THOMSON MULTIMEDIA EXPANDS PERSONAL CHOICE IN HOME ENTERTAINMENT WITH NEW RCA®-DIRECTVT SYSTEMS

Set-Top Receiver Products Designed to Enhance the Television Viewing Experience Include Microsoft's® UltimateTV® Service and DIRECTV INTERACTIVET Powered by Wink

LAS VEGAS, January 5, 2001 - Interactive digital home entertainment via satellite reaches new levels of convenience and personalization this year as Thomson Multimedia's (NYSE: TMS) industry-leading RCA®-DIRECTVT System focuses on leading-edge set-top receivers that deliver new dimensions in consumer choice.

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Thomson's most advanced digital receiver is the RCA-DIRECTV DWD490RE (suggested retail price $399) model which incorporates Microsoft's® UltimateTV® service. The highly innovative digital receiver combines a built-in hard-disk drive with twin DIRECTV digital tuners that record DIRECTV programming, enabling viewers to watch what they want when they want to watch it. The DWD490RE is the first direct broadcast satellite TV platform to combine DIRECTV programming, digital video recording, interactive TV, and Internet access in a single integrated receiver. It is also the only system that allows the viewer to watch two satellite shows simultaneously, watch one show while recording another, or record two shows at the same time.

Along with the DWD490RE, Thomson's RCA brand also offers four receiver systems that include the DIRECTV INTERACTIVET Service Powered by Wink, allowing consumers to view interactive enhancements to popular TV shows, access sports statistics, news headlines and weather forecasts on demand, request information and purchase products via the TV as well as enjoy access to more than 225 channels of subscription television service from DIRECTV. For existing DIRECTV customers who do not require a satellite dish/antenna, three stand-alone receivers with the Wink feature are available starting at a suggested retail price of $149. "Whether it's advanced performance or simple information delivery, we offer an RCA-DIRECTV System to meet the consumer's demand for choice in home entertainment," said Thomson's David Spomer, Vice President - Digital Decoder Product Management. "These digital products provide a richer, more robust TV experience with easy access to the broadest choice of programming and information options."

The Ultimate Experience

The RCA DWD490RE receiver is also sold as the DS4290RE system which includes the DWD490RE digital satellite receiver, an 18-inch wide satellite dish/antenna with dual output LNB and a MasterTouch® universal remote control. An optional wireless keyboard accessory is available for more convenient Internet access and e-mail use.

UltimateTV is a new offering from Microsoft WebTV Networks, Inc., following five years of developing and delivering enhanced TV services. The latest innovation - UltimateTV - integrates digital video recording, interactive TV, and Internet features to create a unified user experience.

With up to 35 hours of digital video recording time provided by the DS4290's 40-Gigabit hard-disk drive, UltimateTV subscribers can create their own viewing schedule. The system includes two DIRECTV digital tuners which enable the user to watch one show while recording another on the hard-disk drive, watch two shows at the same time via the picture-in-picture feature, or record two shows simultaneously in digital video and audio quality. All live television controls - pause, instant replay, slow motion, jump ahead, fast forward, and rewind - extend to picture-in-picture in either full-screen or PIP window. For example, the viewer can watch a sports contest on one screen while watching a movie or obtaining the latest weather report on the other.

Viewer choice is a major advantage of the new system, and DIRECTV has designed an Advanced Program Guide (APG) that enables consumers to access 14 days of TV listings information from both DIRECTV and local channels. Favorite programs can be searched by word, phrase, or by category such as comedy, adventure, or mystery. With the touch of a button, consumers can automatically record the program on the built-in hard-disk drive for viewing at their leisure, or programs can be easily transferred to a VHS videocassette for long-term storage.

Wink Interactivity for Standard Satellite Receivers

Thomson was the first manufacturer of Wink-capable DIRECTV receiver systems and has been the primary manufacturer to market the receivers to retailers.

The Wink applications allow TV networks, producers, and advertisers to expand the viewing experience with broadcast-related interactive overlays that appear as supplemental text and graphics on the television screen. Whether the consumer wants to receive information on demand, play trivia games, obtain background information on favorite TV shows, actors and directors, interaction with on-screen activity is simply and easily activated via the remote control.

DIRECTV INTERACTIVE Powered by Wink is free to owners of Wink-capable RCA-DIRECTV receiver systems and requires no infrastructure upgrades or additional hardware in the home. The Wink-enhanced interactive broadcasts are available on more than 1,500 hours of programming each week. Thirty interactive broadcast channels are available, including dedicated DIRECTV interactive channels and a variety of broadcast and network affiliates such as CBS, CNBC, CNN, E! Entertainment Television, ESPN, Fox, NBC, TBS, TNT, The Weather Channel, and more.

DIRECTV expects to have the DIRECTV INTERACTIVE service operating in over 5 million DIRECTV customer homes by the end of 2001, making it the largest interactive television deployment in the U.S.