DigiTheatre specifically targets the growing market for stand-alone DVD players, as well as PC users with DVD-ROM, and provides a high-quality cinema-style sound for just £249.99 inc. VAT.

Kevin Dale, marketing and sales director, VideoLogic Systems says: "DVD has been a remarkably successful technology – exceeding the fast rate of adoption enjoyed by CD on its launch. We’ve been successful with our DVD Player upgrade for the PC market and are following that with the DigiTheatre, which is designed for the living room as well as the PC.

"To really appreciate the outstanding quality of DVD movies you need Dolby Digital surround sound. However, most Dolby Digital decoders are very high-cost items, even if we don’t factor in the cost of the required amplifier, speakers and subwoofer. Our DigiTheatre is the first product to provide high-quality Dolby Digital functionality at an astonishingly low price."

DigiTheatre provides full Dolby Digital / AC-3 decoding and output from a complete system that includes six speakers (two rear, two front, one centre, one subwoofer), six integrated amplifiers and a separate Dolby Digital / AC-3 decoder box. DigiTheatre also provides MPEG2 surround, stereo surround and full legacy support for Dolby ProLogic.

The launch of DigiTheatre is accompanied by a price drop on VideoLogic’s DVD Player MPEG2 decoder card from £119.99 to just £89.99 (inc. VAT, max RRP.)

The quality and support for VideoLogic’s DVD Player has already made it a key component of consumer PC DVD drive kits from Pioneer and Memorex. Its new retail pricing reflects the rapid growth in the DVD upgrade market and the resultant benefits of economies of scale.

Continues Dale: "DVD Player has all the necessary hardware to fully exploit the visual quality of DVD. With the addition of DigiTheatre for cinema-style surround sound the user has a complete PC home entertainment system at a remarkably low price."

Although DigiTheatre has been designed for use with any DVD device, from stand-alone players to PCs with DVD-ROM and S/P-DIF output, it also provides legacy support for Pro Logic devices, such as a stereo VCR or TV.

Other DigiTheatre features include: powerful satellite speakers for all channels; individual volume control for each speaker; individual delay control surround and centre speakers; decoding for digital audio; a speaker test function; LCD display; bass management and speaker configuration. All of these functions are accessible from both the front panel of the decoder box and the included remote control.

VideoLogic’s DVD Player uses the latest generation of integrated decoders which combines low-cost with exceptional digital video quality to provide high-definition, full-screen, full frame rate DVD (MPEG2) video with Dolby Digital audio for a complete home-cinema experience, even with a Pentium 133 class machine. A comprehensive solution, DVD Player works with the user’s existing graphics card to provide superior picture and sound quality, on a par with expensive stand-alone DVD players, all for a low price of £89.99 inc. VAT.

DVD Player supports all DVD audio formats including Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, MPEG-2 and stereo. VideoLogic’s DVD Player can be connected to either a PC monitor or a television (NTSC / PAL with composite and high-quality S-Video connectors) for a real home cinema experience.

VideoLogic Group plc is an international company which develops, designs and supplies market-leading 2D/3D graphics accelerator and audio products for PCs, games consoles and arcade entertainment machines. Since it was founded in 1985, the company has introduced, directly or via licensing arrangements, a succession of innovative silicon chips and add-in boards which have played a major role in the development of multimedia and computer-based entertainment systems. VideoLogic has its corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE:VDO).