New Delhi: Philips India (www.philips.com), a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics, and India's most trusted global consumer electronics brand, has made history in TV technology, with the release of the first of its-top-of-the-range Matchline TV sets incorporating the unique Pixel Plus technology.

Following the introduction of the first 100 Hz sets in 1988, Natural Motion in 1995, Digital Natural Motion & Active Control in 1999, Philips' latest Pixel Plus TVs will set a new industry standard for TV picture quality.

Incorporating impressive image processing improvements, Philips' new Pixel Plus TVs bring incredible sharpness, detail and depth to the pictures onscreen. Pixel Plus technology doubles the horizontal resolution of standard TVs and increases vertical resolution.

The result: a breathtaking picture of over 2 million pixel resolution per frame. This means amazingly sharp pictures with clear and natural detail for any type of input - from normal TV and VCD to DVD.

Says Philips India senior general manager (marketing [television], consumer electronics division) Suresh Sukumaran: ''Philips has always introduced world-class products and technologies that fulfil the needs and desires of the ever-discerning Indian consumer. Research has indicated that the consumer rates picture quality as the most important feature in a CTV and the launch of Philips Pixel Plus technology is an endeavour in that direction.

''A product comparison test conducted by AC Nielsen for the Philips Pixel Plus TV in the city of Mumbai in December 2002 has thrown up interesting results. The respondents were called to an independent location, and asked to rate Philips Pixel Plus and a competitor brand. Philips emerged as a clear winner, with 93 per cent of the respondents rating it as the best TV at the overall level. We are confident that Pixel Plus surely will become a new reference point in TV picture quality.''

The new Pixel Plus sets combine the brilliant colours of Real Flat Black Matrix picture tubes with the flicker-free performance of 100-Hz Digital Scan TV Sets, and the smooth motion of Philips' award-winning Digital Natural Motion technology.

The sets incorporate an advanced picture processing software that doubles the standard 1024-by-625 PAL resolution to a world record-breaking 2048-pixel horizontal and 833-line vertical resolution. For NTSC, the standard 1024-by-525 resolution is doubled both vertically and horizontally.

The vertical resolution alone eliminates - even from close up - the fine line structure that is noticeable on other TVs. The extra detail of Pixel Plus also improves the distinction between foreground and background, thereby increasing the perceived picture depth as well. This gives a clear difference for both still and moving images.

For the first time in TV technology, such ultra high resolution comes without compromising field flicker. The sets show stable and flicker-free pictures that are less straining on the eyes, to allow for more relaxing TV viewing.

This is complemented by the revolutionary glass design of the Philips Real Flat Tubes. These deliver supreme contrast, brightness and focus all over the screen - reflections are reduced, even in daylight viewing, to give brilliant colours with minimum distortion.

The new Matchline tops off its excellent picture quality with superb high-power audio performance, bringing for example, DVD-Video, and Dolby ProLogic TV broadcasts to life. It delivers up to 60 W RMS into five integrated speakers and a sub-woofer for low frequency bass.

The sets are also easy to set up and use, and there is an easy graphical user interface. Tuning is automatic for both terrestrial and cable viewers, with all available channels being automatically installed with the correct channel name and in a logical order. There is also a split-screen demonstration mode that compares the raw, unprocessed TV signals against the results of Pixel Plus.

Reflecting the state-of-the-art technology, the Pixel Plus sets come with a brand new styling - a clean, sophisticated look. The Pixel Plus CTV range is available in premium consumers electronic outlets, in select cities across India.

Systemonic has 89 employees located in San Jose (California), Maynard (Massachusetts) and Dresden (Germany). The privately held company was founded in 1999. The company received funding from Apax Partners Funds, Atlas Venture, Bayview, Krone mt, and Lehman Brothers as well as from corporate investors Raytheon and Sony Ventures. Lehman Brothers served as financial advisor to Systemonic in the transaction.