ATEME Announces Kyrion Product Family at NAB - First to Support MPEG-4 HD Content on Any Platform.

Kyrion Delivers Broadcast-Quality, High Definition Content at 6 Mbps, Compared to 19 Mbps Using MPEG-2; HD Content Can Also Be Transcoded for Viewing on Devices Ranging from Mobile to Ultra HD 

BIEVRES, France -- ATEME[TM] SA, an acknowledged leader in MPEG-4 video compression solutions, today announced the Kyrion[R] family of HD encoders and transcoders, to be shown for the first time at NAB 2007. Kyrion is the world's first MPEG-4/AVC solution to target a broad range of DTV applications, all using unique ATEME technology for unmatched picture quality and upgradeability.

Kyrion includes a live video stream encoder, an offline file encoder and a transcoder - all of which use state-of-the-art MPEG-4/AVC encoding to enable HD video to occupy far less bandwidth than comparable MPEG-2 encoding. By way of example, a Kyrion-encoded HD program transmitted at 6 Mbps provides the same level of A/V quality as an MPEG-2 HD program transmitted at 19 Mbps. Kyrion enables broadcasters to offer more HD channels to their customers without costly network infrastructure upgrades.

The Kyrion live encoders provide a remarkably wide operating scale - from 0.5 to 25 Mbps - allowing content aggregators, broadcasters, service operators, and telcos to reach their audience with superb picture quality on any viewing device - from mobile to Ultra HD. The offline file encoder is ideally suited for video-on-demand applications such as asset creation and content delivery, as well as video archiving and newsgathering.

Using the Kyrion transcoder, it is now possible to natively support broadcast HD on media PCs or mobile devices, which are all standardized around MPEG-4. Kyrion also allows for dynamically adjusting video encoding based on overall network demand at a given point in time. With Kyrion, all of these opportunities can be achieved without impacting a customers viewing experience - and in many cases, actually improving it through ATEME's proprietary technology.

Both the Kyrion encoder and transcoder provide advanced Main- and High-Profile encoding for maximum flexibility, using processing techniques and technology specific to ATEME. What the Kyrion[R] design enables is state-of-the-art compression using a fully-programmable FPGA architecture pioneered by ATEME. Kyrion is the only solution offering the complete set of MPEG-4/AVC tools, including full support for interlaced video (MBAFF) - a very difficult-to-encode option that allows for extremely high-quality video. This is achieved through ATEME's two decades of compression research and product development.

Incorporating a unique full-motion screen on the rack-based (1 RU) unit itself, Kyrion is the first to allow for the real-time review of encoded/transcoded content without a video monitor and also incorporates an 'iPod-like' scroll wheel for selecting menus and options. The technology behind Kyrion is already in worldwide deployment at leading IPTV providers such as Free[R] and many other broadcasters and studios.

"Kyrion represents the sum total of more than two decades of experience and expertise in video compression," said Sylvain Riviere, Executive Vice President of Marketing for ATEME. "The Kyrion product family is a revolutionary new solution for broadcasters as they transition to HD and are looking for ways to offer their content with the best possible quality on any platform. We believe that Kyrion will become the 'gold standard' for HD encoding using MPEG-4 and are very excited to be introducing this to the market at NAB."

Kyrion is immediately available for sale worldwide - contact ATEME for specific pricing via www.ateme.com.

ATEME (www.ateme.com) is a world-leading provider of MPEG-4 / H.264 video compression solutions. ATEME's renowned technology supports both standard and HD content, deployed across any platform - from mobile to Ultra HD. ATEME provides broadcasters, telcos and security providers with unmatched compression quality while simultaneously licensing its unique MPEG technology and expertise to select vendors.

ATEME. Because Content Deploys Everywhere.

ATEME[TM] and Kyrion[R] are trademarks and registered trademarks of ATEME SA. All other trademarks and registered trademarks previously cited are the property of their respective owner(s) and are hereby acknowledged.

Editor's Note - Images, camera-ready logos and other press-related information is available from the ATEME PR counsel and/or the ATEME website.