From presidential campaign rallies in Wisconsin to legal proceedings, Mediasite demonstrates why it’s the preferred technology for critical communications
MADISON, WI – Oct. 29, 2004 –– Sonic FoundryÒ Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), a leading rich media solutions company, today announced its Mediasite™ rich media presentation recorders are being used to capture and stream a number of high-profile events for live and on-demand Web access. By automating the capture, management and delivery of multimedia content, Mediasite is the fastest, easiest and most reliable Web publishing system available today, enabling users to take full advantage of the Internet as a convenient and affordable communications vehicle.
Latest Mediasite deployments include:
· Yesterday’s John Kerry rally in Madison, Wis., featuring a musical performance by Bruce Springsteen, is now available via the Web from WisPolitics.com, the premier political news service for the state of Wisconsin. The news service also is carrying appearances by President Bush earlier this week in the southwestern Wisconsin communities of Richland Center and Cuba City plus interviews, forums and debates featuring congressional and legislative candidates. The Web site has been getting more than 25,000 unique visits per month throughout the past few months as the campaign season heats up. All Webcasts can be accessed for free, in their entirety, at www.wispolitics.com.
· The Disney trial, involving former company President Michael Ovitz, is being streamed live and on-demand to members of the media, legal and financial communities, and a curious public. The service, dubbed Virtual Law Viewer (VLV), is being provided by Courtroom Connect (www.courtroomconnect.com) and includes content captured by Mediasite and managed and streamed by its premier hosting partner, BxVideo RMXPRES™. Taking advantage of Mediasite’s ability to handle image and graphics, VLV gives remote viewers a true replication of information available in the courtroom — complete with video from multiple camera feeds and audio synchronized with the evidence presented during the course of the trial.
· The 2004 Conference on Technologies for Public Safety in Critical Incident Response, held last month in New Orleans, used Mediasite to capture, record and Webcast critical information regarding homeland security and intelligence sharing presented by government leaders. Presenters at the conference included keynote speakers Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.
· EDUCAUSE, a professional association dedicated to advancing the intelligent use of information technology in higher education, selected Mediasite to record keynote presentations and special sessions last week at its 2004 conference in Denver. EDUCAUSE membership includes more than 1,900 colleges, universities and educational organizations, and has more than 15,000 active members. The rich media presentations are available at http://www.educause.edu/e04.
“Our partnership with Sonic Foundry adds a different dimension to our Web-based political coverage, allowing viewers and subscribers to quickly scan and view key segments of important political events at their convenience,” said Jeff Mayers, president of WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com. “As we’ve seen this election season, rich media technology has become a highly effective way for candidates and news organizations alike to broaden their reach. People, particularly young voters, increasingly turn to the Web for their information and the ‘always on, interactive experience’ they can’t get elsewhere.”
Responding to dramatic growth in market demand from government agencies, education institutions and corporations looking to use the rich interactive capabilities of the Web to communicate with speed and convenience, Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite removes the cost and complexity of capturing and distributing online presentations. As a complete system, it provides all the hardware and software needed to create, deliver and view high-quality, multimedia Web presentations without any special preparation, costly production or complex authoring. Further, because there are no content or seat licensing fees, users can present as often as needed, to as many people as needed, without incurring additional costs.
“The speed, flexibility and efficiency in which Mediasite captures and streams any type of rich media content is making it a popular choice for a broad mix of critical communications, enabling our customers to grow their businesses in innovative ways, ” noted Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. “While education, business and government remain our core markets, we believe we are at the tip of the iceberg in terms of other applications for Mediasite.”
About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.
Founded in 1991, Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO) is a provider of rich media communications technology for the enterprise. The company’s high-performance rich media presentation systems are trusted by Fortune 500 companies, education institutions and government agencies for a variety of critical communication needs. Sonic Foundry is based in Madison, Wis. For more information about Sonic Foundry, visit the company’s Web site at www.sonicfoundry.com.
Contacts:
Press Contact:
Terri Douglas
Catapult PR-IR
303-581-7760, ext. 18
303-808-6820 (cell)
tdouglas@catapultpr-ir.com
Investor Contact:
Rob Schatz
Strategic Growth International, Inc.
212-838-1444
rob@sgi-ir.com
