The future of television showcased in Frankfurt

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Infront Sports & Media and Host Broadcast Services ("HBS") gave an impressive preview of the "HDTV experience" at a special press briefing and during a live demonstration of one of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 matches.

HBS, the dedicated Host Broadcaster of next year's FIFA World Cup in Germany, will be covering the 2006 event entirely in High Definition television ("HDTV") and has also been using this format for all matches of the FIFA Confederations Cup Germany 2005.

This has enabled HBS to test and refine all the systems that will be in place for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and work closely with companies such as T-Systems and Philips. T-Systems, the German telecommunications company, is key to the delivery of the signals within Germany and to viewers throughout the world. Philips, as an Official Partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, is involved in a joint initiative with FIFA and Infront to promote the High Definition viewing experience.

HDTV means a much sharper image than Standard Definition TV because it has more horizontal lines and each picture has up to 2 million pixels, far more than Standard TV's 400,000 pixels. This means up to five times more picture detail on the HDTV screen. This combination of clarity and widescreen is a marriage made in heaven when it comes to showing football at its best.

The number of countries who currently broadcast in HDTV is still limited to Japan, Korea, the USA and Canada, but HBS now believes that several of Europe's leading broadcasters will follow Premiere in Germany by choosing to opt for HDTV next year and there is also strong interest from Latin America and Asia.

All 64 matches will be produced in HDTV and made available in both Standard and High Definition. 4/3 SD is the option that most clients will choose. HBS serves almost 300 broadcasters from more than 200 countries and must service all with equal commitment.

"The production standards of the 2006 FIFA World Cup will be the highest in sporting history and leave a lasting legacy for the television industry, the host country and football fans around the world," is the promise made by Francis Tellier on behalf of HBS and Dominik Schmid on behalf of Infront.