Mobile Video Transport System Provides Real-Time Broadcast Video, Versatile Operation in a Variety of Newsgathering Environments

SEATTLE – Aug. 21, 2007 – Streambox, Inc. today announced that Detroit’s WDIV-TV has incorporated the Streambox^® ACT-L3™ Portable Video Transport solution into the station’s regular newsgathering operations. It was recently used to deliver real-time video from the 154-foot topsail schooner Highlander during the “Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race” with 250 sailboats launched from Port Huron. The small form factor Streambox solution enabled WDIV-TV to stream live pictures from the boat over either a wireless EVDO connection or a BGAN satellite link when the EVDO service was out of range.

"The portable encoder from Streambox was attractive to us both because of the ease with which it integrates into the broadcast workflow and because it's an affordable solution ideally suited to delivery of real-time video over IP," said Jeffrey Liebman, news operations manager at WDIV-TV. "It's a versatile system that significantly outperforms videophone technology, and it has given us the means to get breaking news on the air almost immediately. Our news teams can now deliver pictures easily and inexpensively from virtually anywhere without the need to rent a satellite truck for remote newsgathering."

The Streambox^® ACT-L3T Portable Video Transport solution enables broadcasters and local television stations such as WDIV-TV to deliver high-quality live and stored broadcast video over low data rate connections such as BGAN, 3G networks, and other IP and satellite networks. Typically used for mobile newsgathering, Streambox's real-time portable video transport systems are ideal when portability, flexibility, and a low power requirement are needed. Performance, reliability, and low end-to-end latency are hallmarks of Streambox solutions. These features ensure unrivaled video quality at low data rates.

For WDIV-TV, the Mackinac boat race represented a challenge in delivering video to television and the Internet because the course took the Highlander up to 10 miles into the Lake Huron, where wind and waves jeopardizes cell phone coverage and where satellite coverage can be expensive or difficult to maintain. In previous years, WDIV-TV covered the boat race using a videophone and satellite dishes enclosed in bubbles and anchored to the boat with suction cups. Video could only be sent from the boat when it was leaning to one particular side.

Switching to the compact, portable Streambox solution for this year's event, the WDIV-TV news reporter and two photographers were able to deliver higher quality live images with less hassle and less cost. The Streambox system's store-and-forward capability also enabled the team to put together news packages and transmit them to the station for Web and television broadcasts. When the station's EVDO connection was available, the uplink bandwidth was up to 600 Kbps. A Hughes 9201 BGAN terminal located on the mast provided continued coverage via an Inmarsat satellite link when the boat moved too far from the EVDO network. Now incorporated into WDIV-TV's regular newsgathering operations, the Streambox encoder enables a single reporter with a camera to drive to the scene, set up the portable encoder, plug in a MiniDV camera, and stream content to the Internet or for live broadcast.

"As a local station, we're concerned about how to feed content to our Web site," added Liebman. "The goal is to provide media via multiple platforms, and the Streambox system enables us to do just that. In terms of performance, we've used Streambox to stream live panel discussions to our Web site at 832 Kbps. In store-and-forward applications, you'd have to get in there with a microscope to see the difference between content from the Streambox system and images from satellite, KU-band, or tape."

We are pleased that WDIV-TV has selected Streambox as their newsgathering platform," said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO of Streambox. "In addition to providing high quality video at low bandwidth, our systems are easy to set up and operate which makes them ideal when local and national broadcasters are reporting from challenging locations."

More information about the ACT-L3T portable video transport system and other Streambox solutions is available online at www.streambox.com.

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About WDIV-TV
Detroit's WDIV-TV is an NBC affiliate station owned by the Post-Newsweek group. More information about the station is available at www.clickondetroit.com.

About Streambox, Inc.
Streambox provides a single platform for all live and file-based video acquisition over IP. The company develops industry-leading solutions for encoding, video management, and play-out for broadcast and broadband based on the innovative ACT-L3™ codec. Our software-based solutions provide unrivaled performance, reliability, and video quality over low data rate wired and wireless IP networks. Streambox solutions enable broadcasters, government agencies, and enterprises and other users to enhance content ownership, simplify operations, and increase operational efficiencies. More information is available at www.streambox.com.

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