FORM 20-F THOMSON multimedia - Technicolor

) Within personal media services, we intend to offer solutions for the deployment of interactive
home entertainment services. For example, the TAK˛ interactive television service launched in
France in 2001 enables broadcasters, service operators and advertisers to develop enhanced
television programming content and interactive advertising. We also intend to continue to
foster the deployment of digital home network solutions.
Research, Innovation and Product Development
We maintain a longstanding commitment to investing in a broad range of research and
development initiatives to support and expand our product and service offerings and licensing
programs in order to create competitive advantages and to establish new markets.
We centrally manage most of our long-term research through our Research and Innovation
department, which employed 362 people in six research centers on three continents as of
December 31, 2001. The largest center, located in Rennes, France, had a staff of 141 as of the
same date. The other centers are located in Hanover and Villingen (Germany), Indianapolis and
Princeton (United States) and Tokyo (Japan).
Product development is carried out within each of our divisions and employs approximately
3,000 people in the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Singapore,
Korea and China.
Traditionally, our research and development efforts have covered a wide spectrum of
technologies associated with a consumer electronics company. Our research and development is
now focusing on the video chain, utilizing core competencies and knowledge gained through close
relationships with our client base. Since 2001, projects have been streamlined to achieve critical
mass and leadership positions. Our goal is to develop intellectual property, enhance product
integration in cooperation with our business units and reduce the time required to bring products and
solutions from conception to production and eventually to the market.
To respond to customer needs, we focus on key technologies throughout the video chain:
) In the area of digital content acquisition, we focus on image capture, processing, and
manipulation technologies that address the wide range of display formats, image qualities,
and applications found in the media industry. Examples include 4/3 and 16/9 TV displays,
cinema formats such as pan-and-scan and standard and high-definition TV. Applications
encompass conventional and digital cinema, home cinema, TV, and Internet. Our research
and development programs focus on delivering highly flexible image capture and processing
equipment, and on developing next-generation display technologies such as plasma, rearprojection
and digital cinema.
) In the area of digital content production, we develop storage, networking, search, access, and
asset management solutions such as Storage Area Network (SAN) and multi-SAN architecture.
We also develop MPEG-2 compression solutions and platform architectures that allow
the exchange of content between professional sites across multiple network formats and
sizes. Leveraging our expertise in compression and IC design, we are preparing the next
generation of coders and decoders that utilize MPEG-4 technology.
) To address our customers’ need to deliver content from multiple sources through a diverse
range of networks, we develop programs for streaming technologies, adaptive network
technologies, and network systems integration. Recently, we demonstrated with Alcatel
MPEG-4 technology that improves the quality of the video image transmitted over mobile
networks.
) Our research and development leverages our core competence in consumer electronics and
our knowledge of the needs of consumers, content providers, and distributors to develop
innovative digital home networking and content protection solutions. We are designing the
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