News Release：27 Companies Attend First RWPPI Meetingto Facilitate Acceptance of DVD-RW Products in the Marketplace

At a press conference held on May 9th, 13 companies that support the DVD-RW format announced establishment of the RW Products Promotion Initiative (RWPPI), an endeavor to promote this format and facilitate acceptance of products utilizing it in the marketplace.
The response to this announcement was immense, generating a huge number of inquiries from various industries, particularly ones vitally interested in DVD-RW.
Then on June 19, the RWPPI held its first meeting, with 27 companies attending, 14 more than the original number.
The meeting began with the official nomination of Mr. Masao Sugimoto (Executive Vice President, Pioneer Corporation) as RWPPI's overall representative. Then the Secretary Office explained the objectives of RWPPI's activities and the rules for administration of the RWPPI. The meeting moved on to proposals and discussions about how to describe recording times on discs, marketing marks to indicate compatibility with the Video Recording Format, levy system for private recording, and joint promotion and campaign activities.

This is the list of companies who participated in the first meeting.
Original participating companies:
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., Kenwood Corporation, LG Electronics Inc., Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Onkyo Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer Video Corporation, Sanyo Electronic Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, TDK Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Companies who joined following the May 9th press announcement:
(listed in no special order with their representatives)
Nikon Corporation, Fujifilm Microdevices Co., Ltd., Eastman Kodak Company,Victor Company Of Japan, Limited (JVC Media Co), Ritec Corporation,Yamaha Corporation, Funai Electric Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation,Advanced Media Corporation, Cyberlink Inc., Conexant Systems Japan Co., Ltd.,Oak Technology, K.K., Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd., Zoran Corporation

The RWPPI will hold a meeting every other month, with plans afoot to promote and secure recording and playback compatibility among hardware and disc products, while facilitating use of DVD-R/DVD-RW products for use as PC peripherals.