Streambox Ripper Extends Capabilities of MP3 Music; New Software Converts CDs and RealAudio Files to MP3; Allows Access to Millions of Previously Unheard Audio Files

Business Wire, Oct 29, 1999

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1999--

Streambox Inc., in conjunction with THOMSON Multimedia, announced that its new Streambox Ripper software extends the capability of the exploding Internet MP3 market.

Streambox Ripper is a powerful new utility that "rips" (converts) CD and RealAudio files to the popular MPEG-Layer 3 format (MP3), allowing MP3 users to listen to millions of previously unavailable audio files, from music to audiobooks, talk radio, interviews and much more. These and more can be found at the streaming media portal www.streambox.com.

"MP3" is currently the most queried word on the Internet, surpassing "sex," with dozens of new digital download sites popping up daily.

The MP3 format was developed and proposed to the ISO organization by the Fraunhofer Institute of Germany and THOMSON multimedia of France. THOMSON licenses the combined patent portfolio of the two organizations.

A recent report by Jupiter Communications forecasts that by the year 2003, about 33 million users will purchase music online compared with only six million in 1998.

"Streambox Ripper is a powerful product that extends the access of the MP3 community to Internet RealAudio files," said Henri Linde, VP New Business and Intellectual Asset Management, THOMSON Multimedia. "There's no doubt that MP3 is becoming the de facto standard for digital music on the Internet, so we're extremely excited about extending MP3's possibilities with Streambox Ripper."

With the recent explosion of digital music on the Internet, and with the proliferation of popular portable MP3 players like RCA's Lyra, Diamond's Rio, Creative's Nomad and others, Streambox Ripper stands to play a pivotal role in providing much more audio content than ever before imagined.

"Until Streambox Ripper, audio aficionados have had to make due with the limited number of MP3 music files available on the Internet or in their CD collection," said Bob Hildeman, Chairman and CEO of Streambox Inc. "Now they have access to a much greater quantity of web based content that covers broader categories of Internet music, audiobooks and audio files. It's like we're giving the keys to a huge audio armory of previously unheard content to the MP3 community."

Streambox Ripper is available for download now at http://www.streambox.com, where users can try it out for a 30-day free trial or purchase a full version at $34.95. Streambox.com also contains over one million audio files ready to be ripped.

ABOUT STREAMBOX.COM

Streambox.com is the world leader in the searching, indexing and categorizing of streaming media content on the Internet. The company offers full services in Internet streaming technologies that deliver end-to-end solutions for the searching, playing, acquiring, converting and transporting of streaming audio and video files. Founded in 1999, Streambox.com provides Internet users with a powerful media portal, and has extended media portal technologies to a family of innovative audio and video software for PCs and other devices. The combined technologies created by Streambox.com allow its customers to enjoy the fastest-growing segment of the Internet - streaming entertainment and information.