SeaChange Broadcast MediaCluster Is Multithematiques's Key to Digital Video Delivery

Maynard, Mass. (PROTEXT) - French Multichannel BroadcasterGoes Digital With MPEG-2 Video Server Systems. Multithematiques, Paris-based broadcaster of 11 thematictelevision channels, has launched an advanced digital broadcastenvironment based on SeaChange International, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:SEAC) Broadcast MediaCluster digital video server system. TheBroadcast MediaCluster's open and networkable server architecturehas enabled Multithematiques to streamline its entiremultichannel operation, from video content acquisition to on-airplayback, with fault-resilient MPEG-2 video. One of France'slargest multichannel broadcasters, Multithematiques is owned byCANAL+, TINTA, HAVAS IMAGE and PART 'COM. "The Broadcast MediaCluster is a tremendous enabler of ouraggressive digital strategy," said Jacky Degorre, technicaldirector, Multithematiques. "For example, it is the only serverthat can give us an 80Mb file transfer from archive to server, arate many times faster than other products could manage. Thisprovides fast access to archived video for those last minutechanges in our program schedules." "SeaChange is very pleased to be working with Multithematiqueson its very innovative, state-of-the-art multichannel facility,"said John Pittas, vice president of broadcast products, SeaChangeInternational. "It is the first realization of our NetworkStorage Architecture (NSA) and demonstrates both the simplicityand power of the idea. At Multithematiques, NSA allows multipleBroadcast MediaClusters to integrate easily with a multiple-drivedigital tape archive through a low-cost, high-performance networkbased on Gigabit switching and IP protocols. Our goal is topropagate this architecture throughout the broadcast industry,thereby bringing the cost efficiencies of standard networkingproducts to broadcasters worldwide." Two Broadcast MediaClusters, one for content acquisition andone for playback, anchor the environment, which integrates Avidnon-linear editing stations and a Sony Peta Site archive. At theacquisition cluster, new programs and promotions are combined,encoded into MPEG-2 and then stored on the playback cluster fornear-term delivery or stored on the Peta Site archive for laterplayback. Each cluster will store up to 89 hours of 18Mb MPEG-2video. The operation is controlled by SGT's DBOS broadcastautomation system. MediaCluster Technology The MPEG-2 4:2:2 Broadcast MediaCluster supports multichannelplay-to-air applications including program origination,commercial insertion and time shift/delay. The system employsSeaChange's patented RAID2 ('raid squared') technology whichperforms RAID-5 striping on the disk drives on each 'node'(computer) and also across all the nodes in the cluster. Only onecopy of any video file is required, thereby dramatically reducingstorage requirements and also providing fault resilience.Multithematique's five-node clusters are configured with 18GBdisk drives. Nodes are also available with 9GB or 36GB drives.Expansion increases a cluster's capacity to hundreds of hours ofstorage and 28 I/Os. The Broadcast MediaCluster will include full support forstorage and delivery of MPEG-based DVB or ATSC Transport Streamsin the fourth quarter of 1999. SeaChange in Europe SeaChange's EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) salesoperation, headquartered in Genoa, Italy, is managed by MarcelloDellepiane (Tel. +39 010 5530177; Fax +39 0 10 5459778). Thecompany's EMEA customer service and support facility is locatedin Sophia Antipolis, near Valbonne, France. Serving more than 25,000 television channels for broadcast andcable television companies worldwide, SeaChange International,Inc. (www.schange.com) is the world leader in MPEG-2 digitalvideo systems. SeaChange's products, incorporating the Company'spatented software and hardware technologies, automate themanagement and distribution of video streams includingadvertisements, movies, news updates and other broadcast- qualityvideo programming requiring precise execution. Founded in 1993,SeaChange is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. MediaCluster is a registered trademark of SeaChangeInternational, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of theirrespective companies. All rights reserved. ots Original TextService: SeaChange International, Inc. Internet:http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: John Coulbourn of SeaChangeInternational 1-978-897-0100, ext. 3098, johnc@schange.com Website: http://www.schange.com

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