MediaSite, Inc. Globalizes Interactive Video Technology
MediaSite Strengthens Overseas Leadership with
Multi-Lingual Technology

PITTSBURGH (Dec. 7, 1999) – MediaSite, Inc., the leading provider of services, products and technology that unlock the value of video assets by making them searchable and interactive online, today announced it will introduce multiple-language recognition technology to its product offerings. Already a leader in the interactive video market overseas, MediaSite will help foreign language content customers globalize the value of their video assets by enabling content to be indexed, published and navigated in a number of languages, including Japanese, French, German, Dutch and Italian.

MediaSite is developing this technology with various academic and commercial partners in Japan and Europe. The Japanese effort is partnered with Digital Site, and TAU Engineering, both located in Tokyo, Japan. The European efforts are part of the ECHO (European Chronicles On-line) project, sponsored by the European Commission Research Directorate.

The main objectives of the ECHO project are to implement long term reusable software infrastructure to support digital film archives, to provide Web-based access to collections of historical documentary films and to increase the productivity and cost effectiveness of producing digital film archives. Content participants in the project include the national film and video archives of Italy, France and the Netherlands.

"This is a very exciting development in the evolution of MediaSite’s technology," Per Sjofors, vice president of business development at MediaSite, says. "Our current technology creates new potential for video assets by making them searchable via intranets, extranets or the Internet. Now, we will further enhance that value proposition by extending the accessibility of video content to the global reach of the Internet."

"Our tools, with the forthcoming integration of multiple-language capabilities, create an entirely new dimension of what’s possible for video online. Imagine the possibilities for users when historical documentary films, educational lectures and training sessions and even popular shows can be viewed online and easily searched for specific information in multiple languages. This is the next step toward making video as accessible as text and audio online, to anyone, anywhere," Sjofors adds.

As the use of the Internet as the medium for information continues to grow not only in the U.S. but overseas as well, video is rapidly becoming an integral component of information being accessed. In a recent study by DFC Intelligence, interactive video is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2005. At the same time, use of the Internet in Europe and Asia has skyrocketed over the past year. The increase in these markets provide the landscape for the development of multi-lingual technology for interactive video.

"As the Asian and European market continue to increase their presence on the web, developing the technology to make video, in any language, interactive is an important and necessary next step in globalizing video," said Steve McClure a research vice president at IDC. "Companies that can provide multi-lingual technology will truly be the leaders in the global marketplace."

About MediaSite
MediaSite Inc. is the technology leader in making video interactiv(TM). Leading content providers increase their revenues and extend their brands by creating interactive video websites using MediaSite products and services. MediaSite offers a total, integrated solution through its Publisher Suite(TM) and services to deliver a flexible, automated approach for publishing searchable video on the Web. Users can navigate the video to search, browse and  summarize specific video segments and purchase video through MediaSite's V-commerce(TM) (Video e-commerce) capability. Customers include Time Warner Cable (NY1), Warner Brothers, CBS Affiliates (WCBS, KDKA), Internet Broadcast Systems, US. Air Force, US Holocaust Museum, and HealthInfo among others. MediaSite solutions are based on patented ISLIP technologies – Integrated Speech, Language and Image Processing. For more information, visit www.mediasite.com.