Samsung to Tout Nuon As Gamer's Delight

Brandweek,  Feb 21, 2000  by Todd Wasserman

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Samsung will promote Nuon, an upgrade for DVD players that lets users play high-resolution videogames, with an upcoming ad campaign.

Nuon, a software-based technology developed by VM Labs, Mountain View, Calif., lets DVD viewers magnify the screen up to 20 times (versus the current 4x) or play a DVD title at twice or half speed with little distortion. Perhaps most significantly, it turns the DVD player into a gaming console.

Rivals Toshiba and Pioneer have also licensed Nuon technology, but Samsung will be the first consumer electronics maker to offer a Nuon-enhanced DVD player, a $499 unit to be released in April, said Samsung national marketing manager Mark Knox. Currently Nuon adds about $100 to the price of a DVD player, but that cost is expected to drop over time. To emphasize gaming features, the model will ship with a game pad and four game titles.

Despite the bundling, the players will not be positioned as a competitor to gaming consoles from Nintendo, Sega and Sony PlayStation, said Knox.

Nuon will be highlighted this spring in the second leg of Samsung's $150 million TV and print campaign via The Arnell Group, N.Y Creative, still in production, will feature such Samsung products as digital TVs, but Nuon will be the "exclusive" focus of the DVD portion of the campaign, Knox said.

In March, Samsung will also host a 12-city tour with a roadshow explaining to retailers what Nuon is and how to pitch it. VM Labs, meanwhile, will include the Nuon 1960 on all its licensed machines.

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