NEW LINE OF VCRs, SECOND GENERATION DVD PLAYER AND ENHANCED WEBTV^® PLUS RECEIVER JOIN NEW LINE OF PRODUCTS FROM MITSUBISHI CONSUMER ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC.

From A/V Enthusiasts to Web Surfers, New 1999 MCEA Products Deliver High Performance to Broad Range of Consumers

LAS VEGAS, May 8, 1998 - Programmable VCRs with advanced editing capabilities, a second generation DVD player, a "Theater in a Box" and a new WebTV^® Plus receiver are just a few of the new products unveiled today by Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America, Inc. (MCEA) at its annual Dealer Line Show.

"While many consumers equate Mitsubishi with high performance televisions, most people don't realize we offer other consumer electronics products with the same quality for a superb home theater system," explained Suketaka Tachibana, chairman of Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America, Inc. "Whether a person enjoys viewing or editing movies, listening to music or surfing on the Internet, chances are they will be interested in one or more of the new products in our 1999 lineup."

VCRs
Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America’s new line of VCRs offer higher performance, easier operation and attractive new designs. The company’s VCRs are available in two series, standard and deluxe, and offer a wide range of features targeted to all levels of A/V enthusiasts.

Standard VCRs have suggested retail prices from $249-$379 and include the HS-U140, HS-U431, HS-U440 and HS-U540. The HS-U440 and HS-U540 feature Super Quasi Playback™, enabling the VCR to play S-VHS recorded tapes without having to purchase an S-VHS VCR. These two models also feature faster mechanisms, enabling the VCRs to rewind a T-120 cassette in 86 seconds and provide picture search at 27 times its play speed.

Additional Standard line features include:

• OTR² (advanced one-touch recording) – enables users to press one button to begin recording at the next increment of 30 minutes on the clock while additional button presses can change the start time or recording duration.
• Auto Clock (not available on the HS-U431) – sets the internal clock automatically to ensure programmed recordings begin and end on time, including automatic daylight savings time adjustment.
• VCR Plus+^®* (available on the HS-U540 only) – makes programming the VCR easier. Users simply enter a number found in their TV listing guide and VCR Plus+ automatically determines and programs the recording start time, stop time and channel number.
• High-Speed, Rugged Mechanism – rewinds and fast-forwards tapes faster than most standard VCRs.
• Seven-Step Shuttle – enables users to precisely advance or rewind a tape at seven different slow-motion speeds.
• 19 Micron CenterTrack Heads – features a four-head system that improves EP mode picture quality.
• Index Search and Repeat – gives users the ability to quickly jump to specific segments they have designated on a tape and if desired, have the VCR automatically play the segment again.
• Commercial Skip – enables the VCR to fast-forward through advertisements and advance directly to the primary recorded material on a tape.
• Eight-event/28-day Programming

Deluxe Line VCRs
Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America's new Deluxe line of VCRs include advanced editing capabilities and Super-VHS performance. With suggested retail prices from $429-$749, Deluxe model VCRs include the HS-U590, HS-U681, HS-U781 and HS-U790.

The HS-U681 is engineered for consumers who dub and edit segments from other VHS tapes. It features a flying erase head for noise-free transitions between recorded segments, an edit jack for communication between play and record units, and pre-roll cueing. It also offers Movie Advance, which automatically fast forwards pre-recorded movie tapes to the beginning of the actual movie.

The HS-U781 is one of two S-VHS VCRs in MCEA’s line. S-VHS recordings have lower noise and wider video bandwidth than conventional VHS recordings. The HS-U781 also features a digital comb filter for improved color separations, S-Video passthrough, enabling the VCR to be connected in line between a satellite box and TV, and a front panel S-Video input jack.

The top-of-the-line HS-U790 combines the S-VHS capabilities of the HS-U781 with the editing features of the HS-U681. This includes the flying erase head, an edit jack for communication between play and record units, pre-roll cueing and an audio recording level control.

Additional features on Deluxe VCRs include:

• VCR Plus+* GOLD – offers the same features as VCR Plus+ but also installs itself by scanning either on-air or cable programming to find a station from which to download the local channel map. It also includes a cable converter control (C3), enabling the VCR to automatically change cable channels and record multiple programs.
• Jog Shuttle – gives users precise control of low-speed forward and reverse.
• Satellite Box Control – enables the VCR to also change channels on a satellite converter box to carry out programmed recordings.
• Auto Clock (standard on all Deluxe models)
• Super Quasi Playback (HS-U590 and HS-U681 only)

DVD Player
MCEA's second-generation DVD player, the DD-2000, is an ideal solution for consumers looking to add superior video and audio quality to their home theaters. The DD-2000 is designed for playback of movies, operas, plays, concerts and other full-motion video programs as well as conventional and 96kHz audio CDs.

With a suggested retail price of $799, the DD-2000 offers high-performance video processing for a crisp, clear picture and higher performance audio processing for superb sound quality and compatibility to future digital audio recordings. Upgraded features in the DD-2000 include a 20-bit/96kHz sampling rate audio processor, 108 dB audio signal/noise ratio, 96 dB audio dynamic range and 0.004% audio distortion (THD).

The DD-2000's remote control codes are stored in new Mitsubishi TV remotes, enabling single remote operation of an entire A/V system. The rear panel digital audio bitstream output jack provides a Dolby^® Digital Surround or PCM Linear signal for decoding in an external processor or A/V receiver.

Home Theater Components
The M-TS401 "Theater in a Box" is a complete home theater surround audio system in one package. With a suggested retail price of $799, "Theater in a Box" is easy to set up and combines MCEA’s SP-401 matching six-piece speaker system with the M-VR400 Dolby^® Pro Logic^® A/V receiver and 100 feet of 18-gauge speaker wire. The system provides true high-fidelity performance when listening to television or radio broadcasts and has inputs for connection to a CD player and cassette deck.

Still available in MCEA’s 1999 line up are other top quality audio components essential for a complete home theater system such as:

• a five-disc carousel CD changer featuring the latest digital audio technology for precision sound reproduction;
• two A/V receivers with Dolby^® Pro Logic^® Surround Sound;
• two A/V receivers with Dolby^® Digital technology;
• a full line of speakers, ranging from center channel speakers to bookshelf, slim tower and surround loudspeakers;
• two subwoofers to make movie soundtracks and other audio content come to life.

MCEA also introduced the WB-2001 WebTV^® Plus Receiver with added upgrade capacity over the company’s introductory receiver, the WB-2000. This set-top box receiver enables users to access the Internet by connecting their television to an existing telephone line.

About Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America
Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America, Inc. (MCEA) manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of premium quality, high definition-upgradable and projection televisions, VCRs and audio products for complete home theater systems. Recognized as the world leader and innovator of big screen and digital television receiver technology, MCEA develops audio and video products that lead the industry in performance, ease-of-use and system integration. For additional information about MCEA, visit http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com.

*Editor’s Note: VCR Plus+ and C3 are registered trademarks of Gemstar Development Corporation. The VCR Plus+ system is manufactured under license from Gemstar Development Corporation and VCR Index Systems B.V., respectively. WebTV is a registered trademark of WebTV Networks, Inc. Dolby and Pro Logic are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.

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