Leading British music distributor, Silver Sounds, today announced the release of the MORPH-1; a unique home entertainment electrical device that enables consumers to transform their DVD players into DVD Karaoke systems.
In the wake of Pop Idol and reality/celebrity based TV programming, Karaoke systems and players were best-selling products during the lead up to Christmas 2002.
Silver Sounds anticipates a massive interest from the leading and independent retailers who are currently selling great numbers of DVD-Video players, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft X-Box video game consoles.
"We're delighted with the feedback we are receiving about the MORPH-1," says Silver Sounds Sales and Product Manager, Dominique Matica. "With the built-in UK household penetration of 6.8 million DVD players, we're targeting anyone in the UK who already owns a DVD player or a PlayStation2 console."
"The MORPH-1 will enable DVD Karaoke to fill the gap between playing video games and watching feature film DVDs and listening to CDs," says Silver Sounds MD, Murray Allan. "The forecast for DVD-Video players by the end of 2003 will be another five million players, 2.5 million of which will sell during Q4. This will bring the total household penetration up to 7.2 million DVD-Video players by Christmas 2003. This is great news for DVD because DVD-Karaoke will enhance a universal home entertainment format that shows no signs of disappearing."
According to UK industry figures, during 2002, approximately 3.7 million DVD-Video players were sold in the UK. Nearly half of those sales occurred in Q4 2002. By the end of 2002 there were 6.7 million UK households who owned a DVD-Video player. Since January 1 to March 10, another 1 million DVD-Video players were sold in the UK, bringing the current grand total household penetration to 6.8 million.
"Harrods have already come on board," adds Matica. "They are the first of many major retailers to follow. The MORPH-1 is the ideal gadget that can be easily bundled with existing DVD-Video players from the leading hardware manufacturers, and we're anticipating a lot of interest from the likes of Panasonic, JVC, Pioneer, Sharpe, Toshiba and Phillips, to name but a few."
The MORPH-1 is a clever, simple, and easy-to-use devise that plugs into a DVD-Video player and television. The device is equipped with a microphone, and can even transform enabled DVD-Video game consoles like the Playstation 2 and Xbox, into a Karaoke machine. Unlike old fashioned Karaoke machines, the tiny (9cm x 3cm) box can be transported and taken anywhere and easily plugged in so that friends can enjoy it too.
The MORPH-1 pack comes complete with a free DVD sampler that allows the singer to choose Backing Track only, Backing Track with Backing Vocals or Backing Track with Lead Vocal (for duets). Other Karaoke DVD's are available direct from Silver Sounds, the distributor of MORPH-1 in the UK or at any good DVD retailer. The DVDs are recorded in Dolby Digital, while the MORPH-1 microphone enables the user to sing through the television speaker.
Fantastic fun for home and great for parties, this amazing machine is the ideal birthday gift or present for all aspiring pop singers and unlike cumbersome Karaoke players, a real pick up and go gadget. This is the future of Karaoke. The MORPH-1 pushes the boundary of the DVD-Video format, making DVD-Karaoke the ultimate family entertainment leisure format of the year.