WavePhore Adds Streaming Audio And Video To Its WaveTop Data
Broadcast Service
PR Newswire - August 27, 1998 05:15
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Industry Standard Streaming To Enable Wide Range Of New 'TV-Like' Services On WaveTop Network
PHOENIX, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Data broadcasting leader WavePhore, Inc., (Nasdaq: WAVO) announced today that it is
adding streaming audio and video support to its WaveTop broadcast service. Integration of streaming technology will enable a
wide range of multimedia services on WaveTop including live video, audio and other rich "TV-like" content. Development tools for
qualified streaming application and content developers are now available for WaveTop 1.0 software. WavePhore will provide
integrated streaming support in WaveTop 2.0, which is scheduled for release later this year.
WaveTop's unique free, advertising-supported broadcast service already provides a wide range of multi-media programming,
including news, investment advice and information, children's programming, weather, consumer reports, software downloads and
much more, all supplied by the Web's leading content providers. WaveTop is distributed nationally to TV-tuner board-enabled
PC's such as the recently announced sub $2,000 PC-TV from Gateway, via the unused portion of television signals from 264 PBS
member stations around the country. WaveTop currently reaches the top 100 U.S. markets, representing over 85 percent of all
U.S. households. It will be available to more than 99 percent of U.S. households by year-end.
"This is a major step forward for WaveTop", said Patrick Gilbert, Sr. Vice-President, CTO, WaveTop. "By adding streaming
video and audio to WaveTop, we are giving our viewers and content providers a taste of Digital Television, using existing
infrastructure. It represents a great opportunity for content providers as everything they build now will transition seamlessly to our
future DTV network. Effectively, WaveTop is the first nationwide terrestrial digital broadcaster in the country."
WaveTop's streaming implementation supports the industry standard IP Multicast protocol thus greatly facilitating the
deployment of new services. In addition, WaveTop introduces a new virtual network adapter dubbed "Null- net." This new
technology enables existing streaming products, both servers and players, such as Microsoft's NetShow and Real Network's Real
Media systems designed for the two-way Internet, to operate on WaveTop's broadcast network without any modification.
"Null-net" will enable content providers to leverage their existing streaming productions and deliver it "as is" over WaveTop
without the limitations and the drop-outs that are typically associated with current streaming over the Internet. Unlike using the
Internet, streaming over WaveTop delivers content with a guaranteed bandwidth to an unlimited number of concurrent users.
WavePhore, which is an active member of the IP Multicast Initiative (IPMI) has been conducting extensive tests, as well as
private demonstrations of its new streaming capabilities for more than six months. "The integration of streaming audio and video
on the WaveTop network further demonstrates the potential of this technology to provide value to consumers and business users
alike," said Martin Hall, CTO Stardust Forums and co-chair of the IPMI. "The combination of WaveTop and streaming technology
creates a new wireless communications medium for live video and audio productions, as well as a wide variety of additional
multi-media services."
HOW WAVETOP WORKS
WaveTop's PC data broadcast service works by embedding data streams into the unseen portion of existing broadcast television
signals using the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI). WaveTop has partnered with PBS National Datacast to broadcast data over
the television signals of its 264 PBS member stations. Using a simple browser interface and a broadcast ready PC (a standard PC
with a built-in TV tuner or equipped with an add-on TV tuner card), users will interact with automatically downloaded information,
entertainment and software. Computers equipped with TV tuners and WaveTop software transparently receive, decode and
cache content without the bottleneck of the Internet or tying up a telephone line.
ADVERTISER-SUPPORTED
WaveTop is supported by leading consumer-brand charter advertisers. They include companies such as Atlanta Bank, EMI
Records, Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp., Kellogg Co., Lincoln-Mercury Inc., Mobil Corp., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Salomon
Smith Barney Holdings and Spiegel Inc. WaveTop's ability to deliver high-bandwidth applications to the home without the
download delays associated with modems allows advertisers to send more creative multimedia advertisements such as movie and
video clips, games, software downloads and micro sites.
RICH CONTENT
WaveTop content providers are among the world's leading media companies, including Time Inc. New Media, which includes the
online versions of People, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Money, Fortune and Sports Illustrated for Kids magazines and ZDNet
News, online versions of ComputerLife, Family PC and Yahoo! Internet Life. Also providing content are USA Today, The Wall
Street Journal Interactive Edition, CBS SportsLine, PBS ONLINE, Warner Bros. Online, Bloomberg LP, The Weather Channel,
N2K's Music Boulevard, barnesandnoble.com, Universal Press Syndicate: Comics, Women's Wire and Prevention's Healthy
Ideas, ParentTime, Supermarkets Online, Astrology.Net, Dummies Daily, UltimateTV and NECX. The media partners' content
will create channels appealing to the whole family. WaveTop channels include NewsTop, the latest in news, sports, weather, and
entertainment news; StockTop, regularly updated stock information and business news; KidsTop, fun, interactive educational
content from brand-name, children-oriented programmers; TechTop, the latest technical news, downloads of free software,
shareware and bug fixes; FamilyTop, the latest resource information for parents and working women; and FunTop, with the latest
samples of games, music, comics and best-selling books.
ABOUT WAVEPHORE
WavePhore, Inc., (Nasdaq: WAVO) is the global leader in connecting people with compelling information in the office and at
home. The corporation is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and composed of three business units: WavePhore Networks,
WavePhore Newscast and WavePhore WaveTop. WavePhore Networks, the industry leader in data broadcasting provides
flexible, high-speed data delivery for information publishers, to more than 90,000 sites worldwide. WavePhore Newscast, is the
Web's premier business infosource for enterprise- wide use. WavePhore WaveTop is the first free, advertising-supported,
nationwide data broadcast system to deliver multimedia content to broadcast ready PC's in the home. Additional information on
WavePhore is available via the Internet at wavephore.com, wavetop.net, wavephore.net and
newscast.com. WavePhore is also a member of the IP Multicast Initiative (IPMI). Additional information on IPMI is
available via the internet at ipmulticast.com.
Certain of the above statements regarding WavePhore constitute forward- looking statements, which may involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors,
including, but not limited to, technology changes, competitive developments, industry and market acceptance of new products and
services, risk factors listed from time to time in WavePhore's SEC filings.
Microsoft and Windows are registered 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. |
