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RealNetworks Introduces RealSystem Mobile
Carrier-Class Platform Enables Both 3GPP Formats and Access to Millions Of Hours of RealAudio/RealVideo Content
More Than 20 Industry-Leading Companies Support RealSystem Mobile
GSMWorld, CANNES, France, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK - news), the global leader in Internet media delivery, today announced RealSystem® Mobile, a breakthrough platform for creation, delivery, and playback of RealAudio®/RealVideo® and Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) standards-compliant multimedia content in the mobile environment. By working with RealSystem Mobile and RealNetworks, mobile operators can now rapidly deploy media delivery and content subscription services.

Built on the 8th generation RealSystem, RealSystem Mobile includes:


-- RealSystem Producer -- the premier digital media content creation tool
which enables content providers to target content for distribution to a
range of mobile devices, including phones, PDAs, and laptops;
-- RealSystem Mobile Server -- a carrier-class system for delivery of live
and on-demand content to mobile subscribers; support for H.263v2 and
MPEG-4 content; server is interoperable with 3GPP compliant content
formats from PacketVideo, Philips, Envivio, and the open source MPEG4IP
project;
-- RealSystem Mobile Gateway -- a carrier-class proxy-cache solution for
optimizing inbound Internet content for delivery to mobile subscribers;
-- RealOne(TM) Player for mobile devices -- an optimized version of the
world's most popular media player designed for mobile devices,
including handsets and PDAs; plays back both 3GPP compliant and
RealAudio/RealVideo content.


``Throughout the world, our software products and business solutions power the largest, most demanding digital media services delivered over IP networks,'' said Martin Plaehn, senior vice president, Media Systems, RealNetworks, Inc. ``Whether a mobile operator is selecting 3GPP standards- based audio and video or RealAudio/RealVideo, RealNetworks is the only company that can provide mobile operators with immediate access to content, an end-to- end delivery system, and expertise building content subscription businesses.''

Major Advances in 3GPP Technologies

Technology innovations in the RealSystem Mobile product line provide more efficient, more reliable, and higher quality 3GPP multimedia content creation, delivery, and playback. These innovations include:

-- Creation -- fast, efficient encoding to reduce cost of H.263v2 and
MPEG-4 content creation; easy incorporation of H.263v2 and MPEG-4
content creation capabilities into existing RealSystem Producer
installations to eliminate re-architecting and deployment of new tools;
-- Delivery -- carrier-class distributed broadcasting for 3GPP compliant
content, MPEG-4 video as well as RealAudio and RealVideo including:
broadcast redundancy, server to server routing, forward error
correction and proxy/caching; support for live broadcast and delivery
of pre-recorded on-demand media; comprehensive support of 3GPP and
MPEG-4 file formats and protocols, including interoperability with all
3GPP-compliant content creation tools;
-- Playback -- complete support for all mandatory components of the 3GPP
video requirements for packet-switched streaming services: ITU-T H.263
baseline, H.263 Profile 3 Level 10, as well as optional MPEG-4 Visual
Simple Profile Level 0; patent-pending post-filtering techniques to
improve image quality, independent of the content type, video codec and
delivery bit rate; performance optimized codecs resulting in a more
consistent playback experience.


RealNetworks' RealSystem Mobile is available immediately for mobile carriers and will be showcased this week at the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young stand, (Hall 2 G8) at 3GSM World 2002 in Cannes, France.

Media Delivery and Content Solutions

Mobile operators planning to deliver media services will find RealNetworks and its global partners uniquely suited to provide comprehensive mobile media delivery solutions. Software and integration services from RealNetworks Professional Services and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young link content delivery and subscription systems to back-end billing, payment, subscriber management, customer care, and operations support. Entertainment, music, sports, news, and finance content from RealNetworks' RealOne service enables mobile operators, at their option, to jump-start multimedia content subscription businesses. In addition, RealOne Player, the award-winning PC-based media player, provides consumers the ability to manage and transfer their media to mobile devices. Mobile operators can partner with RealNetworks for individual components of the RealNetworks suite of mobile products and services or for an entire media delivery and subscription business solution.

Industry Expresses Support

RealNetworks is working with many companies to bring mobile solutions to consumers. Global RealNetworks partners supporting RealSystem Mobile include: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Hitachi, Intel, Nokia, Sonera, StarHub Mobile, Sun Microsystems, Symbian, Telefonica Moviles Espana, and Texas Instruments.

``Internet users benefit from continuous innovation and reliable delivery of great software products to bring better quality audio and video,'' said Stephen DeWitt, vice president & general manager, Content Delivery and Edge Computing, Sun Microsystems Inc. ``RealNetworks' industry leading standards- based software products operating on Sun platforms play a central role in the emerging market for audio and video delivery to mobile devices -- creating better user experiences and more opportunities for service creation and content delivery.''

``For many years now we have used RealNetworks' RealSystem as an integral part of our commercial wireline audio and video services. We are pleased to see that RealNetworks is bringing this expertise to mobile delivery also,'' said Jukka Helin, Head of MediaLab at Sonera Plaza Ltd. ``Last year we opened our GPRS network for our subscribers and now we are testing our 3G W-CDMA network. In our opinion, audio and video, such as that offered through RealSystem Mobile, will play an important role in bringing new 3G services to the market.''

``The release of RealSystem Mobile gives mobile operators a concrete way to take advantage of the rising availability of multimedia-enabled phones and the strong demand among consumers for information on their mobile phones and devices,'' said Mark Edwards, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Symbian. ``The Symbian OS was designed to enable rich media applications for mobile phones, and RealNetworks has delivered a product that brings those applications to life.''

``Virgin Radio has always sought to be a pioneer in embracing new technologies in order to offer our listeners new and innovative ways to hear our content -- whether at home, at work or on the move,'' said James Cridland, Managing Editor, Virgin Radio New Media. ``RealSystem Mobile is a further step in our aim to ensure our station is device-independent and will allow us to reach even more people across the world.''

``As an artist, I want to reach my fans wherever they are, whenever they want to hear my music,'' said Thomas Dolby, songwriter. ``Mobile devices are a cool and convenient way to offer content subscription services to consumers. RealSystem Mobile is a strong step toward that reality.'' Thomas worked closely with Supersoni.com to develop music video content especially for the Nokia 9210.

Other content providers supporting the launch of RealSystem Mobile include: Aestheticom, Animobile, AtomFilms, Edmunds.com, Eurosport, Playboy TV UK, Supersoni.com, TF1, and Voyage.

RealSystem: The Industry-Leading Platform for Standards-Based Delivery

RealSystem is an 8th generation, end-to-end, standards-compliant, media delivery system. RealSystem offers flexibility in deployments by streaming from any platform, to any device, in multiple media formats, from narrowband audio to high fidelity broadband video. Through distributed network configurations of interconnected RealSystem Servers, RealSystem empowers all servers to broadcast into the network, receive content from other servers, and deliver both live and on-demand media to vast audiences world-wide.

The incorporation of 3GPP support in RealSystem is built on longstanding and proven implementations of the leading industry standards for media delivery and interoperability between suppliers. In 1996, RealNetworks coauthored RTSP (Real-Time Session Protocol), the international standard for digital media session management and stream control, and in 1998, RealNetworks released support for RTP/RTSP streaming in RealSystem G2. RealNetworks has also been a primary contributor to SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language), and is currently contributing to MPEG and IETF committees responsible for video compression and digital rights management interoperability standards.

About RealNetworks

RealNetworks, Inc. is the global leader in Internet media delivery. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software on the Internet at http://www.real.com . RealNetworks' systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at http://www.realnetworks.com .

NOTE: RealNetworks, RealSystem, RealSystem iQ, RealAudio, RealVideo and RealOne are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE: RealNetworks, Inc.