For Release: 04-24-2006

Sorenson Media Announces New Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL Accelerator Platform for Real-time MPEG-2 HD Encoding

Resolution-Independent, 100 Percent Software-Programmable Platform Enables Maximum Flexibility and Smooth Upgrade Path to Future Advanced HD Video Standards

SALT LAKE CITY (April 24, 2006) – Sorenson Media®, the global leader in video compression technology, today announced Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL™, a new PCI-X accelerator platform/plug-in board based on innovative, fully software-definable technology.

Sorenson Media’s HD encoding solution is a PC plug-in board that uses four highly parallel processors, totaling over 16,000 parallel computing elements, to dramatically accelerate key processor-intensive encoding tasks such as motion estimation and image transforms. Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL can encode MPEG-2 1920x1080 content at 30 frames per second on a properly configured system. Lower resolutions can achieve faster than real-time performance.

“Our customers love the quality, simplicity and workflow of Sorenson Squeeze but have struggled to encode high quantities of HD content in a reasonable amount of time,” said Matt Cupal, president of Sorenson Media. “With Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL we’ve combined our renowned quality and simplicity with blazing fast encoding speed. The result is a no-compromise solution that will please even our most demanding customers.”

Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL hardware accelerates all of the MPEG-2 encoding options in Sorenson Squeeze, including resolutions (SD & HD) up to 1920 x 1080, and works effectively alongside video capture cards from several vendors to provide capture and encoding in a single system. Because it is fully software programmable, Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL has a roadmap to other HD formats as they become available. Planned future codecs include H.264/AVC, JPEG-2000 and Windows Media/VC1.

Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL also includes all of the features of Sorenson Squeeze PowerPack. This solution, retailing at $599, has features such as batch mode encoding, multiple format support, Web video output, watch folders, command line control and more.

Pricing and Availability
Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL will be available by contacting Sorenson Media at 801.313.8150 or through a variety of dealers. The base starting price is $11,995. Sorenson SqueezeHD XCEL is anticipated to ship in Q2 2006.

About Sorenson Media
Sorenson Media (www.sorensonmedia.com) is the global leader in video compression technology. The company's innovative encoding applications and award-winning video delivery solutions enable users to quickly and affordably deliver high-quality digital video files over the Internet. Sorenson Media's video-streaming technology is used on more than 600 million PCs worldwide. The Sorenson Squeeze Compression Suite has garnered many major industry awards, including Macworld Best of Show, and Video Systems 2004 Vanguard Award. The firm's compression codecs are licensed by a host of Fortune 500 companies.