- Leading provider of online video management solutions to catalog and index broadcast content for Japan's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications -

PITTSBURGH, PA (May 30, 2000) - MediaSite, the pioneer in providing automated video management solutions on the Internet, today announced that its MediaSite Publisher Suite 4.0 software was chosen as best of breed by Japan's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) and will facilitate the agency's next-generation multimedia distribution project. Executed for MPT by the Telecommunications Advancement Organization (TAO), the project will rely on MediaSite's innovative software to generate a fully automated and interactive index for the organization's extensive online video library.

TAO, a government entity dedicated to the development of new technology in telecommunications, designed the two-year project to explore the enterprise of distributing broadcast content using multimedia technology. TAU Engineering, MediaSite's Tokyo-based partner, co-developed a Japanese version of MediaSite's software, enabling the integration of the Japanese Speech Recognition Module. TAO installed the Japanese version of MediaSite's software tools to develop and research methodologies and technologies on Intranets and Wide Area Networks. TAO hopes to eliminate the ambiguous copyright problems associated with the second-hand use of video by allowing broadcasters to maintain control over the distribution of video content on their Web sites.

After working with MediaSite for six months to jointly create an integral Japanese video software solution, TAU Engineering is pleased to see that its diligent efforts have resulted in a win-win program," said Yoichi Ozasa, Executive Vice President of TAU Engineering. "The Osaka research initiative will serve as the seeding ground for future video technology projects in Japan. Together, MediaSite and TAU Engineering have supplied TAO with the tools it needs to investigate optimal methods of video indexing and retrieval in a large online archive. Going forward, commercial customers will be able to access the experiment results as a reference point when creating their own video libraries."

"MediaSite is thrilled at the opportunity to further the Japanese government's multimedia technology development through the MPT/TAO experiment," said Howard Wactler, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of MediaSite. "Our video navigation tools will allow broadcasters to publish and catalog their video content online without sacrificing their ownership rights. We are confident that Japanese content owners will benefit from the automated video management solutions MediaSite brings to this win-win program."

The MediaSite Publisher Suite 4.0 enables customers to publish and navigate searchable video over the Web. The suite is composed of Indexer, Module Manager, and MediaSite WebFinderÔ. Publisher Modules provide additional functionality for clients with specific needs and requirements. The modules include Speech Indexer and Image Indexer. MediaSite MediaSite WebFinder is the leading video search and navigation software, utilizing advanced search functionality such as image match and natural language query to locate video clips. MediaSite WebFinder allows users to search images, text and audio from within any standard Web browser.

About MediaSite

MediaSite, Inc. is the pioneer in providing software and services that automate video management on the Internet. MediaSite's patented technology and tools deliver quantum gains in video search and navigation, helping content producers realize the full e-commerce potential of their video resources.

For more information, visit www.mediasite.com.