1 Beyond and Tarari Join Forces to Enable Live High Definition Internet Video

1 Beyond(TM), Inc., a leading provider of digital video editing and compositing systems, and Tarari(R) Inc., the award-winning acceleration company, today announced that they have joined forces to deliver the industry’s first workstation-class, hardware-accelerated system capable of processing live HD footage, using Microsoft’s VC1 compression algorithm to enable real time full HD resolution Internet broadcast. The 1 Beyond HD OctoFlex(TM) with Tarari Encoder Accelerator card combination will be demonstrated for the 1st time at NAB 2007 in the 1 Beyond booth (SL7427).

Thanks to recent enhancements, Microsoft’s VC1 encoder software can now take advantage of the unique parallel encoding approach that the Tarari and Intel processors are capable of, where each shares part of the encoding workload. While the 1 Beyond HD OctoFlex system’s Dual Quad-Core Intel Xeon (a total of eight) processors prepare frames for encoding, the Tarari processors handle motion estimation and compensation calculations. Meanwhile, the next frames are being prepared for processing by the HD OctoFlex system, thereby taking full advantage of the workstation’s unmatched processing power.

The efficient combination of these two technologies enables the processing of a live HD-SDI input in real-time at high complexity which means the high HD quality will be preserved as the signal skips across the country or literally around the world. For the first time private companies, TV stations, web casters, hospitals and studios can encode, record to disk and broadcast live high definition events simultaneously for just $26,995, roughly a third of the cost of traditional fixed hardware solutions that required dedicated high speed lines. And, this rack mount or portable multi-function system can also be used for HD ingest, direct-to-disk uncompressed HD capture and full HD editing.

Using the 1 Beyond HD OctoFlex with Tarari, companies requiring the highest quality encoding for Blu-ray and HD DVDs can also save by requiring less systems for the same output per day.

With Microsoft’s implementation of VC1 becoming a widely accepted standard among media and entertainment professionals, the ability to compress HD footage in real-time allows editors to produce more quality content and get it to market or to air faster than ever before.

Terry Cullen, 1 Beyond’s CEO and Founder, comments: “Live, real-time VC1 compression of HD footage has become the video industry’s newest Holy Grail, and we are very proud to have partnered with Tarari and Microsoft using identical 1 Beyond HD OctoFlex systems to make this happen.”

“1 Beyond has worked hard to incorporate Tarari’s technology into their HD OctoFlex system so that the productivity and production capacity of content creators who must deliver digital (WMV/VC-1) output is dramatically increased,” said Jim Wilson, co-founder and CTO, Microsoft Technologies at Tarari, Inc. “This partnership accelerates the world-class capabilities of Microsoft’s Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).”

The 1 Beyond HD OctoFlex system (Mobile, Rack or Tower) with HD storage, SD/HD-SDI I/O and the Tarari Encoder Accelerator card is available immediately turnkey from 1 Beyond for a MSRP of $26,995, which is less than one third the cost of traditional fixed hardware solutions.

About 1 Beyond, Inc.

Founded in 1996, 1 Beyond, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of professional PC-based video editing, compositing and storage systems at a fraction of the cost of traditional high-end systems. This value leadership is due to constant technical innovation, including 11 years of industry firsts. 1 Beyond delivers turnkey video end-to-end solutions that provide customers with the highest performance and quality digital workflow in all video formats including both compressed and uncompressed HD. The company offers a wide range of systems including award-winning laptops, desktops, mobiles and Storage Area Networks used in all phases of editing and compositing. All 1 Beyond systems are designed with true open architecture and built on world standards. This ensures the customer a continued upgrade path and hence, the longest period for ROI and non-obsolescence. For more information, visit www.1Beyond.com or call 877-One-Beyond (663-2396).

About Tarari, Inc.

Tarari, Inc., the award-winning acceleration company headquartered in San Diego, Calif., USA, designs and develops Content Processor silicon to allow original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to accelerate and offload compute-intensive, complex algorithms used in XML/Web Services, Network Security and Digital Media environments. Tarari is a fables semiconductor company whose product line primarily includes ASICs, and Tarari also offers boards and software acceleration components designed for network equipment, appliance and server vendors, as well as independent software vendors. Tarari is a privately held company with venture backing from Crosspoint Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Miramar Venture Partners, XML Fund and Intel Capital. For more information, visit www.tarari.com, e-mail: info@tarari.com or call 858-385-5131.

1 Beyond, HD OctoFlex are trademarks of 1 Beyond, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

 For further information, please contact:  1 Beyond Véronique Froment Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=BD394097DDEA9C2B Tel: 1 603 537 9248  Tarari, Inc. John Bromhead Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=DF198214498213BA +1-858-642-2500  

SOURCE: Tarari, Inc.