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To: DiViT who wrote (35649)	9/2/1998 9:09:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Sigma wrapped MediaMatic's MPEG-2 core, in silicon. It's old news............. DirectShow..................................... www8.zdnet.com Sigma................... exchange2000.com exchange2000.com C-Cube........................ And C-Cube partner, Toshiba, focused on PC98 c-cube.com wired.com Mediamatics...................... news.com Microsoft to ship DVD software By Jim Davis Staff Writer, CNET News.com October 28, 1997, 6:10 p.m. PT Microsoft (MSFT) will ship software by the end of November that will make programming DVD-ready applications easier. The coming availability of DirectShow 2.0 software means DVD-ROM titles with better quality and advanced interactive features should be available by Christmas 1998, according to Eric Engstrom, general manager of DirectX multimedia at Microsoft. One such feature is the ability to click on a part of the video to "drill down" for more information. DirectShow 2.0 is an application programming interface (API) for the capture and playback of multimedia content. If it catches on, programmers would use a single set of instructions that will work with any piece of DirectShow-compatible hardware. Currently, a PC vendor that ships a DVD drive in a system has to install special software that understands what the DVD drive is playing and knows how to control the underlying system hardware. Every time the drive is shipped in a different computer, the software has to be rewritten. Applications such as games and multimedia encyclopedias also have to be rewritten to ensure compatibility, something which quickly becomes an expensive and arduous process for programmers, with the end result being that programmers have been slow to adopt DVD as the platform of choice for writing new programs. Also this week, Mediamatics officially announced new software for playing back MPEG-2 video information on DVD players, as reported last week by CNET's NEWS.COM. The software uses DirectShow to enable DVD playback on a wide array of computers, including lower-end PCs that currently aren't offered with DVD drives. By tapping into the processing power of the computer's existing main microprocessor as well as the graphics chip subsystem, Mediamatics hopes to to offer its DVDExpress A/V Pak on multiple types of computer architectures, spanning both low-cost and higher-end price points. The technology can be used on processors including Intel's Pentium II, Advanced Micro Devices' K6, and Cyrix's MediaGX. It can also work with multiple graphics chips, the company claims. Finding a way to do MPEG-2 playback effectively with fewer components and at lower cost is the newest holy grail for the DVD industry. Currently, playing back data from DVD titles without specialized chips takes PC takes a prodigious amount of processing power--a 266-MHz Pentium II system is the minimum for doing software-only MPEG-2 playback, Mediamatics says. For companies shipping DVD systems with less powerful processors, the DVDExpress A/V Pak can also be used in conjunction with a MPEG-2 video decoder from IBM.

To: DiViT who wrote (35649)	9/2/1998 9:27:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

MPEG-2 over twisted pairs...................................... newsalert.com Digital Television Runs Over Copper Telephone Lines Business Wire - September 02, 1998 11:15 Jump to first matched term NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1998--Ronald A. Durando, President & Chief Executive Officer of mPhase Technologies, Inc. (OTC-BB:XDSL), announced today that the mPhase Traverser (TM) Digital Video and Data Delivery System successfully ran MPEG-2 digital video, Internet access, and telephone service simultaneously over an existing telephone line from a Hart Telephone Company central office to a residential customer in Hartwell, Georgia. The demonstration marked the first time ever that a single pair of ordinary telephone wire was utilized to simultaneously carry a live media event in advanced digital MPEG-2 video format, broadband Internet access, and normal telephone service. A press conference hosted by mPhase, Georgia Tech, and Hart Telephone Company was transmitted live via satellite from Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta, received at a Hart Telephone Company central office, and delivered to a home in Hartwell, Georgia, utilizing mPhase's revolutionary Traverser system. The Hart customer viewed an MPEG-2 digital feed of the press conference over an ordinary twisted-pair, copper telephone line, without disruption of his telephone service. At the same time, the family was able to browse the Internet at broadband speed. In addition to the live transmission over the telephone lines, highlights of the press conference were presentations by David Klimek, Chief Technology Officer of mPhase, Ronald A. Bohlander, Principal Research Scientist for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and Lee Barton, President / CEO of Hart Telephone Company. Messrs. Klimek and Bohlander outlined the two year history of this effort involving exemplary cooperation between private industry and academia, while Mr. Barton, mPhaseUs first customer, stressed the competitive edge the Traverser system will give the nation's independent telephone companies. The prototypes of the Traverser system will be available next month, while version 1.0, with 80-channel capability, will be in production and available for mass distribution in the Spring. Future system designs will accommodate 256 channels of digital video, including local broadcast signals, regionalized sports, and movies-on-demand. Members of the media interested in receiving a copy of this video news release are invited to contact Vicki Weiner at vmweiner@aol.com. CONTACT: VMW Inc., New York Vicki Weiner P: 212/605-3140 F: 212/605-3146 E-mail: vmweiner@aol.com