Streaming Media West 2002 Conference Program To Address Several Facets of Streaming Sector Through In-Depth Analysis, Forums and Discussions.

Business & Technology Editors

Streaming Media West 2002

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2002

Penton Media's (NYSE: PME, http://www.penton.com) Streaming Media, Inc. today announced its line-up of conference sessions and speakers for Streaming Media West 2002, to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from April 23-26.

Streaming Media West 2002 (http://www.streamingmedia.com/west) is presenting 150 world-class speakers and over 40 sessions addressing streaming in the enterprise, media and entertainment and tools and technology. Participating in the conference is a distinguished faculty consisting of executives from such companies as RealNetworks, Microsoft, Apple, DavidLynch.com, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, Motorola, MSNBC and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Conference registration is now open at http://www.streamingmedia.com/west/registration.asp

The event attendees, to be comprised of executive management and decision-makers, industry professionals, analysts, investment and financial executives and creative and technology professionals, will have the opportunity to meet and discover the latest advancements in streaming and digital media, meet peers, build new relationships, and conduct business with leading-edge companies.

Conference highlights of Streaming Media West 2002 include:

Roundtable Discussions - Consisting of two afternoons of open discussions with experts on a variety of hot topics from de-vilifying P2P, digital cinema, and getting a job in today's market, these roundtables give attendees a chance to debate and understand the topics most important to their success in the industry. These roundtables will feature the participation of top executives from such companies as RampRate, Sundance Media Group, Listen.com, DHR Executive Search, Digital Cinema Solutions and Yaga, Inc.

The MPEG-4 Forum - In association with the MPEG 4 Industry Forum (M4IF), the program will include a day of sessions dedicated to MPEG-4. These sessions will educate and inform attendees on the current specifications of MPEG-4, guidelines for its use, and its significance to business. The MPEG-4 standard has been gestating since 1993, and the long design period has resulted in a deep, rich elegant technology with the potential to change the way the world communicates in a profound manner. Executives leading the discussions are from Sun Microsystems, Motorola, iVast, Dolby Labs, ISO MPEG's Requirements Group, MPEG LA, RealNetworks, Inc., DivXNetworks, PacketVideo and dicas (digital image coding GmbH).

Interactive Advertising Forum - This year at Streaming Media West, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will be hosting a series of compelling discussions on how Interactive Broadcasting is rapidly emerging as the next generation advertising platform. Sites that provide audio and video content to their users through streaming technology have developed a medium that allows advertisers to run broadcast advertising messages and interact with customers all at the same time. An Interactive Broadcasting platform provides an exciting array of possibilities for advertisers, but also comes with its share of challenges. The forum will feature speakers from The FeedRoom, Carat Interactive, Yahoo!, Arbitron Webcast Services and Lightningcast, Inc.

Conference Sessions

Streaming Media West has emerged as the industry's leading trade event focused on serving the streaming and digital media communities. As the dynamic streaming media industry continues to grow, Streaming Media West 2002 brings together unparalleled information and resources for streaming corporate and government communications, distance learning and training, broadcasting, rich media advertising and marketing, digital media entertainment, investment and financial services and much more. For Conference session descriptions, a full Exhibitor list, and more information about Streaming Media West 2002, please go to http://www.streamingmedia.com/west

Noteworthy sessions:

-- Inventing Desire: Content's Role in the Broadband Revolution - Bandwidth is
only as valuable to the consumer as the content it carries. This session will
explore broadband past hype, its potential to keep current users interested and
entice new subscribers, and look at how content providers can expand and deepen
the desire for increased bandwidth. Participating companies include Sony
Pictures Digital Entertainment, Viant, Los Angeles Times,
PricewaterhouseCoopers and DavidLynch.com.

-- Enterprise Streaming ROI - Corporate training, sales meetings, business
travel and other communications related expenses are budgeted items for all
companies. This session will educate attendees on the research, reporting,
tools and models needed to perform an effective streaming ROI analysis for
their businesses. Participating companies include Approach Inc., Network
Appliance, Enscaler, Speedera and Microsoft Corp.

-- Encoding 101 - Tips, Tricks & Techniques for Video Compression

- The first 75 minutes of this session will give an overview

of some of the codecs available today, including Real Producer

Plus, Microsoft's Windows Media Encoding Utility 8, Sorenson

Video 3 for Apple's QuickTime, On2 Technologies' VP5, and DivX

5.0, and will provide insider tips, tricks and techniques that

will help you squeeze the best results from each. The last 25

minutes will allow for Q&A with the experts that know the

technology best and can help attendees solve vexing

compression problems. Participating companies include

Vancouver Film School, DivXNetworks, Microsoft, Apple,

RealNetworks, Inc. and On2 Technologies.

-- Effective Solutions for Digital Asset Management - The most

difficult part of DAM is creating the taxonomy that will allow

users to effectively index and archive the media. This session

will cover the whys and hows of indexing and archiving digital

assets, as well as the keys to aggregating disparate types of

metadata across the video and streaming media production

workflows. Participating companies include Virage, Context

Media, Convera and Artesia Technologies.

Other sessions of interest include Streaming on a Shoestring, Anti-piracy Trends and Technology, Online Music: May the Best Model Win, Insider Q&A Session: Ask the Veterans and the Beginner's Seminar.

To further provide attendees with a wealth of information on all Internet-related subjects, Streaming Media West 2002 will be co-located with Internet World Spring. For more information on Internet World Spring, please visit http://www.internetworld.com/events/spring2002

About Streaming Media, Inc.

Streaming Media, Inc., a subsidiary of Penton Media, Inc., is a diversified, international media company committed to serving and educating the streaming media industry. Founded in 1998, the San Francisco-based company consists of three main facets: Streaming Media Conventions, streamingmedia.com and the Streaming Media Research and Data Analysis Reports. Streaming Media, Inc. is dedicated to providing industry professionals with the latest news, resources and services through editorial, discussion lists, feature articles, and much more. For more information, visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/

About Penton Media, Inc.

Penton Media (NYSE: PME) is a leading, global business-to-business media company that produces market-focused magazines, trade shows and conferences, and Web sites. Penton's integrated media portfolio serves the following industries: Internet/broadband; information technology; electronics; natural products; food/retail; manufacturing; design/engineering; supply chain; aviation; government/compliance; mechanical systems/construction; and leisure/hospitality. For more information, visit http://www.penton.com/.