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January 8, 2008

For Reference

KENWOOD has developed and places on exhibit the world’s first in-vehicle tuner
for MPH™ In-band Mobile DTV System.

KENWOOD Corporation (President and CEO – Kazuo Shiohata; head office – Hachioji, Tokyo) is pleased to announce that it has completed development of the world’s first in-vehicle tuner for MPHTM In-band Mobile DTV System of the U.S. and places it on exhibit at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).(Please refer to the News Release for further details.)

Background to development of and features of MPH™ System

In the United States where the existing analog TV broadcasting is scheduled to be terminated within 2009, home-use terrestrial digital TV broadcasting called ATSC-DTV is already in operation, while several mobile terrestrial digital TV broadcasting systems exist and are being tested.
    The Mobile Pedestrian Handheld (MPHTM) System is one of the mobile digital TV broadcasting systems developed by Harris Corporation (“Harris”), a U.S. manufacturer of imaging devices, LG Electronics (“LG”) and Zenith Electronics (“Zenith”), an R&D division of LG, and has gained favor with a number of broadcasting business operators because they can minimize their capital expenditures as the system uses the same frequency band as that of the current analog TV broadcasting.
    In addition, unlike other mobile digital TV systems, the MPHTM System uses the same frequency band as that of the current analog TV broadcasting, is capable of receiving stably through a single antenna while a car is traveling in high speed exceeding 100 km/h and is scheduled to be offered free of charge.
    Under these circumstances, KENWOOD has developed and places on reference exhibit the world’s first in-vehicle tuner for MPHTM in-band mobile DTV system

KENWOOD’s efforts on development of a digital broadcast-compatible tuner

KENWOOD, having consistently accumulated advanced radio reception technology in its unique ideas ever since its inception, has identified the recent digitization in broadcasting as a major business opportunity and is moving ahead with development of various digital broadcasting tuners while continuing with research on new broadcasting systems.
    In January 1994, KENWOOD participated in the Eureka 147 Project, a group dedicated to developing and diffusing digital audio broadcasting (DAB) which is a new digital terrestrial broadcasting system in Europe. In February 1996, KENWOOD became the first Japanese manufacturer to market DAB-use measuring devices. In June 1997, KENWOOD also became the first Japanese manufacturer to market a car audio system (in-vehicle receiver) with consumer-use DAB tuner.
    Subsequently, in March 2000 in the wake of commencement of digital satellite broadcasting in the U.S., KENWOOD concluded an agreement with Sirius Corporation on development of receivers of digital satellite broadcasting, and launched a car audio system (in-vehicle receiver) mounted with consumer-use Sirius tuner in February 2002 when Sirius commenced Sirius satellite broadcasting.
    In addition, in the wake of commencement in January 2004 of HD radio, another digital terrestrial broadcasting system in the U.S., KENWOOD played a leading role in diffusing digital terrestrial broadcasting by working on development and commercialization of digital terrestrial broadcasting receivers compatible with the in-band-on-channel (IBOC) system of iBiquity Digital Corporation which had proposed the broadcasting, and by developing the first commercial HD radio multicast receiver compatible with the broadcasting.
    KENWOOD, having worked consistently on various mobile reception technologies in Europe and Asia, also participated in research initiatives for mobile digital TV broadcasting systems in the U.S. early on, and has completed development of in-vehicle models well ahead of its competitors.

KENWOOD Group is "Reaching out to discover, inspire and enhance the enjoyment of life" as part of its bold, new vision for the future. As a leader in the field of "Mobile & Home Multimedia Systems", KENWOOD is comprised of three businesses (Car Electronics, Communications Equipment and Home Electronics), 11 domestic and 25 overseas subsidiaries around the world.

For inquiries regarding this article, please contact;

For news / publication: Public & Investor Relations Office, Corporate Relations Division, KENWOOD Corporation
TEL: +81 42 (646) 6724 FAX: +81 42 (646) 1440 E-mail: pr.qa@kenwood.co.jp

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