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Snell & Wilcox's Free MXF Software Developer Kit and Desktop Player Win Praise from Broadcast Community

Free MXF Express and MXF Desktop Tools speed compatible broadcast equipment from all manufacturers and ensure interoperability for broadcasters

Lastest update to debut October 1 --

Amsterdam (IBC), September 10, 2004 -- Snell & Wilcox announced today that its new software developer tools for the MXF file format and software-based MXF file player - which the company is offering at no charge from its web site - have won an enthusiastic reception from users in the broadcast community. Nearly 1,000 users, representing 400 companies, have downloaded the tools from the Snell & Wilcox web site, where an active MXF community has been created with daily discussions of MXF issues and tool requirements.

Snell & Wilcox's MXF Express is a comprehensive set of software developer tools designed to help broadcasters and equipment vendors ensure interoperability among file-sharing products and systems through the MXF file format. The company has also released MXF Desktop, a software-based MXF file player that will bring MXF compatibility to any Windows PC desktop.

"I really like the Snell & Wilcox toolkit," says Hans Peter Hess, video development team leader at D.A.V.I.D. GmbH (Digital Audio & Video Integration and Development) in Munich. "The way they give support and continue to extend the product features is really great."

"MXF Express and MXF Desktop are very helpful tools, and I sincerely congratulate Snell & Wilcox for their efforts in MXF adoption," says Olivier Amato, IT broadcast consultant. "I'm very happy with MXF Desktop and with its DirectShow architecture, which allows me to easily build filter graphs via GraphEdit. We are strongly advising MXF Desktop usage to all our customers who want to play MXF files on their PC."

MXF Express, a comprehensive software developer kit (SDK), includes the following features:

• Support for OP1a, OP-Atom, MPEG, DV, BWAV and AES profiles that allow various media configurations within a single MXF file
• C++ libraries that enable developers to add MXF awareness to their products (including sample code for creating MXF writers / readers)
• DirectShow filters for easy MXF player / writer creation (including sample code for creating MXF players)
• High-quality sample MXF files for testing and evaluation (based on the Snell & Wilcox "Test Card M")

The contents of the MXF Express SDK were proven internally by Snell & Wilcox engineers who used it to create several file-based products with sophisticated MXF-based functionality. These include Ingest Station, a high-quality compression mastering system; Mosalina, an automated MPEG-quality control software application; and MediaX, a powerful PCI-based hardware accelerator engine designed to bring Snell & Wilcox core algorithms and signal processing expertise to the IT domain.

Also available at no charge from Snell & Wilcox is MXF Desktop, a software application that adds MXF awareness to PCs running Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating systems. It enables:

• Microsoft's Windows Media® Player to play MXF files
• Easy viewing of key metadata within an MXF file via the right-click Properties command in Windows Explorer®
• WAV, MPEG and DV formats to be "wrapped" as essence into an MXF file

"We have successfully created a vibrant online community that is working together to make MXF a day-to-day reality," said Bruce Devlin, a Snell & Wilcox principal research engineer who is a contributing author of the MXF File Format Specifications, chair of the MXF Implementers Group and an active contributor to the work of the AAF Association and SMPTE. "We will be enhancing the functionality of our desktop tools to improve the visibility users have of their MXF assets."

Enhancements to these tools will be available for free download in October from www.snellwilcox.com. New MXF Express features will include improved stability, performance, index table handling, audio/video multiplexing performance, and multichannel audio handling. The latest MXF Desktop will include a new unwrap tool, improved Windows® Media integration, and improved property page.

About MXF
MXF (Material eXchange Format) is a major new building block for IT-based broadcast and post-production environments offering a unique combination of several essential key features:

• Platform independence including compression, network protocol and operating systems
• Extensive support for metadata and improved workflows
• Packetized and streaming file-based capability
• An open-industry format with broad-based support from industry vendors
• Interoperability tested between industry vendors
• Extensible for future source formats and metadata schemes

Ends

Snell & Wilcox, the leader in its field, delivers technologies and products that enable television and satellite broadcasters, post production facilities, film makers, and communications professionals to move content seamlessly between analog, digital, high definition and file-based systems and to bridge the world's multiplicity of line/field and color standards. The company provides switchers and keyers, standards conversion systems, networked infrastructure components, and products for noise reduction, image enhancement and restoration. In business since 1973, Snell & Wilcox maintains its U.S. headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. and European headquarters in Hampshire, United Kingdom. Additional offices are located in New York, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Russia. Visit www.snellwilcox.com for more information.

Americas Press Contact: Laura Schoeggl, Wall Street Communications, Phone: 253-404-0020. Email: laura@wallstreetcom.tv.

EMEA Press Contact: Karen David, Wall Street Communications Europe, Phone: +44 (0) 1865 310422. Email: karen@wallstreetcom.tv.

Snell & Wilcox, Engineering with Vision, Alchemist, Ph.C, Kudos, Magic Dave, IQ Modular, RollCall, RollTrack, Mosalina and Kahuna are all Trade Marks of the Snell & Wilcox Group. All other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.