Philips announced at its Holiday’s in June line show that it plans to highlight forthcoming Ambilight flat-panel TVs and a new Blu-ray Disc player through an expanded holiday ad campaign.
Spending for advertising effort, which will utilize both the television and print mediums, is being increased 45 percent over last year’s effort and is designed to reach consumers an average of eight times during the run period.
It is scheduled to begin this month and will run through the Super Bowl.
The company has also developed a new advanced micro site at flattv.philipsTV.com to help consumers experience “the immersive experience of Ambilight first hand.”
Some print spots for the ad campaign will highlight the new Blu-ray Disc player and will carry the headline: “Experiencing Blu: Beyond High Definition.”
Philips said it will ship its first Blu-ray Disc player in September at a $999 suggested retail price.
In addition to playing back high-definition Blu-ray Discs, the player will support music CDs and DVDs. It output up to 1,080p high-definition images over its HDMI output and will also support many high-bandwidth multichannel audio formats, including DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD.
The first-generation products won’t connect to the Internet to stream additional audio content, the company said.
Meanwhile, outgoing Philips Electronics North American president Reinier Jens said the combined Philips and Magnavox LCD brands have ranked No. 1 in Display Search market share surveys this year. The company is has addressed the growing demand with a “quadrupling of manufacturing capacity for flat TV at our North American production plants,” he said.
Key flat-panel models include Philips PixelPlus 3 HD processing technology, which is said to yield an increased picture sharpness for amplified depth impression and up to 4 trillion color capability. The technology is applied to a variety of signal sources including high-definition TV and DVDs.
In LCD, the company uses its Clear-LCD technology to address motion blur in fast-moving pictures — up to a 4ms response time — while increasing contrast levels.
In flat-panel HDTV, the company unveiled next-generation Ambilight-equipped plasma and LCD TVs. Next-generation Ambilight includes Ambilight Surround and Ambilight Full Surround, which emit ambient light along the TV frame in colors matching the dominant colors appearing on different sides of the screen.
The line includes two-sided Ambilight, consists of flat-panel HDTVs ranging from 37 inches to 50 inches.
The four-sided Ambilight model ships with an “integrated canvas” that hangs on the wall behind the panel to create the illusion that the TV is floating in the air.
The 2006 line will include three two-sided Ambilight HD models. These include a 37W-inch LCD TV shipping in June at $1,999 (reduced from the $2,299 January asking price), a 42W-inch plasma shipping in June at $2,399 (reduced from $2,499) and a 50W-inch plasma set with two-sided AmbiLight 2 shipping in June at $3,399 (reduced from $3,499).
Two three-sided Ambilight models will be offered in July and August, respectively, including a 42W-inch LCD TV at $2,999 and a 50W-inch plasma set at $3,999. The lone Ambilight 4 Full Surround model will be offered in a 42W-inch LCD model shipping in July at $3,999.
