Silicon Graphics and Virage Combine Products to Create Breakthrough Media Management Systems - 09/1997

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and SAN MATEO, CA (September 15, 1997) -- Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: SGI) and Virage, Inc. today announced they have combined the Virage® Media Management System and the Silicon Graphics® StudioCentralTM asset management system to enable companies to automatically and intelligently catalog large libraries of videotape and multimedia content into a compact, on-line database. The combined products provide users with a complete media management system to search, find and manage their media through a simple Web browser. The new media management system is targeted at broadcasters, post-production houses, Fortune 500 media production work-groups, stock houses and advertising agencies working with large videotape and multimedia libraries.

Virage, a recognized leader in media analysis and search technology, has developed cutting-edge applications for media cataloging and asset management that are integrated with StudioCentral. The StudioCentral development environment provides an open, industrial-strength foundation for database, content and workflow management. Combined with the unparalleled bandwidth and scalability of the Silicon Graphics® OriginTM video computing platform, the Virage Media Management System provides unique benefits that give companies significant operational and competitive advantages.

"Our customers across several different industries have a similar problem: how to quickly and easily get their hands on the ever-increasing amounts of data," said Ron Bernal, senior vice president, Scalable Networked Systems at Silicon Graphics. "By providing leading technology from our two companies, we can better provide our customers with a solution that allows users to find the data they need."

"We are pleased to work so closely with a market leader such as Silicon Graphics," said Paul Lego, chief executive officer of Virage. "The strength of this product alliance means we can deliver robust solutions to broadcasters, post-production facilities, corporations, manufacturing and medical organizations that are looking to unlock the potential trapped in vast video and still image files."

Whether sharing media between editing suites and newsrooms, creating effects for commercials and film, or repurposing advertising and promotional video for Web delivery, the combined features of StudioCentral and the Virage Media Management System provide a compelling end-to-end solution for digital asset management.

About the Virage Media Management System

The Virage Media Management System includes two applications: the Video Cataloger and the Media Manager & Browser. At the front end, the Video Cataloger automates much of the labor-intensive video logging process. It uses state-of-the-art technology to watch, listen to and read a video stream, automatically extracting and storing information such as keyframes, a profile of the audio track, closed caption text and time coding. Navigation is easy because the results are displayed as thumbnails or storyboards that can be browsed much more efficiently than the video itself. This reduces the production time by speeding the search-and-selection process for clips and scenes of interest in a large media database.

About StudioCentral

Together with compliant applications, the StudioCentral environment provides the first open and scalable digital asset management system. StudioCentral supports multiple databases, easing the porting process for developers and letting customers choose a database to fit their needs. The StudioCentral content management framework complements relational databases by allowing assets to be stored in and played back from high-speed file systems, video servers, hierarchical storage management systems or any other data storage system. Interoperability is a key StudioCentral feature: applications can work side-by-side with StudioCentral systems or can be integrated with StudioCentral so users can directly access and manage assets from within their applications. StudioCentral empowers broadcasters, filmmakers, post-production facilities, corporate video departments and video game developers to create and use facility-wide asset management systems.

Availability

The StudioCentral developer kit is currently shipping and available. The Virage Media Management System on StudioCentral will be available Calendar Q1/1998. Pricing and configuration bundles for this product are not yet available.

About Silicon Graphics

Silicon Graphics, Inc. is a leading supplier of high-performance interactive computing systems. The company offers the broadest range of products in the industry -- from low-end desktop workstations to servers and high-end Cray® supercomputers. Silicon Graphics also markets MIPS® microprocessor designs, Alias|WavefrontTM entertainment and design software and other software products. The company's key markets include manufacturing, government, science and industries, telecommunications and entertainment sectors. Silicon Graphics and its subsidiaries have offices throughout the world and corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California.

About Virage

Virage, Inc. (http://www.virage.com) provides breakthrough media asset management solutions for broadcast corporations, advertising agencies and consumer product and service companies. Virage's products help these organizations derive significant operational and competitive advantages through managing and providing timely, distributed access to their media content. Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., Virage was founded in 1993 to provide organizations with advanced methods for accessing and leveraging diverse media assets.

Silicon Graphics and the Silicon Graphics logo are registered trademarks, and StudioCentral and Origin are trademarks, of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Virage is a registered trademark of Virage, Inc.