KiSS is not a brand name that most Australians are familiar with when it comes to home entertainment technology, but you are likely to hear more of it in the future. Todd Maxwell looks at what is on offer from this innovative Danish company.
Most Australian consumers on the hunt for a DVD player or recorder with a reasonably sophisticated set of features are unlikely to be storming stores and demanding a demonstration of the KiSS range of products. The brand name ?KiSS? is not a household word – yet. However, when I did stumble across a KiSS DVD player in a Harvey Norman store recently, I was pleasantly surprised by the positive demonstration of several products in the range.
Denmark-based KiSS Technology, as you might imagine, has a growing base of European fans that have been touting the versatility of the company?s digital media-friendly AV products for some time.
KiSS Technology was established in Denmark in November 1994, and stands for ?Keep it Simple Solutions?. This concept is the backbone of all KiSS products and all research and development in the company. Of course, most Australians will more readily recognise the KiSS acronym as ?keep it simple stupid?, used to define the way technology should be. KiSS Technology?s aim is to deliver digital entertainment to consumers with user-friendly out-of-the-box solutions, so you be the judge of the real meaning of the acronym!
Essentially KiSS Technology has taken an innovative convergence approach to making consumer electronics products by combining CE with IT technology, thus creating a bridge between what we normally experience in front of our computer screens and making it available in our living rooms. In many ways, what KiSS Technology has developed is along the same lines as Microsoft?s new Media Center PC software. The difference is that KiSS Technology build both the hardware and software solution in a single home entertainment component box. The aim is to produce a device that integrates into conventional home entertainment systems rather than trying to make IT products communicate with CE devices.
KiSS started out as a distributor of CDR, DVD and HD-drives for PCs. Later they began developing their own DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) cards and soon established themselves as a Nordic leader in that area.
In 2001, KiSS Technology developed their first branded DVD-player ? the DP-330. The design and production of DVD-players has taken KiSS Technology towards being a recognised brand throughout the world. The success was primarily due to the launch of the world?s first DVD-player supporting DivX, the DP-450, which provided the KiSS with a worldwide breakthrough and drew the attention of CE and IT companies to look closely at their solution.
