MPEG Industry Forum

Amsterdam, 13th September 2002 - The Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA) and the MPEG-4 Industry Forum (M4IF) are to engage in joint interoperability testing, starting with a joint interoperability-testing event of ISMA v1.0 -based products and services in October. Both organizations are dedicated to the promotion and/or development of products and technologies that adhere to industry standards, but this is the first time their combined membership, over 120 companies, will be able to exchange encoded content and interconnect streaming equipment in real-time, in one world-wide event.

"To deliver on the promise of open MPEG-4 and IP standards [IETF], we must make sure that all elements in the ecosystem work together. The market expects seamless interoperability between different products, and these test will ensure products and services will meet these expectations" said Tim Schaaff, Board member of ISMA and M4IF.

The ISMA v1.0 specification defines an end-to-end, implementation agreement for streaming ISO-compliant MPEG-4 video and audio over Internet Protocols (IP).

ISMA's interoperability program has held over ten (10) "Plug Fests" where any one event generally involves around 20 to 30 of ISMA's member companies testing and refining their ISMA v1.0 implementation. M4IF's growing interoperability program, now in its 4th round, has over 30 participants who have exchanged MPEG-4 content for over a year. These events help member companies get interoperable products to market quicker, one of the many benefits of membership in ISMA and M4IF.

About ISMA
The Internet Streaming Media Alliance is a non-profit corporation founded by Apple (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), IBM (IBM), Kasenna, Inc., Philips (PHG) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW) to accelerate the market adoption of an international ubiquitous open implementation specification for streaming rich media over the Internet Protocol (IP) that encompasses scalability, ease of use and effectiveness.

The ISMA is a diverse alliance with representatives from all points of the streaming workflow. In addition to the founders, the following companies are members of the ISMA: AOL Time Warner Inc., Analog Devices, Bitband, Dolby Laboratories, Envivio, France Telecom, Fraunhofer Institute, Hitachi, Inktomi, iVast, Nagravision, National Semiconductor, NeoMagic, Network Appliance, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., On2 Technologies, Optibase, Panasonic AVC Laboratory Co., Serome Technology, Sharp Laboratories, SGI, Sigma Designs, Sony, SRI International/Sarnoff, Streaming21, Telecom Italia Lab, Thomson Multimedia and Volera. Additional information and a complete list of members can be accessed at www.isma.tv.

About MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is the interactive coding standard for all digital multimedia platforms. Developed by the "Moving Picture Experts Group" that designed MPEG-2 (the digital television standard), MPEG-1 and MP3. Being object-based and extending beyond video and audio, MPEG-4 supports rich, interactive, standards-based multimedia from low bandwidths to transparent quality.

About M4IF
M4IF represents more than 100 companies from diverse industries evenly distributed across North America, Europe and Asia, addressing MPEG-4 adoption issues that go beyond the charter of ISO/IEC MPEG. Activities of the forum include an interoperability program, certification, several working groups, access to ISO/MPEG committee members, and an annual conference (WEMP-4). For more information visit: http://www.m4if.org

More information
Martin Jacklin, M4IF Media Relations, (Switzerland), +41 (79) 291 1882 (m)
[email protected]

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