SPEED Selects Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation for Video-on-Demand Content Production

SPEED Selects Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation for Video-on-Demand Content Production

Product Enables SPEED to Meet On-Demand Commitments to Cable Affiliates With Unprecedented Speed and Economy

STERLING, Va., March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Anystream, Inc. and SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) today announced that SPEED -- home of NASCAR TV and many of the premier racing series in the world, including Formula One, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Supercross, ARCA, IHRA, the American Le Mans Series, Grand American Road Racing and others -- has deployed the companies' Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation to simplify and accelerate production of video-on-demand (VOD) content.

The Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation is the ideal solution for SPEED and other media companies looking to streamline production of VOD content. It tightly integrates with conventional production systems and automates key workflow components to easily extract, enhance and transcode video for on- demand delivery. The system produces standards-based CableLabs-compliant VOD and easily scales in output capacity, providing the first automated enterprise-grade VOD production solution on the market.

"The Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation lets us easily create new programs from existing material, enabling us to monetize assets in new ways and repackage existing segments for other distributors and platforms," said Kevin Annison, vice president of business development & operations at SPEED. "It's so versatile and user friendly that you don't need to be a highly trained editor to operate the system."

With the Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation, SPEED can easily and efficiently create new programs from produced content without requiring additional non-linear editing. The system automatically ingests files from storage or editing workstations, marries them with metadata files, box art, promos and ads and then transforms them into CableLabs-compliant packages. Adherence to the CableLabs standard ensures that program guide information and the content itself will display properly on any cable system or settop box.

"Content providers are often overwhelmed when they understand the difficulties involved in creating content for cable VOD systems," said Fady Lamaa, Anystream vice president of product marketing. "Our product eliminates these complexities, ultimately enabling more, high-value content to reach consumers by making it a fraction of the cost of traditional, craft-based production methods," he said.

"Our platform makes it very easy to create VOD assets from almost any broadcast format," said Phil Simpson, director of On-Demand Products, SeaChange. "The Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation is designed to encourage every content provider to participate in the new on-demand evolution."

The Quicksilver Agility VOD Workstation is offered by SeaChange as a turnkey hardware and software solution, and is marketed as a software-only solution by Anystream under the brand name Agility VOD. The companies jointly announced the product in April of 2005 as a cost-effective solution for cable operators and content originators to serve on-demand consumers and distribution outlets with minimal production overhead.

SeaChange has established its expertise in the dynamics of television on- demand, advertising sales and broadcast operations. SeaChange systems enable broadband service providers to offer thousands of hours of content, with the automation that ensures content is properly distributed, that ads and promos are updated, and that user interfaces conform to current selections. Content metadata is critical to the process and SeaChange's AME (Automated Metadata Encoding) tool is part of the new Agility VOD platform.

Agility facilitates broadcast digital media workflows by eliminating manual production, conversion and delivery steps. Agility automatically processes media in its broadcast server, editing and streaming formats for exchange between editing systems, play-to-air servers, news production systems, streaming and Web servers.

About SeaChange International

First deployed in 2000 and now supporting over 100 cable and telco networks delivering video services, SeaChange's on-demand servers and software are the foundation for the majority of commercial on-demand television services around the world. In 2004, the National Television Academy awarded the first-ever Emmy to SeaChange for accomplishments enabling on-demand's widespread availability. SeaChange provides digital video systems that are changing television. Its powerful server and software systems enable television operators to provide new on-demand services and to gain greater efficiencies in advertising and content delivery. With its Emmy-winning MediaCluster technology, thousands of SeaChange systems are helping broadband, broadcast and satellite television companies to streamline operations, expand services and increase revenues. SeaChange is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts and has product development, support and sales offices throughout the world. Visit http://www.schange.com/.

About Anystream, Inc.

Anystream is an essential element of the new media broadcast strategies of some of the world's largest media companies including Time Warner, Newscorp and Viacom. Anystream is the leader in providing easy-to-use, cost-effective solutions that maximize the value of video content. The company's automated, mission-critical solutions tightly integrate with legacy production systems to extract video and make it playout-ready across a wide range of distribution networks and consumer devices. Anystream has received numerous honors including the Frost and Sullivan Market Leadership Award, Presentations Magazine's Standing Ovation Award, PC Magazine's Technical Excellence Awards finalist and COMDEX Best of Show awards finalist, Entrepreneur Magazine's "Hot 100" list and Deloitte and Touche's "Fast 50." http://www.anystream.com/

About SPEED

SPEED, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2006, is the nation's first and foremost cable network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 70 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on-demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit http://www.speedtv.com/.

Source: Anystream, Inc.; SeaChange International

CONTACT: Darian Germain of Anystream, +1-703-948-3063,
dgermain@anystream.com; John Coulbourn of SeaChange, +1-978-889-3098,
johnc@schange.com; Erik Arneson of SPEED, +1-704-731-2189,
earneson@speedtv.com

Web site: http://www.anystream.com/
http://www.schange.tv/
http://www.speedtv.com/

-------
Profile: intent