Pinnacle Systems Introduces Unique Technology For ìShared TVî

Share Full Broadcast-Quality Video Over The Internet And Watch It On Your Home TV

6-Apr-01

Pinnacle Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLE), a leader in broadcast and consumer video solutions, announced Pinnacle Bungee. Pinnacle Bungee is a new kind of video tool that gives users control over what, how and when they watch TV, thanks to the power of the PC and the Internet. Bungee goes beyond existing set-top and PC-based Personal Video Recorders (PVR) by also enabling users to view Internet video content that they download on the TV set, all at an affordable price. ìPinnacle Bungee unleashes a new world for TV viewers, bringing them a way to watch what they want, whether itís a blockbuster movie being broadcast nationally or an obscure independent film only available on the Internet, when they want, with full PVR controls, and where they want, which usually means on their TV,î said Bill Loesch, Vice President of Business Development and Product Marketing at Pinnacle Systemsí Personal Web Video Division. ìíShared TVí is the next step in the evolution of television: combining the power of TV and the community experience that can exist with Internet connectivity,î Loesch added. Shared TV Once connected to the Internet via a PC, Bungee becomes a unique solution allowing the user to download video from anywhere in the world, and watch that video on their TV. Now with broadband Internet access, consumers will have a virtual unlimited source of video content to choose from. The viewer is no longer constrained to watch just what is on their local cable or satellite TV, they can now swap full quality video programming over the Internet, and ìshareî their TV. Bungee lets users view on TV any Internet content downloaded in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format and stored on the computerís hard disk. Bungee makes recording and sharing video files as easy as sharing audio files. Control TV Viewing Pinnacle Bungee is an affordable solution that allows users to take control of TV viewing. The time-shifting features empower users to pause programs while watching TV, and control instant replay. With its ìpause live TVî feature, action is paused while Bungee continues recording the live show. Once the interruption is over, users can start watching the show again at the point they left off. The ìinstant replayî capabilities let users choose the scenes they want to replay, even during live events. Like a VCR, Bungee can also be scheduled to record TV programs to be watched at a later time. About Pinnacle Bungee Pinnacle Bungee is an external USB peripheral that enables users to upgrade their PC with TV viewing and PVR functionality without having to open up their computer. It connects to any desktop or notebook PC. Bundled with Pinnacle Systemsí Vision application, an advanced TV viewing software, users can pause broadcast shows, skip sequences and create instant replays. Bungee can display time-shifted video on both PC monitors and televisions and it comes with a remote control for all TV, VCR and time-shift functions. Pinnacle Bungee is made possible by Pinnacle Systemsí sophisticated hardware that compresses video into high quality computer files in real-time. It uses MPEG-2 encode and decode processors to deliver DVD-quality audio and video. The efficient compression of the MPEG-2 format enables Bungee to stream TV programs in both directions over a standard USB port for storage and playback on the PCís hard disk. Bungee is one of the first products to support simultaneous video recording and playback over the USB port. Pinnacle Bungee is expected to ship in the second calendar quarter of 2001 at a targeted sales retail price of $349. For more information about Pinnacle Systems, visit www.pinnaclesys.com.

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