Centralized Broadcasting Group Expands

NEW YORK - October 30, 2001 - Miranda Technologies, Encoda SystemsInc., SignaSys Inc., Pinnacle Systems Inc., and Tandberg Televisiontoday announced that the Centralized Broadcasting Group has expandedwith the incorporation of compression and transport technology andsystems expertise provided by new group member Tandberg Television. TheCentralized Broadcasting Solutions Group, formed in early 2001, bringstogether leading equipment and service providers whose specialitiesencompass the major components required for centralized operations, andaddresses challenges faced by station groups and networks inimplementing centralized broadcasting models.

Tandberg Television joins Miranda, Encoda, SignaSys, and PinnacleSystems in working to understand the new challenges station groups andnetworks face in setting up and running centralized televisionoperations with systems comprised of equipment from multiple vendors.In this non-exclusionary arrangement, the five companies bring theirexpertise to bear on the formulation of highly interoperable solutions,by collaborating to adapt each individual system element to the others,perform interoperability testing, and create solution templates for avariety of architectures. Each company continues to work with othermanufacturers while bringing its resources to the table with theoverall goal of providing well-adapted solutions for centralizedbroadcasting.

"In working with other members of this group, we've all madesignificant steps in realizing our shared initiative of developinginteroperable solutions for networks and broadcast groups," said AlKovalick, CTO for the Broadcast Solutions Group of Pinnacle Systems."The new demands of shared station ownership and the changes takingplace with the transition to digital television have fueled theindustry's move toward centralized operations. The models we'redeveloping and testing now will enable broadcast operations to deploystreamlined broadcast solutions while trimming operation costs."

Together, Miranda, Encoda, SignaSys, Pinnacle Systems, and TandbergTelevision offer a wide range of expertise and the broad perspectivenecessary to address further developments of centralized broadcastmodels. The contribution of each group member is as follows:

· Miranda's contribution includes multi-image monitoring, awide variety of routing and interfacing equipment, as well as on-airpresentation switching and branding.
· Encoda provides single- and multi-channel automation withtraffic and asset management.
· SignaSys is a system integrator with broad experience incentralized broadcasting and multi-channel broadcasting systemdeployment. SignaSys provides application consultation and caseanalysis as well as system design and integration.
· Pinnacle Systems provides a complete solution for networkedvideo servers and content distribution.
· Tandberg Television provides video, audio, and data compressionsystems as well as interfacing, transmission, and network monitoringsolutions.

Centralized broadcasting involves the linking of multiple stationsover a given geographic region. Depending on the degree ofcentralization, the stations either are run from a single facility withcentralized playout or, in a distributed approach, incorporatestore-and-forward content distribution and remote automation. Theconsolidation of broadcast systems offers cost savings while alsofacilitating collaboration between multiple sites.

The Centralized Broadcasting Solutions Group will exhibit at the143rd SMPTE Technical Conference and Exhibition, Nov. 4-7 at the HiltonNew York (Booth #180), and companies within the group will be availableat their individual booths: Miranda (142/143/144), Encoda (178/179),and Tandberg Television (103/104).