Inlet Technologies Showcases New Video Products and Technology at NAB 2006; Extends Windows Media Video (VC-1) Technology Leadership, Adds AVC, and Teams with Major Companies.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Inlet Technologies, a leading provider of advanced encoding solutions for next-generation digital media, announced it will demonstrate new products and technology next week when the National Association of Broadcasters convention (NAB 2006) opens at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Advanced encoding is a critical enabler for digital media proliferation, delivering high quality output with significant file size and bandwidth savings. Inlet will showcase state of the art advancements in encoding technology for Windows Media Video (WMV), Microsoft's implementation of SMPTE VC-1, as well as unique solutions for video-on-demand applications that incorporate both WMV (VC-1) and AVC formats. In addition, the company will highlight new functionality available in the latest releases of Fathom(TM) and Semaphore(TM), which together encompass one of the industry's most efficient workflow platforms for encoding video content. Inlet will be located in the South Hall of the LVCC, in booth # SL3803.

Offline Encoding Workflow Solutions Showcase WMV (VC-1) and AVC

Inlet solutions have been improving the workflow for major post production houses, studios and video-on-demand providers for over a year. The company now extends its leadership in advanced video encoding, demonstrating support for both major formats - AVC (H.264/MPEG-4) and WMV (VC-1) - within Fathom and Semaphore. Both encoding formats deliver significant bit rate savings and quality improvements over the incumbent, MPEG-2, enabling new distribution models like IPTV, Mobile VOD and TV, HD DVD and Blu-ray.

"With Inlet solutions, video professionals will no longer have to worry about which format will 'win the advanced encoding war,'" explained Neal Page, Inlet CEO. "Fathom and Semaphore will give our customers the option of using both formats, and the power to position themselves for future developments in digital media. When compared to the alternatives offered in the market, our solutions make it easier, quicker, and more cost-effective to deliver video content - regardless of format."

New Technology Extends Commercial Applications for WMV (VC-1)

The technology demonstrations in Inlet's NAB booth include industry-first video-on-demand (VOD) capabilities and live transmission of WMV (VC-1) over existing infrastructure. The transmission demonstration delivers SD and HD WMV (VC-1) content via MPEG-2 transport over an ASI or IP multicast connection. With this technology, applications such as ENG, IPTV and backhaul will gain dramatic bit rate reductions, compared to MPEG-2. For VOD, Inlet will demonstrate the ability to add ancillary data such as closed captioning, sub-titles, secondary audio and tele-text to WMV (VC-1)-encoded video. These unique capabilities, considered critical to many VOD providers, will be available in the next release of Fathom, later this year.

Industry leaders team with Inlet

Inlet's presence at NAB expands beyond their booth, as their technology will be demonstrated in the Microsoft booth, # SL 1161, and the Scientific Atlanta booth, # SL 1608, in the South Hall. These industry giants have teamed with Inlet to fulfill their mission to deliver high-quality digital media to the consumer. In the Microsoft booth, Inlet will demonstrate its system for delivering the industry's best WMV (VC-1) quality for live encoding of SD material output to IP multicast. The Scientific Atlanta booth will feature the WAVE solution - Workflow for Advanced Video Encoding - a joint offering that leverages both AVC and WMV (VC-1) expertise. Both solutions are built upon Inlet's award winning OCEAN(TM) technology platform.

Inlet will also showcase the latest advancements in Fathom 2.5, demonstrated for the first time in a public forum at NAB 2006. The industry's first real-time encoding solution for HD content, Fathom adds efficiencies to the video production process that deliver high-quality output in less time. With Fathom, Inlet customers achieve turnaround times 4-6x faster for SD content and up to 40x faster for HD, when compared to traditional software encoders. The Fathom 2.5 release includes a more powerful set of workflow tools, new encoding options and enhanced flexibility, including MPEG 2 file ingest, native encoding of interlaced content and AVISynth support. In addition, Inlet now offers a cost-effective SD-only variant, available in most markets for under $10,000. Full product specifications are available online at http://www.inlethd.com/products/fathom.html.

"By delivering new releases of Fathom and Semaphore optimized for WMV (VC-1), Inlet is positioning itself at the center of the HD revolution," said Eric Schmidt, group product manager Windows Digital Media at Microsoft Corp. "Whether it is to get efficiency or quality gains over existing MPEG 2 infrastructures, or for the delivery of high definition video via HD DVD, the industry is rallying behind WMV (VC-1)."

Visitors to the Inlet booth will receive a free trial version of Semaphore video analysis and Quality Control (QC) software, as well as a promotional code that will enable them to purchase Semaphore online for 10% off the regular purchase price. Automated alerts, paired with customizable settings for quality and bit rate make Semaphore 1.5 a powerful QC tool, delivering an unprecedented level of automation and control. The new features significantly reduce QC man-hours and increase throughput by a factor of 5-10x over "manual" QC processes.

About NAB 2006

NAB takes place annually in Las Vegas, with this year's conferences running from April 22-27 and the exhibit hall open from April 24-27. NAB is the world's largest electronic media show, bringing together over 100,000 professionals and 1,400 exhibiting companies from 130 countries around the world. New conference content this year includes IPTV World, the Mobile Video and TV Forum, a Podcasting Summit and much more. From entertainment to news to business communications, NAB 2006 is the only global event that covers the entire spectrum of media.

About Inlet Technologies

Inlet Technologies is one of the world's foremost experts on advanced video encoding technology. The company's innovative solutions enable content providers to drive the proliferation of digital media to a rapidly expanding audience, through a multitude of next-generation distribution vehicles, including video-on-demand, packaged media, broadcast and IP connections.

Inlet's Fathom(TM) was the industry's first real-time encoding platform for SMPTE VC-1 and Windows Media Video High Definition, setting a standard of innovation that continues today. With Fathom's powerful and flexible encoding, video engineers can reduce file sizes, speed processing time and improve output quality. Advanced tools such as Semaphore(TM) video analysis software and Seen by Scene(TM) segment re-encoding significantly improve workflow, thus reducing production costs and increasing throughput. Fathom was selected by Millimeter magazine as one of the most innovative technology products at NAB 2005, and was honored with a Millimeter "Pick Hit" award.

Inlet Technologies is based in Raleigh, NC. For more information, visit www.inlethd.com