Zenith to add Macrovision anticopy system into its digital 'Media Access' set-top boxes.

GLENVIEW, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1994--By adding Macrovision Corporation's anticopy technology to its new digital set-top devices, Zenith Electronics Corporation can play a role in making first-run feature films available earlier to the ever-expanding pay-per-view (PPV) market, Zenith

The new enhancement to Zenith's ``Media Access'' set-top decoders greatly reduces the potential for home copying of digital services in the video-on-demand arena -- a main concern for service providers and copyright owners such as movie studios.

Zenith's inclusion of copy protection is in anticipation of the need for hardware manufacturers to help protect copyrights owners' intellectual property as the digital market expands and its programming options increase, according to Dean A. DeBiase, Zenith vice president, corporate marketing.

Bill Krepick, Macrovision senior vice president, said Zenith is ``uniquely positioned to supply its cable and telco customers with copy protection-enabled video-on-demand hardware.

Zenith's system-level software allows network operators to select copy protection on an individual pay-per-view program and set-top decoder basis. This type of control is crucial for the PPV market,'' Krepick said.

The Macrovision circuitry inside the set-top device is similar to a

``micro-miniature copy protection generator,'' and cannot by bypassed without interfering with the video transmission. Macrovision will license its anticopy feature to network providers only for securing digital pay-per-view services, not regular pay-TV programming.

DeBiase said, ``By assuring suppliers this level of security, Zenith is helping to create the opportunity for new entertainment choices for the pay-per-view consumer.

``For instance, movie studios may now be more receptive to offering earlier film release dates to the pay-per-view market, knowing the potential for home copying is reduced. This could position the pay-per-view market on an even playing field with the lucrative home video market,'' DeBiase said.

Zenith's Media Access digital set-top boxes are being developed and marketed in conjunction with Philips Consumer Electronics and Compression Labs, Inc.

Zenith Electronics Corporation, based in Glenview, Ill., has been a leader in electronics for more than 75 years.

Zenith's core business -- Consumer Electronics and Network Systems -- is at the center of the company's digital strategy, which includes interactive television, digital cable, set-top devices, data communication and HDTV systems.

Macrovision Corporation is based in Mountain View, Calif., with field offices in London and Tokyo, and develops technologies for protecting electronically transmitted and pre-recorded programs from unauthorized copy. The company offers products and services for the home video, pay-per-view, cable, satellite and corporate communications markets.

CONTACTS: ZENITH, Glenview, Ill.

              John Taylor, 708/391-8181,
                         or
              MACROVISION, Mountain View, Calif.
              BILL KREPICK, 415/691-2900

KEYWORDS: ILLINOIS CALIFORNIA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS PRODUCT REPEATS: New York 212-575-8822 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-330-5311 or

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