Pinnacle Systems Announces iThunder InternetBroadcast Server

Pinnacle Systems, Inc. has annonced iThunderô, a realtime video service for Internet Broadcasting. From call-letter TV stations to media-savvy corporations, there is growing interest in distributing video content over the Internet. iThunder has been designed to enable broadcasters, corporations and other organizations to easily ""Webcast"" their video programming over the Internet.iThunder is the newest member of Pinnacle Systemsí recently announced Thunder family of multichannel video and audio clip servers, which provide broadcasters and other content creators with disk-based solutions for storage and playback of broadcast-quality programming. iThunder includes RealNetworksí RealSystem G2 server and allows users to distribute video over the Internet as easily as they can send it to videotape or to air.""Thunder systems are designed to provide easy creation, storage and retrieval of video content ni multiple resolutions,"" said Bob Wilson, Vice President and General Manager of the Broadcast Group for Pinnacle Systems. ""Thunder and iThunder deliver a suite of powerful tools for video creation, browsing, and re-purposing. Internet-savvy organizations that want to leverage the Web for commercial purposes will find Thunder and iThunder a winning combination.""The iThunder Internet video server will enable broadcast, cable and satellite operations to broadcast to the Internet at the same time that they broadcast to air, eliminating the need to handle Internet video material in a separate production process. Corporate applications for iThunder include Internet distribution of video-based training, product demonstrations and sales programs. iThunder also makes browsing of video clips available over the Internet, allowing creatives and their clients to view projects from their desktopsóor anywhere in the worldóinstantly.""iThunder allows broadcasters to treat the Internet just like another antenna, by eliminating the time and labor of re-coding video material for Internet distribution,"" said Wilson. ""Weíre working with our broadcast customers to streamline the entire process of moving form production to air and now to the Internet. The migration from analog black boxes to open digital systems is now taking its next step, with realtime Internet broadcasting. Pinnacle Systems is committed to providing our customers with complete end-to-end solutions for broadcasting and Webcasting.""""With Thunder and iThunder, Pinnacle Systems uniquely addresses the opportunity of broadcast and network convergence, producing high-quality content within a workgroup and simultaneously broadcasting it to air and to the Internet,"" said Peter Christy, Principal at Collaborative Research of Los Altos, a leading Internet marketing research and strategy firm. ""The rapid build-out of ADSL and cable-modem high-speed connections to the Internet are fueling a rapidly increasing demand for high-quality video content.""The new Thunder family of video servers features all digital CCIR 601 internal processing with support for multiple digital recording formats, including MPEG-2, DV25 and DV50. Designed as play-to-air servers for broadcast, Thunder systems can also replace aging tape transports in TV stations and post houses. The Thunder MCS2000 and MCS4000 systems provide simultaneous record and playback on multiple channels, realtime transitions between clips, and clip-browsing across a network.iThunder debut publicly at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, April 19-22, 1999 with shipment beginning this summer. Prices for iThunder start at $9,995. More information on Thunder can be found at the Pinnacle Systems Website www.pinnaclesys.com/thunder. Pinnacle Systems can be reached at 650 526 1600.