Silicon Graphics, Inc.


Silicon Graphics Announces Next-Generation Intelligent Video Streaming Solution

WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 Provides the Industry's Most Complete Platform for Internet and Intranet Streaming Media Applications

March 10, 1997

LOS ANGELES (March 10, 1997) -- Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: SGI), a world leader in Web authoring and scalable Web servers, today announced its next-generation media streaming solution, WebFORCE® MediaBase 2.0. WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 is the industry's most complete video streaming solution, integrating content and network management, and scaling from very low, 28.8Kb-per-second to very high, 8Mb-per-second bandwidth Internet and intranet applications. WebFORCE MediaBase, combined with the scalable, high-performance Silicon Graphics® WebFORCE OriginTM servers, distributes high-quality media over a wide range of networks.

"The Web is the first new mass medium since television and the competition for innovative and profitable uses of this new medium is intense," said Kai-Fu Lee, vice president and general manager, Web Products Division of Silicon Graphics. "WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 is the ideal video streaming solution for service providers who want to differentiate their offerings, for media companies who want to widely distribute digital video assets and for all corporations seeking to deliver high-impact information to their employees and customers."

WebFORCE MediaBase solutions are designed for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and telecommunications, cable, media and other organizations that require real-time delivery of video and audio to the desktop, including applications such as Internet broadcasts, video- and Web-based training, multicasting of live or recorded material, networked kiosks, video and audio cataloging, and desktop video on demand.

WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 extends the functionality of existing WebFORCE MediaBase solutions by:

  • Providing the broad spectrum of very low- to very high-bandwidth streaming capabilities for corporate intranets and the Internet. Utilizing the scalable WebFORCE server platform, WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 customers can stream, to thousands of concurrent users, multiple formats (H.263, MPEG1 and MPEG2) at bit rates ranging from 28.8KB to 8MB per second and share high-quality video and audio over large network bandwidth spectrums. With WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0, ISPs and media companies can offer streaming media content services that were never before available.

  • Incorporating Progressive Networks' RealVideo and RealAudio technology, the leading streaming audio and low bit-rate video solution for the Internet.

  • Integrating industry-leading digital encoding options from vendors such as Optivision, OptiBase, Sony, Minerva and others, WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 can capture a live video stream from an incoming cable service, camera, VCR, television, or satellite feed and efficiently broadcast it over a network to a large number of heterogeneous client desktops.

  • Streaming video over ATM networks using the AAL5 native ATM protocol. Additional networking enhancements for streaming media include RSVP support, which allows a server and clients to negotiate and reserve IP bandwidth, cable modem and LANE (LAN Emulation) support and streaming based on client capabilities and configurations.

  • Supporting Silicon Graphics IRIS FailSafeTM and RAID availability technology and providing software restart of failed processes, ensuring maximum uptime of a media server.

  • Providing playlist development for multicasting and user-defined playlists. This feature enables the development of a playlist that can schedule multiple videos for sequential playback.

  • Supporting mass movement of video assets and asset data from one WebFORCE MediaBase server to another.

  • Encoding assets in multiple bit rates and at different codecs. Capability-based media streaming can select the most appropriate version of the asset to stream over the preferred network interface.

  • Allowing video and audio assets to be played back with Netscape NavigatorTM or Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browsers on any desktop client, including Windows® 95, Windows NT®, IRIXTM, MacOSTM, SolarisTM and AIX®.

  • WebFORCE MediaBase is unique in offering guaranteed throughput through a sophisticated bandwidth and storage reservation system. Systems monitoring, configuration and trouble-shooting tools for the media server are all accessible from a simple-to-use Web interface. WebFORCE MediaBase includes six media streaming components that strongly differentiate it from currently available media servers: a high-performance video pump, advanced storage management, integrated content management, advanced systems management tools, multicasting to thousands of simultaneous viewers and an open client API.

    WebFORCE MediaBase Customer

    "A goal for many corporations is to achieve effective and efficient communications," said Shell Haffner, product marketing manager, Video and Networking Division, Tektronix, Inc. "With the introduction of WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0, Tektronix, widely known as a leader in the video industry and the leading manufacturer of network computer stations, can bring affordable, high-quality video to the corporate network."

    Availability

    The WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 server software will be available in the second quarter of the 1997 calendar year.

    About WebFORCE Systems

    WebFORCE is the award-winning family of scalable, high-performance, integrated authoring stations and servers that power the most innovative sites and applications on the Web. Known for their industry-leading performance, WebFORCE servers enable organizations to uniquely offer new revenue-generating services, increase employee productivity and exploit the rapid stream of new Internet technologies.

    Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the availability of components, product mix and the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1996 and Form 10-Q for December 31, 1996.

    Silicon Graphics, Inc., is a leading supplier of high-performance interactive computing systems. The company offers the broadest range of products in the industry -- from low-end desktop workstations to servers and high-end Cray® supercomputers. Silicon Graphics also markets MIPS® microprocessor designs, Alias|WavefrontTM entertainment and design software and other software products. The company's key markets include manufacturing, government, science and industries, telecommunications and entertainment sectors. Silicon Graphics and its subsidiaries have offices throughout the world and headquarters in Mountain View, California.

    Silicon Graphics, the Silicon Graphics logo, IRIS, and WebFORCE are registered trademarks, and IRIS FailSafe, IRIX and Origin are trademarks, of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Alias|Wavefront is a trademark of Alias|Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. Cray is a registered trademark of Cray Research, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. MacOS is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Solaris is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Netscape Navigator is a trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation. AIX is a registered trademark of IBM Corp. in the United States. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.