Exatel Announces a New Generation of Digital Set-Top Boxes Based In its Multimedia Home Center Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

REHOVOT, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2004

Exatel Visual Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of Exatel Visual Systems Inc., a U.S. based company, announced today a new digital Set-Top Box (STB) platform with innovative software enabling advanced features for the next STB generations. Exatel's software enables a standard STB platform to be used at the same time also as Hard Disk (HDD) based digital video recording and playback system (PVR - Personal Video Recorder) and as a DVD recording and playback system (DVD R/W) with computer networking connectivity.

Exatel's STB software enables consumer electronics' manufacturers adding such features to the STB, which makes it the ultimate Multimedia Home Center. This prevents the need for a separated PVR and/or DVD R/W and reduces substantially the A/V consumer products' cost.

Exatel's solution enables the consumer to receive programs from two separated satellite or terrestrial sources and at the same time:

a. Watch live program while recording other programs

b. Watch pre-recorded program while recording other programs

enabling time-shifting

c. Playback DVD while recording other programs

d. Watch live program or pre-recorded program while recording

other programs and burning DVD

The remote control and the simple graphics user interface provide easy and friendly STB operation.

Israel Bar, Exatel's Co-Managing Director, says that new STB development contracts have been already signed and other substantial contracts, which will position Exatel at the front line of STB developers, are about to be signed.

About Exatel

Exatel is a leading provider of digital video hardware and software solutions for the Consumer Electronics, Surveillance and Broadcasting markets. Exatel was the first to integrate a PVR module as an integrated part of a TV set.