Orban Announces the Introduction Of New Product Line OptiCodec : MP3 Internet Streaming Audio Codec

Business Wire, Oct 6, 2000

Business & Technology Editors

SAN LEANDRO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2000

Orban / Circuit Research Labs ("CRL") ("OTC BB":CRLI, the "Company) announced the addition of OptiCodec to the Orban product line with 3 new models.

All are ISO/MPEG standards Layer II and Layer III fully compliant, with 2 models being TCP/IP and UDP addressable over the Internet. "This new product line makes us a major player in the codec market," stated Jay Brentlinger, the Company's Chairman, President & CEO.

Codec is a word coined from the verbs "enCOde" and "DECode" and stands for a technology in the transfer of digital audio or data over the Internet, Ethernet, or ISDN. Massive amounts of data can be reduced in real time and can be economically transferred without the loss of quality.

The Orban OptiCodec technology is exciting for anybody broadcasting audio over the Internet and for those working in the field of Broadcast News Information, Radio or Television Stations, Voice, Music and other Audio on demand, such as recording studios and advertising agencies.

The OptiCodec will reduce bandwidth required to transmit audio between the audio source and the remote, studio or other TCP/IP, UDP or ISDN receiver location.

"When the OptiCodec is used with Orban OPTIMOD Audio Processing, the sound quality is even further enhanced," according to Brentlinger. One of the new OptiCodec models includes a digital audio recorder and digital audio editor for MP2, and transmits MP3 over ISDN in a very small, lightweight battery or a/c powered portable unit.

Orban plans to be shipping these three new units before the end of the year. "This is just the first of many new products from ORBAN / CRL for Radio, Television and the Internet," stated Jim Seemiller, the new Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Circuit Research Labs, Inc. manufactures and markets high quality electronic audio processing, transmission encoding and noise reduction equipment for the worldwide radio, television and professional audio markets. Orban is the world leader in the design and manufacture of on-air audio processing for broadcasting, DAB and webcasting. For more information on CRL and Orban products, contact Teresa Zieminski-Myers at (510) 351-3500; fax: (510) 351-0500; e-mail: tziemins@orban.com. Information is also available at web sites: www.crlsystems.com and www.orban.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Management's anticipation of future events is based upon assumptions regarding levels of competition, research and development results, raw material markets, the markets in which the Company operates, and stability of the regulatory environment. Any of these assumptions could prove inaccurate, and therefore there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate.