Thomson's Technicolor Establishes First BDA-Approved Blu-ray DiscTM Testing Center in the United States

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thomson (Paris:18453) (NYSE:TMS) - the worldwide leader in video solutions for the Communication, Media & Entertainment (CME) industries - through its Technicolor Business Group, today announced it has established the first Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA)-approved Blu-ray Disc Testing Center in the United States at its Burbank location.

Because Blu-ray Discs feature cutting edge video, audio, and interactive features (BD-Jive and BD-Live), a sophisticated level of testing is required to ensure compatibility and flawless operation of all players available on the market before the discs are publicly released. Technicolor's test center is categorized as a 'content verifier' testing facility, approved by the BDA and tasked with testing commercial audiovisual (AV) content for the Association.

Technicolor, as an expert in Blu-ray Disc production, recognizes the need for improved quality control and format verification for Blu-ray Discs to ensure better compatibility and performance. The creation of a testing center directly addresses the demand by studios and content producers to create a knowledge center for improving disc compatibility and performance, and accelerate the release of Blu-ray Disc titles into the market.

"We are very excited to establish this Blu-ray Disc testing center," said Bob Michaels, vice president of world wide DVD compression and authoring services. "This will provide a value-added service to the industry and ultimately result in a better user experience of Blu-ray Discs."

Because Technicolor possesses a great deal of expertise in the Blu-ray authoring language BD-Java, the company is well positioned to process discs through a variety of tests to ensure standards compatibility, format integrity, and advise content producers on how to improve the disc behavior.

As a leader in managed services, Technicolor offers its customers a wide range of comprehensive Blu-ray Disc services including postproduction services such as 2K workflows and restoration; mastering services including duplication, metadata and encoding; creative interactive design, menu creation, compression & authoring (C&A) services including TIGER AVC encoding, BD-Jive authoring (Technicolor's proprietary BD-Java System), Disc Initiated Services, testing and verification, and BD+ watermarking; Electronic Distribution Services including BD-Live distribution; and Home Entertainment services including BD-25 and BD-50 replication, packaging, distribution and supply chain management.

About Thomson: the worldwide leader in video solutions

Thomson (Paris:18453) (NYSE:TMS) is the world leading provider of solutions for the creation, management, delivery and access of video, for the Communication, Media & Entertainment (CME) industries. Our clients are studios, broadcasters, network operators (telcos, broadband satellite and cable operators) and an increasing range of professional users of videos. We deliver superior value to our customers through a unique combination of industry leading technologies, systems and services, enabling us to offer differentiated and innovative end-to-end solutions based on a broad portfolio of Intellectual Property. At the cross-roads of the CME industries, leveraging our core competencies in video but also audio, data and voice, we enable our customers to take advantage of the growth opportunities brought on by the digital convergence revolution. For more information: http://www.thomson.net

Posted by Shane Sturgeon, October 1, 2008 6:36 AM