Diamond Multimedia Ships Rio 500; Next-Generation MP3 Player Offers Up to 96MB of Memory, Blazing Downloads and PC/Mac Compatibility

Business Wire, Sept 22, 1999

VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1999--

Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIMD), a leader in PC multimedia and Internet connectivity, today announced the shipment of the Rio(TM) 500, a next-generation portable MP3 player.

Diamond Multimedia's Rio 500 player features 64MB of built-in memory (expandable to 96MB) and allows up to two hours of continuous digital music listening. The player's USB connection provides download speeds five times faster than parallel port connections and is compatible with both PC and Macintosh computers.

"Consumers have told us they want to manage and store more music on their MP3 player," said Mike Reed, director of product marketing for Diamond Multimedia's Communications Division. "We've delivered that and more in our second-generation player. The Rio 500 device was built to hold more music and be faster and easier to manage than any other MP3 player."

Next-Generation Features

Diamond's second-generation Rio 500 MP3 player features 64MB of on-board memory, allowing listeners to store and play back up to two hours of high-quality digital music. Optional 16MB and 32MB flash memory cards are available for increased playback time. A single AA battery provides up to 13 hours of continuous music. With the fast USB connection, listeners can download MP3 files and fill the player with music in as little as two minutes.

The Rio 500 player features a new visual interface with a larger, back-lit LCD display for viewing -- even in the dark. The Rio player's intelligent spin dial allows Rio listeners to easily alter the fully customizable bass and treble settings, organize or randomize playlists, group music in folders by genre, preference, etc., and more.

Macintosh Support

The Rio 500 device is the first portable MP3 player to support the Macintosh platform, connecting to iMac and G3 systems through the USB port. During its debut at the 1999 MacWorld Expo, the Rio 500 product was awarded the "Best of Show." The player includes Casady & Greene's SoundJam MP digital audio system, which provides a powerful suite of digital audio tools, including MP3 encoding, playback and downloading, for Macintosh users.

Integrated Audio Manager Software

Diamond Multimedia's second-generation MP3 player is bundled with Audio Manager software, designed by RioPort, Inc. This software allows listeners to search, locate, create and playback digital audio content easily in one simple application. The integrated software allows consumers to encode tracks up to 256Kbps into the MP3 format and into 128Kbps into the WWA format for CD-like sound quality.

The RioPort Audio Manager features a built-in Web browser that is custom-configured for searching and downloading content from the Internet. An integrated database allows listeners to store and categorize audio tracks and related information into a personal "jukebox," using folder architecture to easily sort songs. The database also supports CDDB digital tracks, which are embedded with ID3 tags, to provide information such as song titles, lyrics, CD art and more.

Pricing and Availability

The Rio 500 MP3 player is available now for an estimated retail price of $269.95 at North American retail outlets including Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA and The Good Guys. The retail package includes the Rio player, earphones, a USB cable, carrying case, battery, RioPort Audio Manager software, and sample content. The player supports Windows 98 and Macintosh computers and is available in silver; later this year Diamond will option of purchasing the Rio 500 from Diamond M.95 for 16MB and $99.95 for 32MB. For more info development of third-party and shareware applicigital audio by delivering an integrated platform for acquiring, managing and experiencing music and spoken audio programming from the Internet. RioPort delivers an extensive selection of digital music and spoken audio programming through its RioPort.com digital audio gateway site, full content management with its RioPort Audio Manager software and cutting-edge designs for incorporation into third party RioPort compatible hardware solutions such as the Rio 500. Company headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., where its business development, engineering and marketing teams are located. RioPort's artist relations, content aggregation and online creative teams are based in Los Angeles, its software design team is in Loveland, Colo. and its portable player design team is based in Korea. RioPort's Web site is at www.rioport.com.

About Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia is a leader in PC multimedia and Internet connectivity, prcommon stock is traded on the Nasdaq under the sand www.TheDigitalDreamHome.com Diamond e-commerce Sites: www.estore.diamondmm.com and eAuction.diamondmm.ce (Miami): 305-593-8777; Fax: 305-593-2779 Prodvestor Relations: 408-325-7476; 1-888-474-3463 (Free, Monster 3D, Rio, Shotgun, SpeedStar and Suted Electronics, Inc., used under License. All America. The product name, contents, prices and invest in new technologies and to enhance its eQ.