SRS Labs And WWW.COM Establish Cross-Licensing Partnership To Deliver WOW, SRS Labs' Powerful New Audio Enhancement Technology, To Millions Of Internet Broadcast Listeners
SRS Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRSL) and http://WWW.COM, Inc. today announced that the companies have established a cross licensing partnership to deliver unprecedented audio quality to Internet music and video broadcasts. SRS Labs is the world's leading provider of audio and voice technologies for over 45 million products from 170 consumer electronics companies, including such industry giants as Sony, RCA, Pioneer, Philips, Kenwood and Sennheiser. http://WWW.COM is the industry's premier B2B (business to business) music netcasting company with the Internet's largest selection of entertainment content, including music, music videos and live events. The companies are demonstrating their combined capabilities at Webnoize '99, a digital music industry conference that is being held November 15-17, 1999 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Under the terms of the agreements, http://WWW.COM will integrate SRS Labs' powerful new audio technology WOWô into the tuner for its ""Radio"" superstation (http://www.com). http://WWW.COM radio listeners will enjoy an impressive listening experience from http://WWW.COM's 200+ stations of music featuring over 250,000 songs, the largest digital music library on the Internet. Conversely, SRS Labs will feature http://WWW.COM's music library content on its Internet Broadcast site to be launched in the next few months. Both companies acknowledge that while the Internet offers enormous audience reach, current bandwidth limitations have not fully satisfied the audio quality needs of many would-be Internet broadcast audiences. SRS Labs' WOW technology overcomes these limitations and provides incredible audio quality whether a listener has an average Internet connection with inexpensive computer speakers or broadband connectivity with the latest PC sound system. WOW uses psycho-acoustic techniques to process ambient details present in audio to significantly increase the width, depth and height of any stereo image in any pair of stereo speakers or headphones. One of the most powerful features of the WOW technology is TruBassô a patent pending technology which produces deep, rich bass from headphones or speakers without requiring large drivers, cabinets or a subwoofer. The partnership is the first Internet content relationship for SRS Labs and is a key to the Company's recently announced strategic plan to participate in the Internet broadcast market. ""The Internet is a significant showcase for our technologies and our strategy is to leverage our audio expertise into the Online music and video arena. Phase one was completed with the development and successful launch of the WOW Thing line of software and hardware products for the enhancement of audio, especially the highly compressed formats required for Internet broadcast,"" stated Thomas Yuen, Chairman and CEO of SRS Labs, Inc. Yuen continued, ""Phase two for us is to team with dynamic and innovative industry leaders, such as http://WWW.COM. They are the proven leader in music netcasting and we are very pleased to be working with them."" ""WOW has made an impressive debut and we've never heard anything like it. We're convinced it will revolutionize the way audio is presented and heard on the Internet,"" said Scott Purcell, Founder and President of http://WWW.COM. ""Partnering with SRS Labs gives us a significant competitive edge by enabling our audience to take advantage of this breakthrough technology,"" he added. ""SRS Labs' proven and well endorsed WOW technology will give us the power to significantly eliminate this sound quality gap and provide high-quality audio broadcasts over the Internet,"" said Purcell. ""What we're doing will ultimately benefit our millions of members who will fully enjoy great-sounding audio on the Web,"" he added. Thingô line of hardware and software consumer products, based on the Company's new WOW audio enhancement technology. The WOW Thing Box, a cool translucent-blue consumer device designed specifically for headphones or powered speakers, including flat panel speakers or those designed for the iMac, has garnered rave reviews from high-tech industry insiders, such as ZDNet, Macworld, PC World, PC Magazine and has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Dallas Morning News. Both WOW Thing hardware and software are offered exclusively at http://www.wowthing.com. About http://WWW.COM http://WWW.COM (http://www.com) and its subsidiaries form the leading Internet Music Netcasting Company. The company's site currently offers a variety of entertainment and information services, including original music, on demand events, MyMail and a live-help 24/7 Net Assistance Center. Launched in July 1999, the company's mission is to broadcast entertainment through the Internet to a worldwide audience; building a powerful broadcast network on the convergence of radio, television and print with a wide range of compelling programming. 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. For more information on SRS Labs' technologies, the Company's worldwide licensing program or its design and manufacturing capabilities, visit the Company's corporate Web site at http://www.srslabs.com. Source: SRS Labs, Inc. Web Site: http://www.srslabs.com