RAVISENT And ST Microelectronics Powers Consumer DVD Player

VestelÆ Produces Low-Cost DVD Player Utilizing Single Chip DVD Technology

28-Apr-00

RAVISENT Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RVST), a software and IP licensing company, announces that Vestel Electronics, a premier European consumer electronic manufacturing company, is including RAVISENT's Software CineMasterÆ decoder with the ST Microelectronics STi5505 single-chip DVD solution, in a consumer electronic DVD player. The new Vestel DVD player, marketed in Europe under the Universum brand name, combines RAVISENT's Software CineMaster DVD decoder with the ST Microelectronics STi5505 single-chip DVD solution, enabling playback of theater-quality video and audio from DVDs to a television set. The Vestel DVD player uses the advanced features of Software CineMaster to deliver advanced audio and video capabilities at nearly half the cost of competitive products. The award-winning Software CineMaster DVD decoder, originally developed for PC based systems, has been ported by RAVISENT to volume consumer electronic device architectures, allowing OEMs to develop DVD players with advanced functionality at a fraction of the cost of internally developed alternatives. ""The new Vestel DVD player demonstrates the flexibility of RAVISENT's Software CineMaster DVD decoding technology,"" said Mike Harris, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of RAVISENT. ""Vestel's player showcases the high performance and advanced feature set that our Software CineMaster product can deliver on non-PC, consumer electronic devices."" ""The software-based decoding solution offered by RAVISENT makes our DVD players more attractive to consumers by delivering high-end features at an affordable price,"" said Cengiz Ultav, Deputy CEO of Vestel. ""In addition, the flexibility of the Software CineMaster DVD solution will allow us to extend our product line in the future to match consumer preferences."" About Software CineMaster DVD Software CineMaster was developed using RAVISENT's modular software architecture and is a high performance software based solution designed to decode DVD, MPEG-1 and broadcast MPEG-2 video streams. The application shares the same robust software core of the CineMaster family of products that are in use by major PC OEMs, video graphics and video game manufacturers. Software CineMaster assists OEMs to meet rapidly changing consumers preferences in record time at a low cost. Software CineMaster DVD is the first software-based DVD solution to deliver both decoding and encoding capabilities, as well as supporting cutting-edge HDTV (high definition television) decoding on multimedia PCs. About RAVISENT Technologies, Inc. RAVISENT provides digital video, audio and Internet appliance technology to industry leading PC, consumer electronic and internet appliance OEMs, empowering them to deliver highly competitive, cost-effective products with a strong time-to-market advantage. RAVISENT software and intellectual property is contained in products from Compaq, Dell Computer, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Micron, Fujitsu, Quantex, Sony, Tottori-Sanyo, Vestel, Yamaha, ATI Technologies, C-Cube, ST Microelectronics, Telecom Italia, Met@box Formenti and IPM. Founded in 1994, RAVISENT is a global company, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with offices in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Germany and Japan. More information about RAVISENT is available at www.ravisent.com. About Vestel Electronics Vestel Group comprises four manufacturing, six marketing and distribution companies in the consumer electronics, white goods and information technology sectors. The group's products include color televisions, monitors, digital and analog satellite receivers, personal computers, remote control units, remote control converter kits, plasma TV and Internet set-top boxes. Between 1994 and 1998, the Vestel Group increased its exports by 1000 percent to 3,000,000 units and its share of the highly competitive European television market from less than 1 to 13 percent. Vestal Group is headquartered in Turkey and has facilities in Germany, France, Holland Spain, Taiwan and the US.

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