Breakthrough For E-Commerce Over DTV Proven In Tests With New Jersey Network

Data Rates Of 2 Mbps Achieved - Demonstrating Commercial Potential Of DTV For Datacasting Of Rich Digital Content

29-Mar-00

WaveXpress, a new technology company created to provide e-commerce and datacasting services to digital TV broadcasters, announced the landmark results of an extended test which demonstrated the capability of the company's datacasting system for delivering information, entertainment and e-commerce over DTV broadcasts. In tests conducted at NJN Public Television, the Trenton, New Jersey-based public broadcasting network, WaveXpress demonstrated commercial viability for technology that will enable broadcasters to transmit TV-quality video, games, software, music and Internet content - in parallel with regularly scheduled programming - to digital televisions and PCs. The tests were run using industry-standard broadcast equipment from multiple suppliers. The test achieved data transmission rates of 2Mbps (megabits per second), providing a way to deliver information at speeds 40 times faster than a typical dial up modem connection. The WaveXpress system has capacity to reach speeds of up to 16Mbps. Consumers can receive the signal via a standard TV antenna, and process both the data and video portions through a DTV tuner card plugged into their PC. The WaveXpress test involved inserting two data streams containing digital content simultaneously into the broadcast stream. One data stream came from a satellite feed, while the other was generated locally, simulating a combination of network-originated and local content. ""The results from the live test broadcast, clearly demonstrate the viability of WaveXpress' groundbreaking technology for the delivery of rich, digital consumer content,"" said Clifford A. Jenks, CEO of WaveXpress. ""We are one step closer to the commercial rollout of the WaveXpress system, which will offer broadcasters access to significant new business opportunities. WaveXpress will give content providers and e-commerce businesses a targeted, efficient and fast delivery system, which will make it easier for consumers to access and purchase a rich selection of digital information and entertainment content."" NJN Executive Director Elizabeth G. Christopherson also voiced enthusiasm about the test results. ""We're pleased to be one of the first broadcast stations involved in this leading edge technology, and even happier that it has been proven to work so effectively.""About WaveXpress, Inc.WaveXpress, a joint venture Wave Systems Corp. and Sarnoff Corporation, provides a full range of secure data broadcast architecture, infrastructure, and content services to broadcasters, content providers and consumers. WaveXpress' broadcast e-commerce system offers a variety of business models, including ad-supported content distribution, pay-per-use, purchase transactions, and subscription services. Sarnoff is contributing its broadcast engineering expertise. Wave Systems is providing its Embassy technology and back office systems to handle distributed content protection and transaction reporting functions. For more information, please visit the WaveXpress Web site at www.wavexpress.com.About Wave SystemsFounded in 1988, Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: WAVX) creates the technologies and services to secure and sell digital information. When embedded in PC hardware and peripherals, set-top boxes and other devices, Wave's Embassy (EMBedded Application Security System) ""trusted client"" technology forms the foundation for a new client-based distribution and purchasing model for content and services. For more information, please visit the Wave Systems Web site at www.wave.com.About SarnoffSarnoff Corporation creates and commercializes electronic, biomedical and information technology. Founded in 1942 as RCA Laboratories, Sarnoff is now a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of SRI International. The company's innovations include the development of color television and the liquid-crystal display, a leadership role in creating the technology for digital and HDTV in the US, and key contributions to the MPEG standards. Sarnoff works with industry and government clients to develop and improve specific technologies that will help change the world. The company has founded fourteen new companies to bring its technologies to market.

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