September 13, 2006; Miami Beach – HANDHELD market leader digEcor plans to have its semi-embedded digEsystem product on the market by the end of the first quarter of next year, Inflight Online learned here today.

“We’re aiming to have digEsystem commercially available within six months,” said Bob Carey, spokesman for the Utah-based company. “Our new digEplayer XT handheld is preparing the ground for digEsystem.”

digEsystem is designed to combine the compactness and flexibility of a handheld solution with the logistical virtues of an embedded system. Very similar in appearance to digEplayer XT, the digEsystem core unit will be embedded in a seatback recess and locked in place. In the event of a failure the unit could be unlocked by a flight attendant and replaced from an onboard stock of spares.

digEcor is working with leading manufacturer B/E Aerospace on seat integration: the demonstration units on show here are embedded in a pair of B/E seats. The in-seat units will draw power from a central supply via a single cable and will be loaded with content via WiFi from a central wireless server.

digEcor is confident that its access to content is now second to none, according to Carey. “There are only a few studios still to be contracted,” he said. Providers currently supplying the company include Buena Vista, Warner Brothers, Universal, Fox, VGP Videovision, Terry Steiner International, Jaguar Distributors, Entertainment in Motion, Emphasis International, National Geographic, the BBC, Inflight Dublin and Taffy Entertainment.

digEsystem will be preceded into the market by the handheld XT this November, when Pakistan International and then Australian low-cost Jetstar will take the first deliveries. In the meantime, digEcor reports the first signs of interest from the business aviation market. “On the first day of the show we were visited by representatives of a leading corporate aircraft manufacturer,” Carey said. “They had been asked by a number of customers to investigate IFE, and they were interested in both digEplayer XT and digEsystem.”