Philips and UPC have agreed a strategic partnership to introduce High-Definition TV into firstly the Netherlands and then other European countries.

The agreement provides the opportunity for UPC customers in the Netherlands to watch major events such as the 2006 International football tournament and many other programs in full HDTV quality.

UPC is a provider of television, broadband Internet, and telephone services, in 13 countries in Europe.

As a result UPC will introduce an interactive HDTV-capable set-top box in 2006. Joint promotion activities will start in the first half of 2006.

Philips and UPC believe that 2006 will be the year in which HDTV will take off, spurred by the International football tournament as well as other significant events.

The further development of interactive digital TV is crucial for UPC?s television strategy. In the Netherlands, UPC has just started a large-scale rollout of digital TV in which it will invest 300 million euros. By making this investment UPC wants to turn digital TV into a mass product in the Netherlands.

Philips will introduce its HDTV DCR7000 Euro-DOCSIS set-top box to UPC customers. This will decode MPEG-4 HDTV streams from UPC to offer viewers a full interactive digital TV experience.