NEW ORLEANS, May 9, 2000 — Today at the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) annual conference, Microsoft Corp. and SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq
“SEAC” ), the leader in high-end digital video systems for television, agreed to collaborate on extending Microsoft® Windows Media TM Technologies from broadband Internet delivery to cable and broadcast television systems. This collaboration will benefit content providers and television operators with a unified digital media platform that delivers video streams to both television and broadband Internet networks – doing with one video streaming server what today requires two separate server systems. In addition, content developers such as the film and video industry will be able to lower costs and maximize reach by creating digital media content once and delivering it anywhere.
“Digital cable systems provide a formidable opportunity for streaming a wide array of exciting new applications to the television and the PC,”
said Nick Hamilton-Piercy, vice president, chief technology officer, Rogers Cable Inc.
“SeaChange and Microsoft are a powerful combination that bring the necessary skills toward the fulfillment of our vision of streaming content on demand.”
Through this agreement, the two companies will combine the superior video quality of Windows Media Technologies for Internet video delivery with SeaChange’s superior video technology for television operations, creating a more robust, flexible and cost-effective video-streaming solution across all types of broadcast networks. By combining Windows Media Technologies with SeaChange’s streaming systems, cable networks and other television broadcasters can deliver the highest-quality video to millions of consumers – whether it be video on demand (VOD), Internet video streaming from Web sites, broadcast programming or digital ad delivery – through the PC or the television.
“SeaChange’s focus has always been to develop pragmatic systems that enable television operators to gain new efficiencies and to capture new opportunities,”
said Bill Styslinger, president and CEO, SeaChange International.
“Combining the strengths of Windows Media quality and scalability with our pioneering work in digital cable and broadcast television will produce innovative new solutions that allow our customers to harness the best that the PC and television have to offer.”
“Content providers need solutions that can cost-effectively span the Internet and television with superior quality,”
said Dave Fester, general manager of marketing, Digital Media Division, Microsoft.
“SeaChange and Microsoft are completely focused on providing customers with the highest-quality video delivery across PCs, cable and broadcast television networks as technologies and opportunities evolve.”
As part of the agreement announced today, Microsoft is also making a minority investment in SeaChange (initially under 2 percent of current market capitalization) as the company adapts its next-generation systems with Microsoft Windows Media Technologies. SeaChange is well known for its leadership in high-performance digital video systems for cable television, broadcast television and broadband Internet. SeaChange systems are used by television operators around the world for a variety of important television applications, including digital advertising, VOD and on-air playback. SeaChange’s patented MediaCluster technology is specifically designed for fault-tolerant media applications and provides the scalability and economy needed for streaming video.
About SeaChange
SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq
“SEAC”
) leads the market for digital video systems for television. The company creates powerful server and software systems that manage, store and stream broadcast-quality digital video. SeaChange’s innovative products are based on a scalable, distributed software architecture and standard technology components to continuously deliver improvements in digital video cost-performance. As a result, SeaChange enables broadband, broadcast, satellite and new media companies to streamline operations and reduce costs, allowing for expanded services, new applications and increased revenues. SeaChange is headquartered in Maynard, Mass., and has product development, support and sales offices throughout the world. More information is available at http://www.seachangeinternational.com/ .
About Windows Media
Windows Media, the leading digital media platform, provides consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations with unmatched audio and video quality. Windows Media Technologies, which include Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and the Windows Media Software Development Kit (SDK), are available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ . The Windows Media Player is the fastest-growing digital media player and is available in 24 languages. To date, there are over 100 million licensed copies of the Windows Media Player, growing by more than one every second.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies 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.
Microsoft and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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