Philips Chooses National Instruments to Test Next-Generation DVD Players

  Consumer Electronics Company to Install NI Software, Hardware at Worldwide
                               Production Sites

    AUSTIN, Texas, March 15 National Instruments announced today at a customer conference
in Munich, Germany, that Philips , a leading supplier of consumer
electronics, will use tightly integrated software and hardware from NI to
efficiently produce high-quality DVD players for the automobile industry.

    Engineers at Philips Automotive Playback Modules (APM), a division of
Philips, use NI LabVIEW(TM) software and NI PXI(TM)/CompactPCI(TM) measurement
hardware to test DVD players as they roll off production lines in Hungary and
Mexico.  Automobile manufacturers, such as Ford Motor Co., will install the
players later this year in their in-vehicle entertainment and navigation
systems.

    "Today's consumers expect high-quality electronics from Philips," said
Armin Janfruchte, a Philips head engineer.  "We will continue to meet these
high standards using NI LabVIEW and PXI.  Together, they create an affordable
platform for ensuring our DVD players operate at peak performance.  In
addition to the highly integrated platform, we also chose NI because its
worldwide staff of engineers stand ready to quickly meet our needs."

    Thanks to the high-performance of NI software and hardware, in less than a
minute as many as 200 electronic tests check each DVD player to ensure it is
100 percent operational.  Because the tests run on industry-standard computer
technologies, such as Microsoft Windows, the NI integrated solution provides
an affordable, superior alternative to custom electronic test equipment,
according to John Graff, NI Vice President of Marketing.

    "Customized test equipment can require customers to spend unnecessary time
and money.  Philips avoided this thanks to our open software and hardware,
which they quickly adapted to meet their needs," Graff said.  "Today, Philips
has a flexible system designed to meet the changing needs of a global
marketplace."

    Philips has taken advantage of this flexibility by incorporating video as
well as audio into its test system.  Before shipping the players, Philips
engineers play a test disc.  To monitor playback quality, video and audio are
sent to an engineer's computer monitor via NI software and hardware installed
in the PXI system.

    The DVD test system is on display today at NI VIP 2001, an annual customer
conference held in Germany.  Customers representing a wide variety of
industries attend the conference to share their varied experiences using NI
software and hardware.  While NI solutions have extensive applications in the
electronics industry, the Company serves customers in other diverse markets.
Many engineers use NI software and hardware to build custom applications for
the communications, research, and aerospace industries.  Because of this
diversity, no single industry represents more than 10 percent of NI revenue.
In fact, the top 100 NI customers amount to only 35 percent of NI revenue.  In
2000, the Company sold products to more than 24,000 different companies in
more than 40 countries around the world.

    Noffz Computertechnik, an NI Alliance Program member, worked with Philips
to develop, integrate, and install the NI-based DVD test system and also is
providing the company with technical support.  As an Alliance Program member,
Noffz Computertechnik integrates open software and hardware tools from NI to
meet specific application requirements for its customers.