
Due in large to an increase in broadband adoption and device sales, consumers today are acquiring, viewing, managing and sharing an increasing amount of digital media on devices in the CE, mobile and PC domainsi. As such, consumers want to easily enjoy this content, regardless of the source, across different devices and locations in the home. A number of conflicting standards and media formats exist today making the digital home complex to set-up and manage.
Industry standards alone do not always ensure interoperability. The interoperability framework and technical design guidelines established by the DHWG will provide the baseline for development of multi-branded products and solutions that will work better together. The goal of the group is to deliver guidelines resulting in the first compliant products within the next 12 months.
"This collection of cross-industry leaders share a common vision and are collaborating to make the connected home a reality. One of the critical requirements for mass-market success of networked devices is true and reliable interoperability. The Digital Home Working Group has proposed a sound and fair baseline of interoperability standards, which is an important milestone towards realising this vision," says Danielle Levitas, Director of IDC's Consumer Devices & Services Programs.
The DHWG design guidelines will utilise well-known and established standards such as Internet Protocol (IP), UPnP (tm), Wi-Fi (tm), and other common formats. Over time, the guidelines will evolve to incorporate emerging or subsequent versions of existing standards. Format interoperability will be achieved by requiring certain formats that meet specific criteria. The format must be an open standard that has been formally ratified by an internationally recognised standards organisation, and IP must be licensed under reasonable, non-discriminatory terms.
Based on these guidelines, a set of programs including certification, compliance logos, marketing and promotion will be considered by the group and made available to DHWG members. Products made under DHWG guidelines will provide consumers with increased assurance of connectivity between devices, enabling customers to enjoy contents and services easily.
The group will develop marketing and promotional programs to communicate the benefits of the digital home to consumers and the industry alike. Products based on guidelines will create new business opportunities for the consumer electronics, mobile device and computer industries, accelerating the member companies' development and delivery of networked audio-visual products
including hardware, software, applications and components devices.
Additional information about the group, its participating companies and membership information is available at http://www.DHWG.org.
Industry quotes
IDC
"This collection of cross-industry leaders share a common vision and are collaborating to make the connected home a reality. One of the critical requirements for mass market success of networked devices is true and reliable interoperability. The Digital Home Working Group has proposed a sound and fair baseline of interoperability standards, which is an important milestone towards realising this vision," says Danielle Levitas, Director of IDC's Consumer Devices & Services Programs.
Internet Home Alliance (IHA)
"As we work with our members to advance the home technology market, we applaud all efforts that build awareness for -- and accelerate adoption of -- connected home solutions," said Kristine Stewart, President, Internet Home Alliance, and Director, Market Development, Worldwide Commercial Marketing, Cisco. "DHWG will be an important initiative in the home technology market and a complement to our efforts."
Wi-Fi Alliance
"The DHWG's focus on delivering technical design guidelines to enable cross-industry digital convergence complements the efforts of the Wi-Fi Alliance to enhance the user experience through Wi-Fi (tm) product interoperability," said Frank Hanzlik, Managing Director of the Wi-Fi
Alliance. "We share the vision of a wireless interoperable network for easily accessing and sharing digital content," continued Hanzlik.
DHWG Promoter Company Quotes
Fujitsu
"Fujitsu Limited welcomes the establishment of the DHWG and is proud to participate in this collaborative effort as a founding member. Last year we introduced a series of products in Japan under the concept of "More Fun Through Home Networks." Through our active participation in the DHWG, we will help to accelerate the development of the home network market, and we intend to rapidly introduce new products that will open up new avenues of enjoyment for users." Kuniaki Saito, General Manager, Desktop Products Division, Personal Systems Business Group, Fujitsu Limited
Gateway
"Gateway is committed to improving the quality of consumers' lives through technology, and our participation in the Digital Home Working Group is a natural extension of this vision. Since we launched the first true convergence device eight years ago with the Destination system, we've continued to lead the industry in delivering solutions that combine the best of computing and consumer electronics. As a leading branded integrator of technology solutions, Gateway will bring a unique perspective to this exciting initiative." Matt Milne, Gateway's vice president and general manager of digital solutions
HP
"Central to HP's strategy involves creating a simple, rewarding experience for our consumer customers. The opportunity to combine communication, entertainment, and personal productivity with seamless interoperability across a broader spectrum of technologies reinforces this value proposition. We support the Digital Home Working Group because we believe this has the potential to stimulate new value and growth for the consumer information technology market." Shane Robison, HP's executive vice president, chief strategy and technology officer
IBM
"Computing power is extending rapidly from PCs and laptops into devices that permeate our everyday lives - home appliances, consumer electronics, automobiles, and more. What used to be standalone devices now belong to a larger, interconnected, ecosystem. IBM's participation in the DHWG is the latest in its efforts to drive this new, open, standards-based vision of pervasive computing - giving consumers technology that is more transparent and easy-to-use." William S "Ozzie" Osborne, VP, Strategic Alliances and Standards, Pervasive Computing Division
Intel
"When Intel and Sony initially conceived the idea of a blue chip working group collaborating and applying open industry standards to speed up development of interoperable products, we knew we were onto something big. Dramatically increasing the pace of convergence and innovation is going to bring huge benefits to consumers with products that are easy to set-up, operate and share digital content. Bringing the power of the PC to the Digital Home is going to be key to allowing consumers the ability to create, edit, store and stream their music, videos and photos to anywhere in the home." Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Desktop Platforms Group
Kenwood
"The environment proposed by the DHWG becomes an important key for promoting Mobile & Home Multimedia Systems - the most promising business segment in the 21st century, identified as KENWOOD's NEW VISION. KENWOOD develops the products and solutions offering fresh surprises and excitement, with the group's members and hope to be a leading company of this area." Haruo Kawahara, President and CEO
Lenovo
"Lenovo is pleased to be a member of the Digital Home Working Group and supports the vision of seamless, interoperability between PC, Mobile, and CE products that will deliver a better entertainment experience to consumers everywhere. We believe that this necessary and important group will be key to accelerating the Digital Home vision into reality." George He, Senior Vice President, Lenovo Corporate Research & Development
Matsushita Electric (Panasonic)
"Despite many technical advances, consumers still must cope with the disconnect between their entertainment electronics and home PC's. Panasonic believes that this initiative to establish guidelines for interoperability based on industry standards will be a big step towards securing the benefits of the coming age of ubiquitous networking. Providing consumers with more enjoyable and satisfying experiences through networked products is our ultimate goal." Yoshiaki Kushiki, Managing Director, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Microsoft
"Since the release of Windows XP and the rich media experiences it enables, we've seen an explosion of growth in digital media. As more consumers acquire, manage and enjoy photos, videos and music, they are looking for new ways to access this content both in the home and on a variety of devices. The efforts of the Digital Home Working Group will increase interoperability between PCs and these consumer electronics devices to create tremendous opportunities for exciting new consumer products and services." Rick Thompson, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows Extended Platforms Group
NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd.
"NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd. will support DHWG and participate as the initial member. Digital home vision, PC and CE devices seamlessly connected with ease of use interoperability, realises better consumer experiences of playing/storing/distributing the Digital Contents at home. We believe DHWG will be the driving force to accelerate the industry collaboration." Hiroyuki Masuda, Associate Senior Vice President, NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd.
Nokia
"Nokia strongly supports the Digital Home Working Group's mission of seamless networking and media exchange between digital home communications products. We also believe that the talents and skills of this group are well in place to define an interworking framework between mobile devices and home electronics. There are untapped possibilities to leverage mobile devices with multimedia capabilities, such as images, music, games and video, in the home environment. As the world leader in mobile communications, Nokia's mission is to provide easy-to-use products that are an integral part of people's everyday life at home and on the move. The backbone of these products and services is built on open standards and interoperability." Pertti Korhonen, Executive Vice President, Nokia Mobile Software
Philips
"The digital convergence between devices is one of the pillars of Philips Connected Home vision, where our living rooms have fewer wires and boxes, while providing access to more content, services and features that consumers want. The establishment of the DHWG based on principles of open standards and home networking interoperability, we believe, will unleash a rich digital media environment of interconnected devices that enable us all to experience our favourite content and services wherever and whenever we want." Cesar Vohringer, CTO of Philips Consumer Electronics
Samsung
"Samsung believes in the future of digital convergence and its potential to create the ultimate experience in home entertainment, convenience and utility. We are one step closer to realising this potential by sharing the DHWG's vision that connectivity and interoperability among various devices in the home are central to maximising customer value and industry benefit." Dr. Chung-Kon Ko, Vice President, Samsung Electronics
Sharp
"It is apparent that consumers are finally enjoying in their homes the digital services brought about by advances in broadband network technology. We highly expect that collaboration among consumer electronics and PC industry leaders in the DHWG will accelerate this trend, thus generating new markets for digital home networking." Toru Chiba, Ph.D., Group Deputy General Manager of Corporate Research and Development Group
Sony
"With the rapid advances in broadband networking technology, it is of paramount importance that consumer electronics products be able to connect with each other as well as with personal computers and deliver the rich experience and benefits of a digital home. The DHWG is the means by which industry leaders will be able to focus their resources and talents to aggressively pursue this exciting objective. As one of the founders of the DHWG, Sony's intention is to lead in this important industry transition." Keiji Kimura, president of IMNC Information Technology Company, Sony Corporation
STMicroelectronics
"At STMicroelectronics we welcome the Digital Home Working Group as a major step forward towards convergence among productivity, entertainment, and utility, taking full advantage of the available system-on-chip technologies. End users will be able to get and to share their digital content through a ubiquitous access of networked devices connected through different wired and wireless networks. The full interoperability of different networked deviceswill provide users with seamless access to their digital content and seamless rendering capabilities, and this will open the door to a wide variety of new appliances and services to the benefit of the Industry and end users." Andrea Cuomo Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Advanced System Technology, STMicroelectronics
Thomson
"We strongly believe that IT and CE devices will have to implement technologies which will facilitate compatibility and connectivity, while securing the delivery and viewing of the content. Thomson, a leader in all segments of the digital video chain, is pleased to contribute to this initiative of IT and CE industries which will benefit content owners, distributors, and consumers." Jean-Charles Hourcade, CTO, Thomson
Please note - Board of Director Media Contacts available on request
The group shares a common goal of establishing a platform of interoperability based on open industry standards and will deliver technical design guidelines that companies can use to develop digital home products that share content through wired or wireless networks in the home. Examples of these products include PCs, TVs, set-top boxes, printers, stereos, mobile phones, PDAs, DVD players, digital projectors and other devices.
Due in large to an increase in broadband adoption and device sales, consumers today are acquiring, viewing, managing and sharing an increasing amount of digital media on devices in the CE, mobile and PC domainsi. As such, consumers want to easily enjoy this content, regardless of the source, across different devices and locations in the home. A number of conflicting standards and media formats exist today making the digital home complex to set-up and manage.
Industry standards alone do not always ensure interoperability. The interoperability framework and technical design guidelines established by the DHWG will provide the baseline for development of multi-branded products and solutions that will work better together. The goal of the group is to deliver guidelines resulting in the first compliant products within the next 12 months.
"This collection of cross-industry leaders share a common vision and are collaborating to make the connected home a reality. One of the critical requirements for mass-market success of networked devices is true and reliable interoperability. The Digital Home Working Group has proposed a sound and fair baseline of interoperability standards, which is an important milestone towards realising this vision," says Danielle Levitas, Director of IDC's Consumer Devices & Services Programs.
The DHWG design guidelines will utilise well-known and established standards such as Internet Protocol (IP), UPnP (tm), Wi-Fi (tm), and other common formats. Over time, the guidelines will evolve to incorporate emerging or subsequent versions of existing standards. Format interoperability will be achieved by requiring certain formats that meet specific criteria. The format must be an open standard that has been formally ratified by an internationally recognised standards organisation, and IP must be licensed under reasonable, non-discriminatory terms.
Based on these guidelines, a set of programs including certification, compliance logos, marketing and promotion will be considered by the group and made available to DHWG members. Products made under DHWG guidelines will provide consumers with increased assurance of connectivity between devices, enabling customers to enjoy contents and services easily.
The group will develop marketing and promotional programs to communicate the benefits of the digital home to consumers and the industry alike. Products based on guidelines will create new business opportunities for the consumer electronics, mobile device and computer industries, accelerating the member companies' development and delivery of networked audio-visual products
including hardware, software, applications and components devices.
Additional information about the group, its participating companies and membership information is available at http://www.DHWG.org.
Industry quotes
IDC
"This collection of cross-industry leaders share a common vision and are collaborating to make the connected home a reality. One of the critical requirements for mass market success of networked devices is true and reliable interoperability. The Digital Home Working Group has proposed a sound and fair baseline of interoperability standards, which is an important milestone towards realising this vision," says Danielle Levitas, Director of IDC's Consumer Devices & Services Programs.
Internet Home Alliance (IHA)
"As we work with our members to advance the home technology market, we applaud all efforts that build awareness for -- and accelerate adoption of -- connected home solutions," said Kristine Stewart, President, Internet Home Alliance, and Director, Market Development, Worldwide Commercial Marketing, Cisco. "DHWG will be an important initiative in the home technology market and a complement to our efforts."
Wi-Fi Alliance
"The DHWG's focus on delivering technical design guidelines to enable cross-industry digital convergence complements the efforts of the Wi-Fi Alliance to enhance the user experience through Wi-Fi (tm) product interoperability," said Frank Hanzlik, Managing Director of the Wi-Fi
Alliance. "We share the vision of a wireless interoperable network for easily accessing and sharing digital content," continued Hanzlik.
DHWG Promoter Company Quotes
Fujitsu
"Fujitsu Limited welcomes the establishment of the DHWG and is proud to participate in this collaborative effort as a founding member. Last year we introduced a series of products in Japan under the concept of "More Fun Through Home Networks." Through our active participation in the DHWG, we will help to accelerate the development of the home network market, and we intend to rapidly introduce new products that will open up new avenues of enjoyment for users." Kuniaki Saito, General Manager, Desktop Products Division, Personal Systems Business Group, Fujitsu Limited
Gateway
"Gateway is committed to improving the quality of consumers' lives through technology, and our participation in the Digital Home Working Group is a natural extension of this vision. Since we launched the first true convergence device eight years ago with the Destination system, we've continued to lead the industry in delivering solutions that combine the best of computing and consumer electronics. As a leading branded integrator of technology solutions, Gateway will bring a unique perspective to this exciting initiative." Matt Milne, Gateway's vice president and general manager of digital solutions
HP
"Central to HP's strategy involves creating a simple, rewarding experience for our consumer customers. The opportunity to combine communication, entertainment, and personal productivity with seamless interoperability across a broader spectrum of technologies reinforces this value proposition. We support the Digital Home Working Group because we believe this has the potential to stimulate new value and growth for the consumer information technology market." Shane Robison, HP's executive vice president, chief strategy and technology officer
IBM
"Computing power is extending rapidly from PCs and laptops into devices that permeate our everyday lives - home appliances, consumer electronics, automobiles, and more. What used to be standalone devices now belong to a larger, interconnected, ecosystem. IBM's participation in the DHWG is the latest in its efforts to drive this new, open, standards-based vision of pervasive computing - giving consumers technology that is more transparent and easy-to-use." William S "Ozzie" Osborne, VP, Strategic Alliances and Standards, Pervasive Computing Division
Intel
"When Intel and Sony initially conceived the idea of a blue chip working group collaborating and applying open industry standards to speed up development of interoperable products, we knew we were onto something big. Dramatically increasing the pace of convergence and innovation is going to bring huge benefits to consumers with products that are easy to set-up, operate and share digital content. Bringing the power of the PC to the Digital Home is going to be key to allowing consumers the ability to create, edit, store and stream their music, videos and photos to anywhere in the home." Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Desktop Platforms Group
Kenwood
"The environment proposed by the DHWG becomes an important key for promoting Mobile & Home Multimedia Systems - the most promising business segment in the 21st century, identified as KENWOOD's NEW VISION. KENWOOD develops the products and solutions offering fresh surprises and excitement, with the group's members and hope to be a leading company of this area." Haruo Kawahara, President and CEO
Lenovo
"Lenovo is pleased to be a member of the Digital Home Working Group and supports the vision of seamless, interoperability between PC, Mobile, and CE products that will deliver a better entertainment experience to consumers everywhere. We believe that this necessary and important group will be key to accelerating the Digital Home vision into reality." George He, Senior Vice President, Lenovo Corporate Research & Development
Matsushita Electric (Panasonic)
"Despite many technical advances, consumers still must cope with the disconnect between their entertainment electronics and home PC's. Panasonic believes that this initiative to establish guidelines for interoperability based on industry standards will be a big step towards securing the benefits of the coming age of ubiquitous networking. Providing consumers with more enjoyable and satisfying experiences through networked products is our ultimate goal." Yoshiaki Kushiki, Managing Director, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Microsoft
"Since the release of Windows XP and the rich media experiences it enables, we've seen an explosion of growth in digital media. As more consumers acquire, manage and enjoy photos, videos and music, they are looking for new ways to access this content both in the home and on a variety of devices. The efforts of the Digital Home Working Group will increase interoperability between PCs and these consumer electronics devices to create tremendous opportunities for exciting new consumer products and services." Rick Thompson, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows Extended Platforms Group
NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd.
"NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd. will support DHWG and participate as the initial member. Digital home vision, PC and CE devices seamlessly connected with ease of use interoperability, realises better consumer experiences of playing/storing/distributing the Digital Contents at home. We believe DHWG will be the driving force to accelerate the industry collaboration." Hiroyuki Masuda, Associate Senior Vice President, NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd.
Nokia
"Nokia strongly supports the Digital Home Working Group's mission of seamless networking and media exchange between digital home communications products. We also believe that the talents and skills of this group are well in place to define an interworking framework between mobile devices and home electronics. There are untapped possibilities to leverage mobile devices with multimedia capabilities, such as images, music, games and video, in the home environment. As the world leader in mobile communications, Nokia's mission is to provide easy-to-use products that are an integral part of people's everyday life at home and on the move. The backbone of these products and services is built on open standards and interoperability." Pertti Korhonen, Executive Vice President, Nokia Mobile Software
Philips
"The digital convergence between devices is one of the pillars of Philips Connected Home vision, where our living rooms have fewer wires and boxes, while providing access to more content, services and features that consumers want. The establishment of the DHWG based on principles of open standards and home networking interoperability, we believe, will unleash a rich digital media environment of interconnected devices that enable us all to experience our favourite content and services wherever and whenever we want." Cesar Vohringer, CTO of Philips Consumer Electronics
Samsung
"Samsung believes in the future of digital convergence and its potential to create the ultimate experience in home entertainment, convenience and utility. We are one step closer to realising this potential by sharing the DHWG's vision that connectivity and interoperability among various devices in the home are central to maximising customer value and industry benefit." Dr. Chung-Kon Ko, Vice President, Samsung Electronics
Sharp
"It is apparent that consumers are finally enjoying in their homes the digital services brought about by advances in broadband network technology. We highly expect that collaboration among consumer electronics and PC industry leaders in the DHWG will accelerate this trend, thus generating new markets for digital home networking." Toru Chiba, Ph.D., Group Deputy General Manager of Corporate Research and Development Group
Sony
"With the rapid advances in broadband networking technology, it is of paramount importance that consumer electronics products be able to connect with each other as well as with personal computers and deliver the rich experience and benefits of a digital home. The DHWG is the means by which industry leaders will be able to focus their resources and talents to aggressively pursue this exciting objective. As one of the founders of the DHWG, Sony's intention is to lead in this important industry transition." Keiji Kimura, president of IMNC Information Technology Company, Sony Corporation
STMicroelectronics
"At STMicroelectronics we welcome the Digital Home Working Group as a major step forward towards convergence among productivity, entertainment, and utility, taking full advantage of the available system-on-chip technologies. End users will be able to get and to share their digital content through a ubiquitous access of networked devices connected through different wired and wireless networks. The full interoperability of different networked deviceswill provide users with seamless access to their digital content and seamless rendering capabilities, and this will open the door to a wide variety of new appliances and services to the benefit of the Industry and end users." Andrea Cuomo Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Advanced System Technology, STMicroelectronics
Thomson
"We strongly believe that IT and CE devices will have to implement technologies which will facilitate compatibility and connectivity, while securing the delivery and viewing of the content. Thomson, a leader in all segments of the digital video chain, is pleased to contribute to this initiative of IT and CE industries which will benefit content owners, distributors, and consumers." Jean-Charles Hourcade, CTO, Thomson
Please note - Board of Director Media Contacts available on request