Ampex Signs Letter of Intent for Joint Venture With ISS to Launch New Internet Video Channel, Executive Branch TV.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 1999--

Agreement, Latest Move in Company's Online Video Network

Strategy, Will Provide Coverage of White House and Executive

Agency Activities Online

Ampex Corp. (AMEX:AXC), one of the world's top providers of visual information technologies and an increasing presence in the Internet video market, announced today that it has signed a letter of intent with ISS LLC to form a joint venture, Executive Branch TV, www.exbtv.com, which will provide coverage of White House and executive agency activities online.

The agreement will initially give Ampex a 20% interest in Executive Branch TV, with the option to increase to a majority interest. ISS is a privately-held company and operator of the Information Superstation, the UHF television station in Washington, D.C. which broadcasts events and activities from the White House, executive departments and federal agencies. A formal launch of exbtv.com is scheduled for this fall.

Executive Branch TV will allow corporations, lobbyists, financial professionals, government officials and the general public the ability to watch live events, press conferences, hearings and public activities from the White House and executive agencies over the Internet.

The video from Washington, D.C., across the country and around the world will be archived, so people can turn to www.exbtv.com, 24 hours a day to view important government proceedings. The channel will allow parallel broadcasting from more than 70 sites in the U.S. and overseas. exbtv.com will produce most of its own programming as well as have exclusive rights to material from ISS.

"The launch of exbtv.com is part of Ampex's strategy to create television for the web and build a network of targeted video-driven sites on the Internet," said Edward Bramson, chairman of Ampex Corp.

"Webcasting is the perfect vehicle for bringing the White House and executive branch closer to the American people. As the work of government increasingly impacts on the day-to-day activities of corporations, financial markets and consumers, Executive Branch TV will provide instant access and important insights into policies and decisions that affect us all."

Funding from the investment will go to improving and expanding ISS facilities. This will allow for the production of additional content for Executive Branch TV and as a component of the company's development of its own video production and distribution facilities. The facilities will also serve as a news and information gathering source for exbtv.com and the Ampex Internet video network.

"Ampex's joint venture with ISS and the development of Executive Branch TV will significantly expand the breadth and scope of our business," added Dennis Dunbar, president of ISS. "We look forward to taking advantage of Ampex's Internet expertise and technological innovation to bring the workings of the White House and executive agencies to a wider audience and an exciting new medium."

Ampex Corp., www.ampex.com, headquartered in Redwood City, is one of the world's leading providers of technologies for the acquisition, storage and processing of visual information. The company, a participant in the Internet revolution since its early days, is leveraging its core expertise in image-based markets to take online video to the next level by assembling a network of targeted video-driven sites on the Internet.

Ampex's strategy is to use its technological expertise, increase the content and quality of Internet video through investments and alliances with existing webcasting companies and through the development of its own production and distribution facilities.

Ampex currently has strategic investments in TV onthe WEB, www.tvontheweb.com, a leading Internet video provider and Alternative Entertainment Networks, www.aentv.com, one of the largest on-demand streaming video sites.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties and unforeseen circumstances that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those mentioned in the Company's 1998 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, l999, which is expected to be filed shortly.