Escient Convergence Corp. Launches Revolutionary New Digital Music System -- FireBall

13-Sep-01

EscientÆ Convergence Corp., a leading force in developing innovative products that combine consumer electronics with the Internet to enhance home entertainment, introduced FireBallô. Representing the first offering in Escient's new Physitalô product line, FireBall is a revolutionary distributed music system that successfully blends a user's physical CD collection with the latest digital technology.Through the most advanced user interface of its kind, FireBall bridges the capabilities of a CD music player/server/controller and the new world of digital music file formats -- including MP3 and Internet radio. Utilizing Escient's unique, friendly interface, FireBall provides powerful access to music and represents the next generation of Escient music management solutions. FireBall allows direct access to Internet radio, music recognition services, software upgrades and new enhanced entertainment services via an Internet Service Provider (ISP), normal phone line through a built-in modem, cable, DSL or HPNA home network, and optional Ethernet. In line with Escient's mission, the product provides this capability without requiring a PC in the system or entertainment center. FireBall is the first of two new products from Escient to reside on a completely embedded platform, and encompasses the most advanced, reliable platform technologies and architecture.FireBall is a unique product that ushers the world of CD changers into the digital realm, as it incorporates control and management for a wide variety of leading changer brands -- including Sony, Denon, Pioneer, Marantz, Integra, and Kenwood changers. The product also allows for seamless mixing of changer brands on one unit and provides a simple interface for ""ripping"" a user's CD collection that is stored in the changers into a digital format on the FireBall hard drive. The CDs are then available in non-physical based formats for faster access to music, distribution around the home and downloading to personal MP3 players.FireBall is also the first full multi-zone product available from Escient and is believed to be one of the industry's first music products in this category that is capable of streaming music from one zone to another. Multiple FireBall units may be daisy-chained together as a ""network"" for up to five zones of distributed music, with the system allowing for five concurrent ""taps"" of the same or different song at a compression rate of approximately 128 Mbps. In addition, each zone has its own independent, easy-to-use, Escient graphical user interface for immediate access to music, and the system allows users to copy their music from their CD or vinyl collection and subsequently convert it to digital for distribution throughout the home and outside it.Leveraging years of dealer feedback, Escient has included three RS-232 connections onboard for complete control of changers, touch panels and external control and multi-room audio systems, making it one of the most comprehensive digital music solutions available on the market today.An all-in-one music product, FireBall identifies, burns, catalogs, and manages both physical discs and digital music files and has a CD-R/RW single internal drive for playback and for copying music at six times (6x) normal speed. Offering a 40 GB hard drive, the product delivers selectable compression rates up to 320 Mbps, provides 700 hours of music at 128 Mbps, which takes into account the memory required for the compelling Escient user interface graphics and unique cover art delivery. FireBall also leverages sister company Gracenote'sô CDDB database for music text data and recognition services.Additionally, the product is capable of making music portable. For example, a user can create customized playlists and download them to specified USB portable players, such as Diamond Rio's 600 and 800 models and Compaq's PA-1 and PA-2. FireBall also offers one-touch ""add-to-favorites list"" and playback, and one-touch random play. Over 100 Internet radio stations may be accessed using the guide, all of which are managed and updated so that the consumer does not have to worry about stations changing or moving, eliminating additional entertainment hassles that are inherent to the Internet radio experience today.Bob Pankratz, President of Escient Convergence, said, ""We are pleased to introduce FireBall, the debut product in Escient's new Physital Line. Our dealers and customers have told us that there is room for a product that is compatible with existing CD collections, that is user-friendly, and that does not require a PC in the entertainment room. Core to our company philosophy is that customers just want to listen to their music, and our job is to effectively locate it for them. We have been finding people's music for years on their shiny silver discs, and now their music happens to be stored in a variety of new, different, and sometimes complex places. As additional formats become available, the ability to manage entertainment in the intuitive way we do it becomes even more important to consumers. We saw the clear opportunity to give our dealers and customers what they are asking for, while leveraging our four years' history of delivering media management and integration through a simple-to-use Escient interface. We consider it the next generation Escient music solution.""Cat Fowler, Vice President of Marketing, Escient Technologies, added, ""As the leading innovator in our field, Escient places the highest value on addressing the current needs of our dealers and customers. In addition to leveraging existing collections, we hear from our distribution channel that multi-zone with multiple interfaces, ripping from changers, and comprehensive external and touch panel control are key to best addressing the market. FireBall delivers all of these compelling features in one easy-to-use system, with portability and forward-looking technology. FireBall signifies a giant leap forward for home entertainment systems and our industry as a whole.""Additionally, FireBall, along with the new TuneBaseô 200, delivers upon the Escient vision of providing an enhanced entertainment experience with in-depth information about artists and their music. Through a close partnership with Escient's sister company, OpenGlobeô, the product delivers to the user new OpenGlobe services that include customized entertainment content, music recommendations and Internet radio stations. These entertainment services are expected to expand in the first quarter of 2002. FireBall is compatible with the Escient ETP-1000 touch panel and is equipped with an onboard 3X1 digital audio switch, a blue backlit, handheld IR remote and an IR keyboard.FireBall will be available in December 2001 at a suggested retail price of $1,999.For more information about Escient, visit www.escient.com.

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