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SRS Labs Forms New Subsidiary, SurroundMP3.com, To Launch Internet Entertainment Broadcast Channel
Company Taps Interactive Media Pioneer to Develop Content Strategy In Deploying Its World-Renowned Audio, Voice and Multichannel Theatre Sound Technologies To Supercharge Its Internet Broadcast
SRS Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRSL), the world's leading provider of audio and voice technologies to over 170 consumer electronics companies, including such industry giants as Sony, RCA, Pioneer, Philips, Kenwood, Samsung, Lucent and Sennheiser, today announced the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, SurroundMP3.com. The company's Internet business ventures will be focused and expedited under the new subsidiary, including its first venture, http://www.surroundmp3.com, also announced today. The new web site will be the Internet's first streaming stereo and multichannel surround sound broadcast site, and will leverage SRS Labs' patented audio, theatre and voice enhancement technologies. Recognizing that the development of innovative and compelling content is essential in order to sustain a successful online broadcast business, http://www.surroundmp3.com will be used as the launching pad for an online entertainment community that provides a broad range of information and entertainment programs, including popular music genres, video, books on tape, live music broadcasts and other forms of entertainment content. To spearhead its content strategy development, the company has hired interactive entertainment pioneer, Charles Cortright, founder and former CEO of Graphix Zone. ""Our goal is to offer Internet users the 'best sounding site on the World Wide Web' with innovative content that informs and entertains,"" remarked SRS Labs' Chairman and CEO Thomas Yuen. ""The Internet offers enormous audience reach. The current bandwidth limitation has not fully satisfied the audio quality needs of many would-be Internet broadcast audiences. We will use our proven and well endorsed technologies to significantly eliminate this sound quality gap and to jump-start surround sound broadcasts over the Internet,"" he added. Internet broadcast sites generally rely on compression techniques to deliver audio content to audiences using mainstream 28.8K or 56K modems. While these compression techniques make delivery possible, they usually strip the audio content of spatial detail, dynamic range and intelligibility. http://www.surroundmp3.com will differentiate itself from other Internet broadcast sites by utilizing proven audio technologies from SRS Labs. These technologies will provide the best possible audio quality whether a listener has an average Internet connection with inexpensive speakers or broadband connectivity with the latest PC sound system. SurroundMP3.com broadcasts will leverage other SRS technologies, such as WOW, CircleSurroundô and TruBassô for superior musical effects; and VIPô, the Company's patented Voice Intelligibility technology, to improve the quality of streaming audio for voice contents such as news and sports. Yuen said SurroundMP3.com will be innovative in content as well as technology. ""This is a highly scaleable business, and we want to build a global destination site for people who enjoy quality audio and who are inclined to form affinity groups for all types of music, news, educational programming and chat rooms,"" he said. ""In addition to commercially-successful and popular sound and voice programming, we wish to provide an exciting opportunity and platform for aspiring entertainers and authors to air their works."" SRS Labs is accelerating its timetable of the Internet broadcasting venture because of the positive response to its September launch of http://www.wowthing.com, an e-commerce web site that features the company's newly-introduced WOWô technology. In addition to offering free software downloads of WOW Thing audio enhancements for MP3 music, http://www.wowthing.com is also a new channel for merchandising SRS-branded hardware products that incorporate SRS sound and voice technologies. The Internet broadcast site will generate revenues from e-commerce sales, content distribution, advertising and licensing. Yuen noted, ""A successful Internet business will bring us significant brand awareness, an e-commerce channel, and large shareholder value. Internet broadcasting is still in its infancy stage and there remain many untapped opportunities. We intend to leverage our proven audio expertise to build a global online entertainment community."" About SRS Labs, Inc. SRS Labs is a leading provider of audio and voice enhancement technology solutions. SRS Labs' business consists of licensing audio and voice enhancement technologies to manufacturers of consumer electronics, computer, gaming and telecommunications equipment; and the design, manufacture and distribution of components, integrated circuits, sub-assemblies and finished products for the consumer electronics and home entertainment markets. Source: SRS Labs, Inc. Web site: http://www.srslabs.com