HP Announces Mobile Streaming Media Content Delivery Technologies

Business Wire, Sept 23, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2002

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced the development of key technologies that could make it possible to distribute rich multimedia content -- including movies and live video -- to millions of mobile users over advanced delivery networks in the future. Researchers from HP Labs, the company's central research facility, did the work in collaboration with NTT DoCoMo researchers.

Current technology limits the delivery of multimedia to large numbers of mobile users, generally making it slow and providing inconsistent quality. Greater bandwidth in third-generation (3G) and future networks is expected to improve conditions somewhat, but significant technical barriers are not solved by greater bandwidth alone.

To address these technical barriers, HP and DoCoMo researchers jointly designed the Mobile Streaming Media-Content Delivery Network (MSM-CDN). They also developed MSM-CDN technologies that have the potential to automatically provide a fast, reliable path for information to reach mobile clients, whether they're using cell phones, notebooks or wireless PDAs.

The MSM-CDN technologies include:

-- media content distribution to "edge servers" placed closer to users in the network;

-- media delivery tailored for mobile use, based on content popularity;

-- adaptive media streaming for constantly changing wired and wireless network conditions;

-- system and network management and load balancing, by directing media service requests to servers best able to satisfy them; and

-- open interfaces that manage media delivery and allow content providers to specify how the MSM-CDN should treat its content

-- for example, how long to keep information current or how to provide special services to premium users.

Researchers have created a lab prototype of the MSM-CDN at HP Labs and DoCoMo Labs. The prototype consists of a set of edge servers with functions for content distribution, media caching, streaming, resource management and signaling.

The MSM-CDN is based on MPEG and IETF open standards in accordance with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. The use of open standards promotes interoperability among content providers, the MSM-CDN and mobile users with many kinds of devices.

"Content providers simply want to be able to offer high-quality video information to mobile clients, quickly and consistently," said Fred Kitson, director, Mobile and Media Systems Lab, HP Labs. "Clients want to be able to receive that multimedia, whenever and wherever they are. This technology, MSM-CDN, helps make that possible."

"The launch of mobile Internet services such as i-mode(TM) in Japan has given the world a revolutionary new arena for communication technologies," said Minoru Etoh, director of Multimedia Signal Processing Lab, NTT DoCoMo. "We believe our MSM-CDN will be a key component in the future of mobile multimedia services."

"HP and DoCoMo bring a synergistic set of talents to the MSM-CDN design challenge," said Susie Wee, research and development manager, Streaming Media Technologies, HP Labs. "The technologies we are creating will help the system scale to support large numbers of mobile users and adapt video streams to match any user's device."

"This is a great result that has come out of the cooperation between HP Labs and DoCoMo," said Hirotaka Nakano, associate senior vice president, director of Multimedia Labs, NTT DoCoMo.

The technical collaboration, launched two years ago, also has resulted in a number of joint publications and patents.

About HP

HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its merger transaction involving Compaq Computer Corp. on May 3, 2002. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

Note to Editors: i-mode is a trademark or registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any projections of earnings, revenues, or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning proposed new products, services, or developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; statements of belief and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. The risks, uncertainties and assumptions referred to above include employee management issues; the timely development, production and acceptance of products and services and their feature sets; the challenge of managing asset levels, including inventory; the flow of products into third-party distribution channels; the difficulty of keeping expense growth at modest levels while increasing revenues; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2002 and reports filed subsequent to HP's annual report on Form 10-K, as amended on January 30, 2002, for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2001. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.