Zoran's DVD Recording Solution Shipping in Orion's DVD Recorder Products

Zoran's DVD Recording Solution Shipping in Orion's DVD Recorder Products

Activa 100 & Vaddis 5R Power DVD/VCR Recorder Combos

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zoran Corporation (NASDAQ:ZRAN) announced that its Activa 100 MPEG encoder and Vaddis 5R advanced DVD multimedia processor power Orion's new lineup of DVD-R/RW + VCR recorders, now available under various OEM brands worldwide.

Orion, one of the world's leading VCR and DVD manufacturers, is responding to the expanding DVD recorder market by delivering multiple new DVD recorder models that combine high quality DVD playback and high performance recording with legacy VCR capability.

"Orion has received an overwhelmingly positive response to our first generation of DVD recorder plus VCR products. We believe our latest generation of DVD recorders, which include the Activa 100 chip, will meet consumers' increasing expectations for affordable, reliable high quality DVD recording systems," said Takashi Heima, Executive Officer, Engineering Headquarters at Orion. "We are currently working with Zoran to expand our lineup of DVD recorder product line. We especially appreciate their continued strong technical support and commitment to high quality."

"The success of Orion's DVD recorder products is driven by the consumer's desire to preserve their analog content in the digital domain. Zoran's DVD recording solution addresses this fundamental consumer need and has enabled Orion to quickly introduce many derivative DVD recorder models that will be on display at CES 2005," said Dr. Jinxing (Gene) Liu, vice president and general manager at Zoran's DVD division. "We are pleased to work with our long-term partner Orion to deliver products that enhance the consumer's digital lifestyle."

The new Orion combo products record up to six hours of content on a single DVD-R/RW disc. They also function as a full-featured, 4-head, Hi-Fi VHS/VCR. The new combo recorders offer easy dubbing from VHS tapes to DVD disc and vice versa. The consumer can create DVD-Video format on DVD-R/RW media, as well as DVD-VR format on DVD-RW media. By using the DVD-VR format, a variety of editing operations can be performed that optimally tune the DVD playback behavior. Home video memories stored in DVD-Video format can be played back on most DVD players.

With a focus on high quality, the Activa 100 combines the MPEG encoder, DV decoder, and analog video decoder, with 3D Y/C separation and time-based correction, into a single IC. Its companion, the Vaddis 5R is a proven DVD multimedia processor with an extensive feature set and a rich, user-friendly GUI. Zoran's DVD recorder platform includes a turnkey DVD authoring and editing software application that accelerates time to market for OEMs.

About Orion Corporation

The Orion group of companies has facilities and offices on three continents. The group employs in excess of 7,000 people at factories and offices in Osaka & Fukui, Japan; Thailand; Wales & London, UK; Frankfurt, Germany; and Indiana, Missouri & New Jersey, USA. Orion has manufacturing facilities to produce large and small screen color televisions for the US and European markets, Video Cassette Recorders and Players, and combination CTV/VCR units, computer monitors, camcorders (VHS-C) and DVD players and recorders. Orion Electric Co., Ltd. may be contacted on the World Wide Web at www.orion-electric.co.jp.

About Zoran Corporation

Zoran Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, California, is a leading provider of digital solutions in the growing digital entertainment and digital imaging markets. With two decades of expertise developing and delivering digital signal processing technologies, Zoran has pioneered high-performance digital audio and video, imaging applications, and Connect and Share technologies for the digital home. Zoran's proficiency in integration delivers major benefits for OEM customers, including greater capabilities within each product generation, reduced system costs, and shorter time to market. Zoran-based DVD, digital camera, DTV, multimedia mobile phone, and multifunction printer products have received recognition for excellence and are now in millions of homes and offices worldwide. With headquarters in the U.S. and operations in Canada, China, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, Zoran may be contacted on the World Wide Web at www.zoran.com or at 408-523-6500.

NOTE: Zoran, Activa and Vaddis are trademarks of Zoran Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


Source: Zoran Corporation

CONTACT: Betty Watkins of Zoran Corporation, +1-408-523-4373, or
betty.watkins@zoran.com

Web site: http://www.orion-electric.co.jp/

Web site: http://www.zoran.com/


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