IBM and MediaSite Announce Agreement
Companies to Deliver Complete Media Asset Management Solutions

Orlando, FL—SIGGRAPH '98—July 21, 1998—MediaSite, Inc., the leading developer and supplier of integrated solutions for constructing and using network-based, searchable digital video libraries, today announced an agreement under which IBM will remarket the MediaSite System (TM). In addition, IBM will work with MediaSite to integrate the MediaSite System for video and audio asset management and IBM’s Digital Library asset manager as part of a comprehensive media asset management framework.

The agreement will benefit both parties by enabling IBM to offer MediaSite’s best-of-breed MediaSite Digital Video Library System to its worldwide customer base in the broadcasting, media, entertainment and other industries as part of an end-to-end asset management system that integrates text, image, rights, video and audio management, etc.

The MediaSite System brings video digitization, encoding and cataloging to the IBM Digital Library on the input or "ingest" side, while also bringing the world’s most advanced video search and retrieval Web-based interface on the output or "client" side.

"We are extremely pleased that IBM has chosen the MediaSite System for integration into their Digital Library-based media management framework," said Mark Juliano, president and CEO of MediaSite, Inc. "To be included with other best-of-breed IBM media asset management solutions, such as the IBM Digital Library Connection for Avid, is a strong indication of both the strength of the MediaSite technology and the ever-increasing importance of video and audio in an overall asset management system."

"We chose MediaSite because they have the right combination of advanced technology and a keen understanding of the requirements for video and audio asset management," said William J. Moses, vice president, broadcasting, cable, and sports, IBM Global Telecommunications and Media Industries. "By integrating MediaSite technology into IBM’s media asset management framework, we can now offer a superior video management solution to the increasing number of customers who want to manage video and audio as part of a comprehensive asset management approach."

"As a content management service provider with expertise in video management, content integration and media consulting, we feel the combination of MediaSite video technology with the IBM Digital Library for overall media asset management is quite powerful," said Timothy O’Brien, president and CEO of the Content Group. "The ability to manage a range of media content, including video, audio, image, and text across a single, integrated solution, is important to customers across a wide range of industries."

The IBM Digital Library is an end-to-end solution for storage, management and distribution of electronic information in digital form. It is capable of creating customer specific solutions that maximize the value of multimedia assets while protecting intellectual property.

The MediaSite System for managing video and audio assets includes real-time video cataloging with MediaSite Logger (TM), Full-Media Indexing (TM) of archived video with MediaSite Builder (TM), and PC or Web-based search and retrieval with MediaSite Finder (TM). With MediaSite, video can now effectively be used in many applications. For example: news broadcasters can quickly find existing video clips, increasing their quality and depth of programming; film production houses can easily locate archived video, increasing productivity; and corporations and government agencies can provide video-based training across computer networks to all employees, saving time and enhancing the quality of learning.

MediaSite has also integrated IBM’s ViaVoice speech recognition product into the MediaSite Logger to allow hands-free annotation through the spoken word.

The Market for Media Asset Management Solutions
Now more than ever, organizations must manage an ever-increasing base of media in an efficient, cost-effective manner. To address this problem, a new application with a foundation in database management software has come to the forefront – called media asset management. The broad market of media asset management solutions, which includes tools for managing video, audio, images, and text, is one of today’s fastest growing technology market segments.

The MediaSite System focuses specifically on the management of video and audio assets. Currently, most video exists in analog format or as rudimentary digital archives with limited retrieval capabilities. With widely available technology including multimedia-enabled PCs, video compression and networked computers, organizations can now build a repository of thoroughly cataloged analog or digital video information. The market for media asset management reached over $507 million in 1997 and is expected to grow to $3.2 billion by the year 2001, according to GISTICS Incorporated, a research firm based in San Anselmo, CA.

About MediaSite
MediaSite, Inc. is the leading developer and supplier of integrated solutions for constructing and using network-based, searchable digital video libraries. MediaSite offers the MediaSite Digital Library System, a complete set of software and services for developing digital audio and video libraries, including MediaSite Logger, MediaSite Builder, MediaSite Finder, MediaSpeak Solo (TM) and MediaSpeak Chorus (TM). With MediaSite’s MediaSite System, video becomes as searchable as text. The unique feature of MediaSite’s technical approach is the integrated application of speech recognition, language understanding and image understanding technologies based on software components of Carnegie Mellon University’s Informedia Digital Video Library Project, an $8 million public-private sponsored research project.

About IBM Global Telecommunications and Media Industries
The IBM Global Telecommunications and Media Industries business unit offers a wide range of solutions for telecommunications, cable TV, wireless, broadcasting, publishing, advertising, sports and entertainment industries, as well as Internet service providers in more than 160 countries. For more information on IBM Global Telecommunications and Media Industries visit http://www.ibm.com/telmedia.