SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Sept. 25, 2006 — Omneon Video Networks today announced that Electronic Media Network (PTY) Limited (M-Net), South Africa’s first private subscription television service, has purchased an Omneon Spectrum™ media server system. This implementation — the largest such installation in Africa — will enable ingest, under the control of Ardendo’s DART and Ardcap, of more than 200,000 hours of new media and existing assets into a state-of-the-art media asset management (MAM)/archive system. After a stringent evaluation process, M-NET awarded the MAM project to the South African systems integrator, Concilium Technologies, which has a proven track record for large broadcast system installations.

“The goal of our asset management and archives project is to build a highly scalable architecture that enables efficient distribution of our media assets over the broad range of platforms on and just entering the market,” said Attie Van Wyk, head of the M-Net transmission center. “As a flexible and highly interoperable IT-based server solution, the Omneon Spectrum system integrates smoothly with Ardendo software to provide our staff with fast and reliable ingest and tracking of our digital media assets.”

M-Net broadcasts include eight channels dedicated to sports programming, requiring a mix of media acquired via numerous live feeds along with management of an extensive library of recorded content. Ingest of multiple live feeds, as well as finished programs, via the Omneon server system will give M-Net much greater versatility in the distribution of video over newer distribution channels such as IPTV and mobile platforms. The Omneon server system, in conjunction with Ardendo media asset management software, provides automatic metadata management within a live ingest environment, with manual functionality also available.

“We’ve worked closely with Omneon in a number of other successful installations, and we know that we can rely on the Spectrum server system to provide reliable ingest of the assets managed by our complete MAM system,” said Erik Åhlin, vice president of sales and business development at Ardendo. “The end result of this tight integration of our systems is massive ingest and immediate archiving capability, as well as future flexibility in how those assets are leveraged.”

The Omneon server, Ardendo media asset management system, and the IBM HSM datastore will all be located on a common network, making all media accessible by all users. The Omneon Spectrum server will allow M-Net to abandon manual tracking of ingested assets, instead cataloging files as they are buffered into the datastore. The Ardendo software solution facilitates ingest, archiving, transcoding, and asset management to make media instantly available for browsing and editing at the desktop.

“The large size and advanced sophistication of M-Net’s MAM and archiving system demonstrates the scalability and performance of the Spectrum system,” said Omneon Vice President of EMEA, Greg Hoskin. “Our longstanding relationship with Concilium and proven track record working alongside Ardendo promise to make this installation a model for other broadcasters in this market looking to transition to IT-based production and archiving.”

“M-Net needed a company with the skills and experience to manage and implement such a complex project in South Africa, and one that would continue to provide a high level of ongoing local support,” said Steve Alves, managing director of Concilium Technologies. “We believe our selection as system integrator was due to our proven track record of smooth and efficient project deliveries.”

M-Net’s new archive system is slated to go live in the first quarter of 2007.

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About Omneon
Omneon is a leading provider of flexible media server and active storage systems that optimize workflow productivity and on-air reliability for the production, distribution, and management of digital media. Omneon is a pioneer in the use of advanced IT technologies and open systems for broadcast applications, producing a modular and expandable video server architecture in the Omneon Spectrum. The company's MediaGrid active storage system delivers centralized content storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and media-processing power. The company has an extensive global presence with customers in 45 countries on six continents. Omneon is on the Web at www.Omneon.com.

About M-Net
The Electronic Media Network (PTY) Limited (M-Net) was founded in 1985 as South Africa’s first private subscription television service. The first broadcast, comprising one 12-hour channel, went out in October 1986. Today, M-Net boasts an array of general entertainment and niche channels and broadcasts to more than 1.23 million subscribers in 41 countries across Africa.

M-Net’s mission is “to create the best television entertainment in Africa and beyond.” To this effect the network has invested significantly in local productions that are set to make Africa a significant player on the entertainment global arena. Productions such as Studio 53 are set to captivate audiences from Cape to Cairo and indeed the rest of the world. Whereas the adaptation of world-renowned shows such as Big Brother and Idols endeavors to keep subscribers in touch with world-class shows. More information about M-Net and its programming is available online at www.mnet.co.za.

About Concilium
Concilium Technologies is a wholly owned and empowered South African Company. Concilium’s Broadcast Division is the leading supplier of advanced technology solutions to the professional video and audio broadcast markets in Southern Africa. With broadcasters looking more and more towards standard IT solutions to alleviate the cost of keeping multiple channels on air, Concilium is ideally placed and firmly entrenched as the number one supplier in this market. In excess of 90 percent of the channels broadcast in South Africa using mission critical server technology have been installed by Concilium. Concilium’s solution focus, reputation for on-time delivery, and close customer alliances assures broadcasters of a low-risk investment for any size system.

About Ardendo
Ardendo was recently acquired by Vizrt, the world’s leading producer of real-time 2D and true 3D graphics system for television. Vizrt offers a new vision for content creation and delivery with an end-to-end solution from ingest to visualization. The company’s solution combines Vizrt’s true 2D/3D graphics tools with Curious Software’s World Maps and Ardendo’s Asset Management. Running on non-proprietary software, the combination of these unique cutting-edge products ensures a seamless workflow from conception to multiformat distribution.

Vizrt’s product suite is used by the world’s leading broadcasters including CNN, CBS, Fox, BBC, Sky, ITN, ZDF, Star TV, TV Today, CCTV, and NHK. Also, many world-class production houses and corporate institutions, including both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, utilize Vizrt solutions. Vizrt is a public company traded on the Frankfurt Prime Standard and on the Oslo Main List: VIZ, ISIN: IL0010838154. For further information please refer to www.vizrt.com.

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