MATSUSHITA HOPES TO PUT DIGITAL-VIDEODISC PLAYERS IN STORES BY OCTOBER.

Byline: Evan Ramstad Associated Press 

Matsushita on Thursday announced its first machines that play a new kind of compact disc for movies but, like its big competitors, said it couldn't be sure when they would go on sale.

The top U.S. executives of the world's biggest electronics company said production is expected to begin in Japan soon, in time for delivery to the United States in October and sales by the holidays.

Other electronics firms in recent weeks have announced delays in their rollout plans, citing unresolved disputes in the way the digital videodiscs, called DVDs, would be protected against piracy and how the inventors would be paid.

During a news conference, Matsushita executives appeared firm that they would have DVD players available by October, in contrast to the uncertainty expressed by rival firms. One executive suggested Matsushita could proceed with a piracy protection method of its own.

But after the news conference, another executive said the company's sale target dates are not firm because of the industrywide effort to solve the piracy and licensing matters.

``We are very, very hopeful this process will resolve itself for us to ship by the end of 1996,'' said Ronn Richard, vice president for technology and planning at Matsushita Electric Corp. of America.

DVDs, sometimes called digital versatile discs, are the same size as existing CDs but hold 7 to 14 times as much data. That's enough to hold 100 million phone listings or a full-length movie with better sound and video quality than videotape.

The discs are expected to eventually replace regular CDs for software and music and take over the prerecorded-videotape market for movies. Old CDs for music and software will still work in DVD players.

Matsushita demonstrated two DVD players to be sold under its Panasonic brand name. Pricing has not been set.

Matsushita will also manufacture the initial DVD players for other electronics firms, most notably the RCA brand of Thomson Consumer Electronics. Thomson said last week that, while it has produced TV commercials and has other marketing arrangements ready, there is only a 50-50 chance it will bring DVD players to market this fall.

Toshiba, which is one of the leading developers of DVD technology, has also pushed back its delivery target from Labor Day to at least October.

After Toshiba and Sony last fall compromised on a core design for the new discs, more than 50 electronics, computer and movie companies became involved in settling other issues, including piracy protection.

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Photo

Photo: Matsushita Electric Chairman Kunio Nakamura, left, a nd President Richard A. Kraft show new digital-videodisc players.

Associated Press