Motorola Enters Streaming Multimedia Market with TrueStream Solution; Integrates patented Motorola technology to deliver high-quality viewing experience for Net surfers over analog telephone lines

Business Wire, March 3, 1997

MANSFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1997--Motorola's Information Systems Group (ISG), a leader in analog and digital communications products and technology, today introduced TrueStream streaming media software solution.

TrueStream delivers high-quality audio and video over a range of transmission speeds including limited bandwidth connections that characterize today's dial-up, Internet access links. TrueStream represents another step in Motorola's ongoing commitment to, and investment in, the multimedia market.

TrueStream combines patent pending Motorola technology in video compression, audio codecs, video and audio digital signal processing, and networking protocols with today's industry standards and popular Internet platforms to provide a superior, viable low-bit-rate streaming media solution for IP networks. The software evaluation kit is available now for download, free, at http://www.motorola.com/truestream .

The TrueStream solution is comprised of: TrueStream PLAYER, a browser plug-in or helper application; TrueStream SERVER; and TrueStream PRODUCER, a plug-in to digital video editing software. Strong technical support and a simple licensing plan are integral elements of the TrueStream offering.

Streaming technology overcomes limited bandwidth availability by allowing users to view and listen to clips as they are downloaded from a Web site rather than waiting until the entire file has been downloaded.

"For companies that market products and services over the Internet, streaming media technology is emerging as a compelling feature of Web sites," said Ross Seider, vice president and general manager of ISG's Streaming Media Products business unit. "Video and audio enhances and accelerates customers' understanding of who you are and what you do," Seider continued.

"Current streaming video systems often suffer from low video frame rates, poor image quality, unrecognizable audio, and poor lip sync," Seider stated. "We believe that solving these technological issues will help drive the adoption of video streaming.

"Web site developers, content providers, creative multimedia advertising firms, and ISPs will use the technology for a variety of Web-based applications such as training, customer support, brand awareness programs, tracking and monitoring Web-based advertising, and communicating more effectively with business partners and employees," Seider said.

TrueStream Advances Streaming Media Technology

Motorola ISG, a worldwide leader in modem and ISDN transmission, telephony, real-time networking protocols, and data compression, is working to solve the challenge of video- and audio-on-demand streaming problems caused by packet loss, network delays, and low bandwidth typically associated with dial-in Internet access. TrueStream embodies three key refinements to enhance viewing experiences over high-loss, low bandwidth transmissions:

-- Patented video/audio encoding technology optimizes streaming

high-motion video over low-bit-rate networks

-- Patented protocol technology optimizes streaming over high-loss

networks. Dynamic Video Image Correction (DVIC) and Audio Loss

Interpolation (ALI) ensure that image and sound remain intact

even under adverse network conditions

-- Patented multimedia streaming play-out technology ensures

audio/video synchronization (lip sync capability)

"We believe that our more than 30 years' experience in building sophisticated voice and data communications products and services that operate over less-than-ideal wireline and RF transmission media makes us uniquely qualified to contribute to the development of media streaming technology," said Jed Johnson, manager of software development.

"Motorola is, after all, a communications company. We have a long-standing track record of enabling new applications and products through innovative technological solutions," Johnson stated.

Fully Integrated, Easy-to-Use Products

TrueStream integrates seamlessly with the industry's popular web browsers, servers, and digital video products to preserve customers' existing investments in hardware, software, and training.

-- TrueStream PLAYER: operates as a plug-in for Netscape Navigator,

or as a helper application for Navigator and Microsoft Internet

Explorer. TrueStream PLAYER is flexible and can be customized to

suit user preferences. The software supports both CIF and QCIF

image size formats. -- TrueStream SERVER: runs on Sun Microsystems' Solaris, Microsoft

Windows NT, and Linux platforms and has a less complex server

administration and is easy to use. Comes with pre-packaged HTML

sample video clips and web pages, much like a "reference design,"

so that content providers and webmasters can be productive

immediately. -- TrueStream PRODUCER: operates as a plug-in to Adobe Premiere, the

world's most popular nonlinear digital video editing software.

Like the TrueStream SERVER, the PRODUCER comes with pre-packaged

HTML sample video clips and web pages

While targeted at telephone speed modem access (28.8 Kbps), TrueStream is scaleable to take advantage of higher speed access links such as ISDN and LAN connections. Low streaming rates in these higher-speed environments conserve LAN and WAN backbone bandwidths which is an important consideration for content providers, ISPs, and corporate IS staffs responsible for managing company intranets.