Voice-nav MP3 Players & HD-based Video

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Posted by: Jeau
In reply to: None Date:5/15/2003 7:39:34 AM
Post #of 35744

SRS Labs and Samsung Electronics Sign Global Technology Licensing Agreement




Samsung yepp(TM) Digital Audio Players Featuring SRS WOW(TM) Audio Technology
Are First Products Under New Agreement

SANTA ANA, Calif., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
SRS Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRSL), a leading provider of innovative audio, voice
and ASIC technology solutions, today announced that it has signed a technology
licensing agreement with Samsung, the number one electronics manufacturer in
Korea. The new collaboration includes the license of SRS Labs' patented
WOW(TM) audio technology across multiple Samsung product lines and divisions.
The first product line to feature WOW is yepp(TM), Samsung's flagship, flash-
based, digital audio players. WOW creates a natural and expansive audio
experience with rich, deep bass over smaller speakers or headphones, such as
those found in portable digital audio players.
The small cylindrical design of the yepp portable player looks much like a
tube of lipstick. In addition to the featured WOW audio technology, the
player includes an FM radio, USB socket to connect to a personal computer and
real-time encoding function that enables users to record both radio and audio
from an external device connected via a mini jack. A single AAA battery
provides approximately 15 hours of playback. The YP-55 began shipping in
South Korea on April 20 and is available in two versions. The 128MB model
(YP-55H) retails for $172 USD and the 256MB version (YP-55V) retails at
$205 USD. In a recent article, Samsung said it expects sales of the player
will contribute to around 60 percent of the estimated 200,000 players it aims
to sell in South Korea in 2003. Shipments to the United States and other
overseas markets will begin in the next few months.
"Samsung is a benchmark for quality in Korea and I am very proud that our
technology and brand have demonstrated its value and become standard features
in Samsung's new digital audio players," commented Steven Kim, SRS Labs' sales
manager for Korea. "We have worked closely with Samsung over the past few
years to develop SRS technology solutions for their products. Through our
efforts and close collaboration we re-engaged Samsung to use SRS Labs
technologies, which has led to significant new opportunities. The initial
result of this agreement is Samsung's adoption of our WOW technology in this
exciting new product."
Digital audio player is a term used to describe a device that plays back
compressed digital audio files in any one of several formats, including MP3,
Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), and are available
in portable, car and home form factors. Over the past few years, most digital
audio players primarily played MP3 files and at a hefty price tag of over
$200 for only 30 minutes worth of songs. Today's players take full advantage
of recent technology innovations, such as longer battery life, more storage
and more audio functionality. These tangible user benefits and dropping
prices have resulted in a resurgence of the digital audio player market.
According to InStat/MDR, the worldwide market for portable digital music
player unit shipments (including solid state and revolving media products)
will be robust over the next five years, growing from about 7.2 million in
2002 to almost 30 million in 2006.
"Our SRS WOW technology is the ideal solution to provide CD quality audio
for the compressed audio file format on portable digital players," said Ted
Franceschi, executive vice president and general manager for SRS Labs. "Our
WOW audio enhancement unlocks the highs and lows that tend to get muddy when
digital audio is compressed and the power of the WOW brand provides an
assurance to consumers around the world that they are enjoying the highest
quality audio experience."

About WOW
SRS WOW is an award-winning, patented, playback enhancement technology
that improves audio dynamics and bass performance of any mono or stereo audio.
It provides a stunning improvement when used with smaller speakers or
headphones that are not capable of achieving a high fidelity experience,
especially when the audio has been digitally compressed into formats, such as
MP3 and WMA. Hardware and software products that feature WOW include mobile
phones from Sharp, Microsoft's Windows(R) Media Player series software
products, car CD receivers from Kenwood, as well as televisions from Sony and
Sharp. To date, over 300 million hardware or software products have been
shipped or downloaded that include the powerful WOW audio feature.
WOW provides digital audio player manufacturers with the ability to
instantly improve their product's overall sound quality. It delivers an
incredible headphone listening experience to any music genre providing the
perception of deep, rich bass and an amazing 3D listening experience. WOW has
been designed with product manufacturers in mind and includes many
customizable settings that can be adjusted and optimized to for a particular
product application or can be extended to the user interface or product
controls to allow the consumer to set their preferences. Features include
available sampling rates from 8 to 44 kHz, headphone or speaker selector,
choice of eight speaker size settings based on the low frequency cut-off of
the drivers, choice of mono or stereo input modes and more.

About SRS Labs Inc.
Celebrating a decade in audio technology innovation, SRS Labs has become a
recognized leader in the advancement of audio and voice technology. The
company works with the world's top manufacturers to provide a richer
entertainment experience through patented sound techniques. SRS technologies
can be heard through products ranging from televisions, DVD players, cell
phones, car audio systems and computers. The company also offers hardware and
software tools to professionals and consumers for the production and broadcast
of content featuring SRS technologies. SRS Labs' wholly owned subsidiary,
ValenceTech, is located in Hong Kong and provides custom ASICs and standard
ICs to leading manufacturers worldwide. Based in Santa Ana, Calif., the
company also has licensing representation in Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, and
Korea. For more information about SRS Labs, Inc. please visit
http://www.srslabs.com . The information on the above-referenced websites is not
incorporated by reference into this press release.

Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in
this release, including those in paragraph three and five are forward-looking
statements and projections (which include statements concerning plans and
objectives of management for future operations) that are based on management's
belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available
to, management. While the Company believes that its expectations are based
upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that the Company's
goals and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and
uncertainties, may affect the Company's actual results and may cause results
to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made
by or on behalf of the Company. Some of these factors include SRS Labs'
continued relationship with Samsung and its inclusion in future projects, the
general market conditions concerning the semiconductor business, the
acceptance of new SRS Labs' products and technologies, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, the timely development and release of
technologies by the Company, general business and economic conditions,
especially in Asia, and other factors detailed in the Company's Form 10-K and
other periodic reports filed with the SEC. SRS Labs specifically disclaims
any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

For further information please contact: investors, Tami Yanito,
ext. 3093, [e-mail] , or media, Jennifer Drescher, ext. 5010,
[e-mail] , both of SRS Labs, Inc., [phone].



SOURCE SRS Labs, Inc.
Web Site: http://www.srslabs.com