Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HWP - news), MCC/Verbatim, Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG - news), Sony Corporation, Ricoh Company Ltd. and Yamaha Corporation, today announced that Thomson Multimedia (NYSE:TMS - news), manufacturer of RCA entertainment products, has joined the companies supporting DVD+RW to actively support and promote the industry's only two-way compatible rewritable DVD format. DVD+RW is the only rewritable DVD technology that offers seamless media exchange between consumer electronics and personal computing environments. Thomson plans to deliver its first DVD+RW product in the third quarter of 2001.

``Compatibility with millions of existing DVD players is one of Thomson's chief concerns as the industry begins to offer devices that record on digital discs,'' said Greg Bosler, vice president of video product management, Americas, Thomson Multimedia. ``A product that is two-way compatible is easier to use and easier to sell.'' ``By the end of 2001, analysts predict there will be 170 million(a) DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives used worldwide,'' said John Spofford, vice president and general manager, HP Personal Storage Solutions. ``The beauty of DVD+RW is that it allows consumers to take a disc burned in their DVD+RW drive and use it in a variety of PCs and consumer electronic equipment already in their homes. That's the essence of compatibility and a key benefit of the DVD+RW format.''