BridgeCo Releases Silicon and Firmware Platform Compatible with Microsoft Windows Media Connect and Windows Media DRM Technology.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

WinHEC

Booth 223C

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2004

At Microsoft Corp.'s annual WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) today, BridgeCo (www.bridgeco.net), a leading provider of wired and wireless home networking solutions, announced that it will develop the first wireless digital audio products that support Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) solution for Microsoft Windows Media Connect.

Windows Media Connect was designed to enable hardware manufacturers to easily develop devices such as Digital Media Receivers, which have rich functionality for playing digital media files stored on personal computers over home networks. BridgeCo and Microsoft will work together to produce reference designs that enable OEMs and ODMs to create networked audio products that effortlessly and wirelessly link living room audio equipment to the digital music content on Windows XP and Windows XP Media Center Edition PCs.

The BridgeCo wireless audio adapter design enables Consumer Electronics Products to discover and stream digital audio content -- including content protected with Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection -- from PCs that are equipped with Microsoft's Windows Media Connect software. Using BridgeCo's design, audio is streamed securely over wired Ethernet and wireless 802.11 networks to any room in the home.

The wireless audio adapter design is built on the BridgeCo entertainment network adapter (ENA) platform, which incorporates BridgeCo's proprietary processor and firmware. BridgeCo's ENA platform utilizes Windows Media DRM, and also handles networking protocols, the user interface, and audio decompression for Windows Media Audio and other audio formats.

"Increasingly consumers expect seamless access to the digital media on their PCs -- including DRM-protected files -- from any room in the house over home networks," said Jason Reindorp, group manager of the Windows Client Division at Microsoft Corp. "With innovative solutions like the BridgeCo ENA platform, which is compatible with Microsoft's Windows Media Connect, we expect to see a number of exciting networked media products in stores for the upcoming 2004 holiday season that will enable a whole new seamless way to access media throughout the household."

"Preventing piracy is a crucial component in the digital content distribution business," said BridgeCo CEO Angelo Ugge. "Microsoft Windows Media Digital Rights Management provides a proven and very broadly used solution. By working with Microsoft to extend this DRM protection to home networks, BridgeCo is helping consumers enjoy great entertainment experiences with protected content."

BridgeCo's wireless home networking platform includes a proprietary ARM-based processor, a proprietary RTOS, and an application firmware stack. The BridgeCo platform interfaces directly to an 802.11 PHY/MAC chipset, and drives either digital or analog outputs that connect directly to an audio system. The processor/firmware combination performs all networking protocols, DRM processing, and Windows Media 9 Series decoding -- everything necessary to wirelessly bridge music content from a Windows XP or Windows XP Media Center Edition PC to an audio system's auxiliary input.

The BridgeCo ENA platform will be demonstrated at booth 223C, May 3 - 5, at WinHEC in Seattle, Washington.

About BridgeCo

BridgeCo is a pioneer of digital entertainment networking solutions. Its Entertainment Network Adapters (ENAs) provide consumers with 'more media, less wire, and no hassle' access to rich analog, digital, and Internet media sources. BridgeCo ENAs are used in a wide range of consumer products, including wireless audio adapters, audio/video receivers, DVD players/recorders, DTV/displays, multimedia loudspeakers, and music instruments. Underlying these are BridgeCo's proprietary, integrated semiconductor and software technologies that network PCs to CE devices via widely-used standards and protocols (e.g. IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 1394, UPnP, WiFi, and DHWG) for network and signal processing.

BridgeCo is an ISO 9001-certified company based in Zurich, Switzerland. Its key investors include Benchmark Capital, Earlybird, Infineon Ventures, and Intel Capital. For details, please visit http://www.bridgeco.net.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.