Teranex ``Opens the Box''; Video Computer Company Opens Platform For 3rd Party Applications; QUALCOMM's Cinema Quality Compression To Be First

Business Wire, April 25, 2001

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

NAB2001

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2001

Teranex Inc. announced today that it has successfully integrated QUALCOMM's Adaptive Block Size Discrete Cosine Transform (ABSDCT) cinema quality compression technology, demonstrating the flexibility of the Teranex video computer platform and validating the suitability of QUALCOMM's ABSDCT algorithm for quick implementation.

For Teranex, this heralds the first step in making their video computer platform available to third parties for the development of new applications.

This move will improve time-to-market and increase the number of applications that will be available to run on the real-time, software-based platform. Until now, Teranex has offered the computer platform with its own proprietary suite of applications tailored for video format and standards conversions, pre-compression processing and encoding for broadband and Internet streaming.

The Teranex technology and platform combines the software-based features and flexibility of a computer with the real-time power of a "hardwired" box. The software capabilities of the Teranex platform give it the ability to perform multiple video processing applications. The platform can operate in real-time with the highest possible quality because of its "processor-per-pixel" technology. It out-performs and is more cost effective than single function boxes, and can be routinely upgraded.

The Teranex platform can be used stand-alone or it can be integrated with other software and technology. The software-based architecture allows for rapid prototyping and delivery of applications. It is designed for use in storage, archiving, compression, television, film and other image processing and data manipulation applications.

"During the past year, Teranex launched focused solutions for the video and film markets, taking advantage of the patented technology that we have," said Mike Baron, president and CEO of Teranex. "We learned that the digital media marketplace is hungry for products that go beyond the narrow confines of single purpose boxes. They want to quickly implement new formats, enhance functionality and features without adding more boxes, and confidently know that their purchase will not become obsolete overnight. By opening our video computer to third party software, we are providing an additional avenue for end-users to apply their investment and for solutions-providers to reach our installed base of customers.

"We are pleased that QUALCOMM's ABSDCT is the first cinema quality image compression technology to run on our platform," Baron continued. "Enabling the real-time encoding of cinema-quality material for playback on large screens is a task perfectly suited to take advantage of our processing power. Shortly, we will be announcing partners with applications that will run on the Teranex platform."

At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, April 23-26, 2001, in Las Vegas, Teranex will feature QUALCOMM's cinema quality compression as part of a real-time encoding demonstration running on the Teranex platform, as well as debuting other new Teranex applications.

"We are delighted that Teranex -- a leading provider of video computing platforms for broadcast, film, post-production and streaming -- has selected our compression technology," said Kim Haile, senior vice president of QUALCOMM and president of QUALCOMM Digital Media. "This validates the suitability and availability of our algorithm for use on third party platforms."

QUALCOMM's patented image compression algorithm, ABSDCT, is the same groundbreaking technology demonstrated by Technicolor Digital Cinema at the motion picture industry trade show, ShoWest, in March 2001. ABSDCT reduces the amount of digital information needed to represent high-quality digital images, such as in a digital cinema feature by as much as 35 to 40 times in size. These efficient coding rates save storage and transmission cost for digital cinema systems. The ABSDCT algorithm divides a digital image into regions, or "blocks," that vary in size from 2x2 to 16x16 pixels. Each block is then transformed to the discrete cosine domain and processed to remove information from the image that will not be visible. The ABSDCT decoder reverses this process, producing an image that is particularly suited to meet the requirements for high quality images on theatre screens. ABSDCT is also well suited to a number of high-end digital media applications that require superior image quality along with economical implementation, including digital motion image cameras, post-production equipment, digital mastering and archive systems and high-quality distribution networks.

QUALCOMM Inc. (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the company's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital technology. The company's business areas include CDMA integrated circuits and system software; technology licensing; the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless(TM) (BREW(TM)) applications platform; Eudora(R) e-mail software; digital cinema systems; and satellite-based systems including portions of the Globalstar(TM) system and wireless fleet management systems, OmniTRACS(R) and OmniExpress(TM). QUALCOMM owns patents that are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 100 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2000 FORTUNE 500(R) company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the ticker symbol QCOM.