LAS VEGAS, April 7, 1997 — Softimage Inc. and Digital Equipment Corp. today announced that they have united their state-of-the-art products to produce daily live webcasts from the National Association of Broadcasters convention (NAB ’97), the most widely attended conference in the broadcast industry. Using off-the-shelf Softimage® and DIGITAL
™
products, the two companies are demonstrating to customers how to create and disseminate high-impact digital content over the Internet.
“With ‘Digital Studio’ (the code name for Softimage’s new online environment for creating and finishing high-end video content), customers can create resolution-independent content and deliver it via broadcast, CD-ROM, DVD and now, the Internet,” said Daniel Langlois, founder and president of Softimage. “Digital Studio, which is now in beta, will be used to edit the one-hour program on the floor, on the day of the show. This will allow attendees to watch Digital Studio in a true broadcast environment.”
This event will mark the first time that professional-quality, high-impact content will be transmitted live via the Internet to the professional broadcast community using Microsoft® NetShow
™
networked multimedia software version 2.0. With the webcast, the two companies will demonstrate by example that a fundamental shift in the broadcast paradigm is technologically possible and well under way.
“This new paradigm of communication enables businesses to speak directly to their customers,” said Philippe Ribeyre, vice president, workstation business segment for DIGITAL. “By using our workstations and servers to create and broadcast digital content, the Internet becomes a powerful entertainment and corporate communications vehicle.”
Webcasting to the Broadcasters
The daily webcasts, live from Las Vegas, will allow a worldwide audience to share in the excitement of NAB ’97 from the workplace or home. The audience will see product demonstrations from the trade-show floor and hear how customers across the world are using DIGITAL and Softimage products for innovative broadcast applications. The live broadcast can be viewed
April 7-10 th on both Softimage and DEC’s Web Site at: (http://www.softimage.com/NABLive )
and (http://www.workstation.digital.com/) .
“With Microsoft NetShow, the Softimage and DIGITAL webcast is a perfect example of how digital content creation and dissemination – broadcast – is evolving in the interactive world,” said Craig Mundie, senior vice president, consumer platforms division at Microsoft.
Softimage Digital Studio and DIGITAL Alpha Systems Run the Show
The webcast will highlight the powerful capabilities of Softimage Digital Studio, the latest in a long line of innovations in authoring tools from Softimage. Digital Studio integrates a broad toolset for creating and editing 2-D and 3-D animation, video and audio in an intuitive environment. Webcast producers can take advantage of DIGITAL’s powerful Alpha and Intel systems with high-performance PowerStorm graphics for content-creation, and DIGITAL Alpha servers will provide the power for broadcasting the program worldwide.
The Webcast will be produced by MediaTribe, a Toronto-based, multimedia production company specializing in leading-edge Internet applications. In addition, the site will be one of the featured events in the NetShow Spring events program guide, a broadcast showcase for Internet content and technology, at http://www.microsoft.com/netshow/events.htm .
Company Information
DIGITAL is a world leader in open client/server solutions from personal computing to integrated worldwide information systems. DIGITAL’s scalable Alpha and Intel platforms, storage, networking, software and services, together with industry-focused solutions from business partners, help organizations compete and win in today’s global marketplace.
Founded in 1986, Softimage develops software for media-rich applications including video, film, interactive games and CD-ROM applications. Products include Softimage 3D (high-end animation), Softimage Eddie (compositing) and Softimage Toonz (2-D cel animation). Additional information about Softimage and Microsoft can be found via the Internet at (http://www.softimage.com/ ) and http://www.microsoft.com/ , respectively.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Softimage is a registered trademark of Softimage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft and NetShow are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
DIGITAL is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corp.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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