Actiontec Introduces the First Wireless Digital Media Player With Eight-In-One Reader for Portable Memory Cards

LAS VEGAS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 8, 2004—Brings Digital Music, Movie & Photos from PCs and Memory Cards to TVs and Stereos Without Wires  

Actiontec Electronics today announced the Actiontec Wireless Digital Media Player with Built-in Card Reader, the first product in its class that enables consumers to play digital images and music on their TVs and stereos from any of the eight major portable memory card formats used in digital cameras, digital camcorders and MP3 players. The VCR-sized appliance also wirelessly links computers to home entertainment centers for big-screen and big-speaker enjoyment of PC-based content ranging from downloaded music and movies to Internet radio.

With the player’s built-in card reader, users can insert any CompactFlash Type I or Type II, IBM Microdrive, MS Pro, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, MultiMedia or Secure Digital card into the machine, and the contents will play on the designated TV or stereo. As a result, digital home movies, digital camera photos and other images stored on the cards can be shared with friends and family from the comfort of the couch without first downloading them to a PC, and portable music files can be heard on the biggest sound system in the house.

In addition, digital music files housed on a PC can be played on the family stereo in their full audio glory without transferring them to CD, and Internet radio can be piped through the home stereo system instead of trapped in minuscule computer speakers. Users can also watch digital video from a family vacation or a child’s birthday party on the TV screen without converting it to videotape, view downloaded Internet movies without sitting in front of their PCs, and surf the Web using the television as their monitor.

The appliance interacts with the user’s PC through the Actiontec Media Buddy(TM), a media manager that instructs the media player where music and images are located on the computer. Users navigate through their media folders via the TV screen with a special remote control included in the package. The system also allows databases from multiple home computers to be merged, making it possible to aggregate the digital media libraries of different family members.

Actiontec is showing the product in Suite 1421 at the Las Vegas Hilton in conjunction with the Winter Consumer Electronics Show that opened today in Las Vegas.

“With our new Wireless Digital Media Player, anyone can bring the power of the PC as well as that of portable audio and video storage directly to the home entertainment center,” said Dean Chang, President and CEO of Actiontec Electronics. “Music and images that once were confined to tiny speakers and computer monitors now can be enjoyed on the home stereo and TV for a bigger, better, more convenient and more sociable media experience.”

The Actiontec Wireless Digital Media Player supports:

—MP3, AC3, AAC, WAV, WMA and Ogg Vorbis audio formats.

—JPEG, GIF, animated GIF, TIF, BMP and PNG image formats.

—S/PDIF digital audio.

—M3U and ASX playlist formats

—MPEG1/2/4, DIVX, Xivd and RMP4 video formats.

—CompactFlash Type I and Type II, IBM Microdrive, MS Pro, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, MultiMedia Card and SD Card digital photo card formats.

—Internet radio.

—HDTV and S-Video.

—Digital Optical Output for true sound fidelity without the need for RCA cabling.

Pricing, Availability and Specifications

The Actiontec Wireless Digital Media Player with Built-in Card Reader will be available in February at www.actiontec.com and from online and offline retailers at an MSRP of $169.95. It will ship with an 11 Mbps wireless PC card for wireless connectivity between the PC and the home entertainment center, an audio/video cable with RCA connectors for connection to the television and sound system, an S-Video cable, and a remote control with two AAA batteries. The package will also contain a Quick Start Guide, an installation CD-ROM with a user guide, the Actiontec Installation Buddy(R) for easy setup, and the Actiontec Media Buddy(TM) for managing content retrieval from the user’s PC.

Minimum system requirements include a television with Composite Video or S-Video input; a stereo or A/C receiver with RCA audio input; and a 300 MHz Pentium II computer (700 MHz Pentium II for video playback) with an 802.11b or 802.11g wireless adapter, TCP/IP, and at least 60MB of hard drive space. The product supports all major operating systems including Windows 98SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP; Mac OS 10 or higher; and Linux/BSD Unix.

About Actiontec
Actiontec Electronics, Inc. is a leading supplier of devices designed for the digital life, including the industry’s first call waiting modems, DSL modems, cable/DSL routers, Internet telephony products and wireless home networking kits. Kid Defender, the first real-time Internet control software for parents, continues the company’s focus on products that optimize Internet use. Actiontec products have earned Best of Show at Retail Xchange, Editors Choice awards from CNET’s computers.com and homePCnetwork.com, and Top 100 Products of the Year from Computer Shopper. Actiontec products are distributed through mass market retailers, Actiontec’s online store, and private label and Tier 1 OEM relationships. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, and maintains branch offices in Austin, TX; Colorado Springs, CO; Reading, United Kingdom; China and Taiwan. For more information, phone 408-752-7700, fax 408-541-9003, or visit http://www.actiontec.com.

Actiontec and the Actiontec logo are trademarks of Actiontec Electronics, Inc. All other product names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders.