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NEW COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY ADDED TO NETSHOW 2.0
Provides Broadcasters With Widest Range of High Quality Codecs
New Alliances With The Duck Corp., Telos Systems and Voxware Inc.;
Microsoft Delivers First MPEG-4 Codec
LAS VEGAS, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)
today announced that new compression technologies from The Duck Corp.,
Telos Systems, and Voxware Inc. are available in the Microsoft(R)
NetShow(TM) server 2.0 beta software. This support further extends the
open, standards-based NetShow platform and delivers on Microsoft's
commitment to provide broadcasters and Web developers with the most
powerful audio and video compression technology (codecs).
"The open, standards-based architecture of NetShow enables broadcasters
to take advantage of the rapid innovation in compression technology,"
said David Cole, vice president, Internet client and collaboration
division at Microsoft. "The new third-party codecs, combined with the
first MPEG-4 video codec, illustrate our commitment to providing
broadcasters with high-quality compression technology. They can now
use the very best codec for their content at virtually any bit rate,
ranging from Internet speeds through high- bandwidth dedicated network
speeds."
Compression Technologies
Compression plays a key role in determining the quality of audio
and video broadcast on the Web by reducing the transmission bandwidth
required for sounds, images and video while improving playback quality.
The addition of The Duck Corp., Telos Systems, and Voxware Inc.
compression technologies gives Microsoft NetShow 2.0 the
highest-quality audio and video at multiple bit rates, allowing
broadcasters to bring exciting live and on-demand content to Web sites.
First MPEG-4 Codec
NetShow 2.0 also includes Microsoft's MPEG-4 video codec. This
codec is a low-bit-rate implementation of the MPEG-4 video standard
under development by the International Standardization Organization
(ISO) MPEG standards committee. It delivers market-leading-quality
video at 28.8 Kbps through 300 Kbps.
The Duck Corp.
TrueMotion RT is the first software-only video-capture and
compression technology for use in ADSL, cable modem and other
high-bit-rate environments to deliver high-quality video in real time.
This technology will facilitate the development of the next generation
of desktop video applications for home and business use, including
desktop video editing, computer-based training and videoconferencing.
"We are very excited that Microsoft has chosen to include TrueMotion RT
in NetShow 2.0," said Stan Marder, chief executive officer of The Duck
Corp. "As the installed base of computers has grown increasingly more
powerful, high- bit-rate digital video represents an emerging market
for new applications for business and home use. TrueMotion RT and
NetShow 2.0 represent a way for users to easily capture, compress and
play back video without needing to purchase costly add-on hardware
boards."
Telos Systems
Key to the Telos Systems' approach is a dedicated
professional-grade hardware encoder, which offers more processing power
than systems that are bound to general-purpose CPUs. To ensure
superior sound quality, a multiple DSP-chip compression engine performs
state-of-the-art enhanced MPEG Layer-3 bit-rate reduction, the most
powerful audio method endorsed by the competitive MPEG standards
process. On the client side, listeners use the software player
included as part of the standard installation of NetShow 2.0.
"As a manufacturer of broadcast equipment, we've been working to make
audio webcasting a reasonable proposition for our customers, most of
whom are radio stations and networks with fairly high expectations,"
said Steve Church, president of Telos Systems. "They demand audio
quality and audience reach comparable to traditional broadcasting. We
believe that the high-volume listener potential enabled by the IP
multicast capability in NetShow will move audio programming on the
Internet to the next level. Microsoft's platform combined with Telos'
high-fidelity capability will help to make broadcast services happen."
Voxware Inc.
Voxware MetaVoice and MetaSound coding technologies are designed
to reproduce high-quality speech and audio while requiring very low
communications bandwidth and processing power. MetaSound technology,
based on core technology from Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., is
optimized for high-quality audio with low complexity and memory use.
These technologies make optimal use of today's low-end (14.4 and 28.8)
Kbps modems and processors.
"We are delighted that Microsoft has chosen both the Voxware MetaVoice
and MetaSound Voxware technologies to augment NetShow 2.0," said
Michael Goldstein, president and chief executive officer of Voxware.
"The use of our codecs can enable broadcasters to deliver high sound
quality at low bit rates. Our RT24 codec, based on MetaVoice
technology, is one of the lowest-bandwidth speech codecs on the market."
NetShow Codec, Tools and Third-Party Support
These codecs join the growing list of compression technologies
already shipping with Microsoft NetShow 2.0, including standards-based
H.263 and G.723 codecs, Intel Indeo, Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte
Schaltungen IIS MPEG Layer-3, VDOnet Wavelet and others. Tool vendors
supporting the ASF file format can use all these codecs to create
NetShow content. A complete list of third parties supporting NetShow
with products and services can be found at
microsoft.com .
Open, Standards-Based Platform
NetShow technology is built on open industry standards. NetShow
supports the ASF file format, which is capable of using media in MOV,
AVI, WAV, BMP, DIB, JPEG and other standard formats. NetShow also
supports the H.263 video standards, as well as transport and protocol
standards such as UDP/IP, TCP/IP, HTTP, RTP and IP multicast. To date,
11 million NetShow-based clients and 40,000 servers have shipped since
September 1996.
Availability
NetShow 2.0 beta software is available now at no charge from the
Microsoft Web site at microsoft.com (connect-time
charges may apply). The final version of NetShow 2.0 is expected later
this spring.
To experience NetShow, visit
microsoft.com for a complete guide to the
NetShow spring events series. This guide lists upcoming audio and
video live and on-demand broadcasts using Microsoft NetShow.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for
personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and
services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission
of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of
the full power of personal computing every day.
NOTE: Microsoft and NetShow are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other
countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
-0- 04/07/97 /NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are
interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit
the Microsoft Web page at microsoft.com on
Microsoft's corporate information pages./
/CONTACT: Marnie Bolton, marnieb@wagged.com, or Andrea Carlos,
andreac@wagged.com, both of Waggener Edstrom, 503-245-0905/
(MSFT)
CO: Microsoft Corp. ST: Nevada, Washington IN: CPR MLM SU:
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