Fundamental Change In The Way We Work

DIGITAL BRINGS NETWORKED NEW MEDIA TO THE ENTERPRISE

Unleashes a New Range of Networked New Media Applications

MAYNARD, Mass., May 28, 1996 -- Digital Equipment Corporation today made it
easy and affordable to bring video, audio and animation to the static
world of text and graphics on the network. The new Mediaplex Network
Server, available immediately, is the industry's first complete solution
that provides intuitive, out-of-the-box compatibility with the most
popular desktop applications. It supports all major authoring and
application tools that comply with Microsoft's Media Control Interface
(MCI), and familiar World Wide Web interfaces.

Organizations now can deliver and share full-motion, full-screen video and
other media applications across the enterprise. Desktop PCs can access
server-based new media directly, in realtime, over corporate intranets and
LANs. Digital's solution unleashes a new range of networked new media
applications for the workplace, such as computer-based training-on-demand,
video-enabled workflow and collaboration, realtime access to video
resources on the intranet, and video archiving.

"Companies can immediately improve productivity," says Peter Ryus,
Digital's director of marketing for New Media Solutions, "saving time and
money by integrating the Mediaplex Network Server into their current
training and corporate communications programs. Digital's breakthrough is
the out-of-the-box user-friendliness of the standard interfaces and
applications. The Mediaplex solution represents a fundamental change in
the availability and use of multimedia, and how employees across the
enterprise work, communicate and share information."

Digital also announced alliances with several leading authoring tool
companies to train and support application developers migrating multimedia
applications to Mediaplex-enabled networks. Initial participants in this
program include: Aimtech Corporation (IconAuthor); Asymetrix Corporation
(ToolBook); and Macromedia (Director and Authorware). In addition, Digital
is also working closely with its major software partners to integrate
their video capabilities into its solutions. The first of such alliances
was recently announced between Digital and Oracle Corporation. Digital and
Oracle are combining their expertise and strengths to deliver Oracle's
Video Option on the Alpha platform.

The Mediaplex Network Server is built on the industry's fastest server
architecture -- Digital's market-leading 64-bit Alpha systems with
Digital's 64-bit, UNIX-based Mediaplex Network Server Software. With
simple drag-and-drop features, for example, users can create compound
documents using Microsoft's Office applications that integrate video and
audio components and then share the documents over the network.

Product Details and Pricing

Digital offers the Mediaplex Network Server in three base configurations --
the Mediaplex workgroup server and two department servers. The workgroup
server, based on the AlphaServer 400, supports 40 video streams at 1.5
Mbps and can provide up to 90 hours of MPEG-1 video. Two department
servers, based on the AlphaStation 600 -- available in pedestal and
rackmount configurations -- support 80 streams at 1.5 Mbps. The rackmount
offering can store up to 180 hours of MPEG-1 video. In addition, all
systems can deliver fewer streams at higher data rates. The servers
provide multimedia access over dedicated LANs or intranets, using FDDI and
switched Ethernet.

All offerings are preconfigured with RAID storage, PCI-based FDDI network
adapters and high-performance Ethernet interfaces. The Mediaplex server
software is installed on Digital's UNIX operating system. The Mediaplex
Network Server is competitively priced, starting at $45,995 for the
AlphaServer 400 with 21.5 GB of storage.

Mediaplex Systems Up and Running

The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University
and Carnegie Mellon University are already using the Mediaplex Network
Server. Stuart Thorson, director of Syracuse University's Global Affairs
Institute and professor of international relations and political science
is using the Mediaplex platform to enhance his curriculum with creative
new media. Syracuse is employing its high-speed data network to distribute
full-motion video to classrooms and desktops.

"We are finding that the ability to digitally encode and distribute video
to the classroom via Digital's Mediaplex Server gives our instructional
efforts an exciting immediacy which helps students learn," said Thorson.
"We anticipate using the Mediaplex Server both to enhance the quality and
cost-effectiveness of our instruction and to support our research
activities in areas involving images and public policy."

The Informedia project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is
currently developing a system which will allow full content search and
retrieval of new media by integrating current research in speech
recognition, image analysis, and natural language processing technologies.
CMU is developing a way to access relevant video and audio segments from a
growing body of archived news programs and documentaries stored on the
Mediaplex Network Server. This content will be accessible through portions
of Carnegie Mellon's distributed data network.

The Mediaplex Network Server is immediately available through Digital and
its resellers. Digital offers technical support and specially priced
systems for independent software developers wanting to integrate their
CD-ROM-based applications with the Mediaplex platform through its
Association of Software and Application Partners program.

Timed with this announcement, one of Digital's authoring tool partners,
Asymetrix, is offering special introductory pricing on its new ToolBook II
software for Mediaplex customers. ToolBook is one of the most popular
authoring systems available today, with powerful multimedia engines to
handle video, audio and animation delivered by the Mediaplex Network
Server.

Digital Equipment Corporation is the world's leader in open client/server
solutions from personal computers to integrated worldwide information
systems. Digital's Intel and Alpha platforms, storage, networking,
software and services, together with industry- focused solutions from
business partners, help organizations compete and win in today's global
marketplace.

All Digital press releases, fact sheets and backgrounders are archived on
ftp.digital.com in the /pub/Digital/info/pr-news directory. They are also
available at http://www.digital.com/info/pr-news/ on the World Wide Web .
 
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