e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

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Equator and Samsung Announce a Formal Partnership to Revolutionize Broadcast Industry with New Set-Top Box, Making Residential Gateways an Economic Reality for Consumers


— Samsung’s Host-based SMT F300 set-top box offers Video-on-Demand and Personal Video Recorder capabilities to ADSL and cable modem customers –



LAS VEGAS, Nev. (NAB, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth # L559) – Apr. 23 2001 – Equator Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of comprehensive broadband digital communications and media processing infrastructure for the consumer electronics market, and Samsung Electronics announced today a new enhanced streaming media set-top box from Samsung running Equator’s programmable BSPä MAP-CA™ digital signal processor. The host-based SMT F300 set-top box, which is designed and manufactured in a formal partnership, will offer Video-on-Demand (VOD), Interactive TV and time shift Personal Video Recorder (PVR) services, at a better price point than can be offered by competing multifunction devices. Bringing a broad range of data and video services directly to the home, the box, which is targeted at ADSL consumers, will also be able to function as a residential gateway. The F300 will be in volume production in Q4 2001.



In a December 2000 study, the high-tech market research firm, Cahners In-Stat Group, predicts the residential gateway market will rise sharply from $100 million in 2000 to $5 billion in 2005. By integrating Equator’s customizable, powerful BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor into Samsung’s multimedia home gateway and interactive set-top box, the companies will offer the broadcast market a very cost-effective, multifunction and flexible set-top box solution. Because the MAP-CA digital signal processor enables streaming high-quality video at low bit rates, service providers will be able to stream a greater number of enhanced services through one box, while maintaining the superior video quality their customers expect. Demand for broadband services will continue to increase as end users have access to more scalable advanced services and functionalities, such as analog PVR time shifting, at a substantially lower system cost.



"The flexibility of Equator’s programmable BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor is a perfect complement to our own powerful and easily upgradeable appliance," said Dr. H.W. Park, senior manager, digital set-top box group at Samsung Network Division. "Integrating Equator’s BSP digital signal processor into our SMT F300 set-top box will usher in a new age of more complex integrated services, enabling remote management and value-added services such as home security control and video-on-demand."



"We are very pleased that Samsung has selected our BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor for its next generation streaming video set-top box and multimedia residential gateway," said Dr. Avi Katz, president and CEO of Equator Technologies. "Working with a leading industry innovator like Samsung will help us in our goal to realize the full potential of broadband communications. Our formal partnership guarantees the delivery of the most cost-effective, flexible and upgradeable set top box and residential gateway to the marketplace -- benefiting our customers."



About Equator's MAP-CA Digital Signal Processor



The BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor delivers 30 GOPs (Billion Operations per Second) of processing power, offering more than ten times the performance of other available solutions. The highly integrated, system-on-a chip solution delivers core functions through software rather than dedicated hardware and is designed for high-performance, video-intense broadband applications. By using software downloads to update the functionality of products, even after they are launched and in the field, the life cycle of the equipment can be greatly extended, enabling companies to decrease their time-to-market and their time-to-revenue with new broadband services and devices. The programmable chip allows service providers to offer more services and more functionality, such as time shifting, video conferencing, broadcast media security, video security, VOD, DVD playback, and per viewer advertising.



About the Companies



Samsung

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., with 2000 sales revenue of US$27 billion is a world leader in the electronics industry. The Korea-based concern has operations in about 50 countries with 54,000 employees worldwide. The company consists of three main business units: Digital Media, Semiconductors and Information & Communications Businesses. For more information, please visit our website, http://samsungelectronics.com
Equator Technologies, Inc.

Equator Technologies is the leading provider of comprehensive broadband digital communications and media processing infrastructure for the consumer technology market. The company’s family of MAP-CA Broadband Signal Processor digital signal processors, which is built on a smart silicon platform, couples a uniquely fully functional system-on-a-chip solution with software tools. Equator’s unmatched compiler technology delivers 100% C programming – enabling the rapid introduction and field upgradeability of high-performance, video-intense systems. With over 100 customers, Equator has gained traction in the consumer technology industry, having secured major market share in video conferencing and the digital head-end sector by offering rapid time-to-market and time-to-revenue solutions. Headquartered in Campbell, Calif., with additional international offices, Equator is a privately held company. For more information, visit www.equator.com.

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The following are trademarks of Equator Technologies, Inc., and may be used to identify Equator products only: Equator, MAP, MAP1000, MAP1000A, MAP-CA, MAP Series, Broadband Signal Processor, BSP, FIRtree, DataStreamer, iMMediaC, iMMediaTools, Media Intrinsics, VersaPort, and SofTV. Other product and company names in this news release may be trademarks of their respective owners.