LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) and Diamond Multimedia TM Inc., a division of S3 â Inc. (Nasdaq
“SIII” ), today showcased at Webnoize the first live demonstration of Microsoft® Windows Media TM Technologies 4 on a Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI)-capable portable music device. The third-generation Rio TM players will support Windows Media and Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM). This marks a significant step toward the mainstream adoption of secure digital media devices and software by consumers.
The Rio player and Windows Media deliver CD-quality audio from music files half the size of MP3 files. As a result, Rio users will be able to store twice the amount of CD-quality music compared to MP3 without adding extra memory. For the music industry, Windows Media features DRM technology, which provides a secure format for protected distribution of music over the Internet or between PCs and portable devices.
“The success of our Rio players has helped fuel the growth of music online,”
said Mike Reed, director of marketing for Diamond Multimedia.
“This rapid growth will continue with music from top artists once labels are able to protect digital music from piracy. Microsoft and Diamond Multimedia have taken a leadership role in enabling protected music with Windows Media format, Digital Rights Management technology and the third-generation Rio players.”
The third-generation Rio player will include software with built-in support for Windows Media Device Manager technology. This new Windows Media technology, combined with Microsoft DRM technology, allows secure Windows Media-based music files downloaded from the Internet to be transferred to a Rio player while preventing replication of the music to other PCs and media storage. Once the customer obtains the rights to the music, the use and transfer of that music is limited to his or her personal use.
“The third-generation Rio player is the first SDMI-capable device using Windows Media ever demonstrated, setting it apart from other players of its kind,”
said Anthony Bay, vice president, Streaming Media Division at Microsoft.
“Coupled with Diamond’s proven history of developing wildly popular players such as the Rio PMP 300 and the Rio 500, the third-generation Rio players are an obvious choice for demonstrating the secure capabilities of Windows Media.”
Microsoft and S3’s Diamond Multimedia will continue to showcase this new functionality this week in Los Angeles at Webnoize and in Las Vegas at COMDEX/Fall ’99.
About Windows Media Technologies
Windows Media Technologies is the leading digital media platform and provides consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations with unmatched audio and video quality. Windows Media Technologies 4, which includes Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and the Windows Media SDK, is available for free* download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ . More than 50 million copies of the free* Windows Media Player have been downloaded to date — growing by more than one every second.
About Diamond Multimedia
Recently acquired by S3 Incorporated, Diamond Multimedia has been the leader in digital music players and home networking since its introduction of the Rio player in November 1998 and the HomeFree TM product line in January 1999.
About S3
Building on the technology, distribution and brand strengths of its Communications, Multimedia and Professional Graphics divisions, S3 is committed to delivering targeted products for the personal computer and consumer/Internet appliance markets. Rounding out its PC silicon offerings, S3’s recent acquisition of Diamond Multimedia adds consumer brands such as the Viper TM and Stealth TM series of graphics accelerators, Rio series of Internet audio appliances, the Supra TM series of modems and the HomeFree line of home networking products.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
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