Rogers Unveils Canada's Largest Capacity HD PVR

Rogers customers can now store and watch their favourite TV programs 'worry free'

TORONTO, April 19 /CNW/ - Rogers Communications today unveiled a new series of next generation, high definition personal video recorders (HD PVR) including the largest hard drive in Canada (500 gigabytes).

With its enhanced memory, the new Rogers Cisco(R) Explorer(R) 8642HD PVR provides greater high definition (HD) recording flexibility, improved resolution, near-future enhancements and new playback features. Its hard drive enables customers to record and store up to 62 hours of HD or 280 hours of standard definition (SD) content. Rogers customers now have the freedom to watch, record and replay more HD programming than ever before.

"We understand that for our customers, entertainment is about the experience for the whole family and at the centre of it is often the PVR," says John Boynton, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Rogers Communications. "The new Rogers Cisco(R) Explorer(R) 8642HD PVR is designed with the whole family in mind so that they can each enjoy their own entertainment on their time. No longer will they have to deal with record-delete issues. They can watch what they want, when they want."

The popularity and demand of HD programming, products and services continue to grow as six million households, or nearly half of all Canadian households, now have an HD TV set. Canadians also want to watch what they want, when they want as approximately two million households now have a PVR. With the new HD PVR box, Rogers customers have access to the ultimate, anytime TV experience and most HD choices.(1)

Feature enhancements of the new Rogers 8642HD PVR series include:

    
    -  NEW - 500GB internal hard drive with 280 hours of SD OR 62 hours of HD
       programming, or approximately:
         -  30 full-length HD or 125 SD full-length movies
         -  Hundreds of full-length SD Dora the Explorer episodes
         -  25 full-length HD NHL games
    -  NEW - 320GB Internal hard drive with storage of up to 180 hours of SD
       or 40 hours of HD.
    -  NEW - Higher Resolution Graphics, including HiRes feature updates to
       the user interface screens to 640x480 resolution from 320x240
    -  NEW - PVR Hashmarks, a feature that allows jumping forward or backward
       by 15, 30 or 60 minutes during playback of recorded programs
    -  NEW - Play Position Time Indicator, that appears as part of the
       playback progress bar to numerically indicate the current playback
       point.
    -  Existing favourite features presently available on all Rogers PVRs
       such as the ability to pause live TV, watch picture-in-picture on any
       television, and the ability record one show while viewing or recording
       another

    The 8642HD PVR is also enabled for near-future enhancements including home
networking and interactive TV services and also supports:

    -  MPEG-4 Signal delivery - a standard that can be used for Internet,
       broadcast, and on storage media, MPEG-4 offers improved quality for
       gaming, video and entertainment products.
    -  MoCA(R) (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) - the universal standard for
       home entertainment networking
    -  DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) - allows entertainment devices
       within the home to share their content with each other across a home
       network
    

The 8642HD PVR series is available in Ontario only. The 500GB 8642HD PVR is available for purchase for $599; the 160GB 8642HD PVR is available for purchase for $499, and will be available on a rental basis beginning this summer in Ontario. Both boxes are available for purchase at Rogers Plus stores, Rogers authorized retailers in Ontario and The Shopping Channel online. Rogers 320GB 8642HD PVR will be available for purchase for $549 exclusively through Costco stores in Ontario.

For more information on Rogers' variety of innovative entertainment offerings and the most HD choices, visit www.rogers.com/hd.

About Rogers

Rogers Communications is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. We are Canada's largest provider of wireless voice and data communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephony services. Through Rogers Media we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade publications, and sports entertainment. We are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For further information about the Rogers group of companies, please visit www.rogers.com

(1) Research results from SRG's independent Digital Life Canada syndicated study, December 2009.

For further information: Angela Volpe, Rogers Communications, [phone], [email protected]; Carly Suppa, Rogers Communications, [phone], [email protected]