ION Media Networks Adds EditShare XStream Technology

XStream’s high performance handles ION’s HD production workflow

Boston, MA – April 15, 2009 –EditShare™, the technology leader in cross-platform collaborative editing and shared media storage, today announced that ION Media Networks has expanded its EditShare shared media storage with the deployment of two new EditShare XStream high performance systems. The XStream units with a total of 64TB of storage support the HD production by the ION Creative Services team. Utilizing content creation tools from Avid, Apple and Maya, the Creative Services professionals produce on-air promotions, graphics and branding for all of ION’s company-owned stations and networks from their West Palm Beach, Florida facility.

“With our move to HD, we upgraded all our editing systems and we looked to the EditShare XStream because it gives us the high performance to support the intensity of an all HD workflow with unlimited expandability,” says Robert Cummings, Director of Engineering for ION. “We’ve had great experience with our other EditShare servers. The ability to share media with EditShare really brings efficiency and organization. To handle the HD workflow, speed and scalability were the big drivers for bringing in the XStreams.”

“The XStream is specifically designed for the most extreme and demanding media sharing workflows, handling high volumes of simultaneous users as well as very large numbers of video streams,” says Andy Liebman, CEO of EditShare. “We’ve incorporated the latest technologies including PCIe connectivity between the XStream chassis and faster drives to provide extremely efficient use of bandwidth and maximum performance. And to grow the system, it’s quite simple and affordable to connect another chassis full of drives.”

ION elected to configure the two XStream systems with one 32TB system as a primary storage handling only HD content. The second 32TB system operates as a backup with automated, scheduled synchronizations. The EditShare storage servers which were installed in late 2006 and 2007 are still being used to handle SD production work for some older television series which are only available in SD, as well as for web content, audio and graphics. EditShare’s Extreme Scalability Architecture allows multiple EditShare servers to operate on a single network. ESA makes the process transparent for editors who simply work on designated media spaces. System administration is simplified with smart management tools that can be used from any workstation to manage across systems.

EditShare Complete Collaboration

The XStream series is part of the EditShare Complete Collaboration line of products which provide shared media and collaborative workflows – from ingest through production to archive. In addition to the Storage Series and XStream Series, the Complete Collaboration line includes EditShare FLOW and EditShare Ark.

Designed for the industry’s leading editing and compositing products from Adobe, Apple, Assimulate, Autodesk, Avid, Digidesign, Digital Vision, and Sony, EditShare storage servers, including the ultra-performance XStream series, allow all connected workstations to capture, access and share in real time a common pool of media files. Regardless of application or platform, source material, work in progress and finished packages are shared and instantly available to all users on the EditShare network. EditShare is also the only solution that provides full Project Sharing among both Apple and Avid editing workgroups. EditShare servers connect via Gigabit or 10 Gigabit ethernet.

EditShare FLOW and Ark

FLOW Ingest captures up to four channels of media and associated metadata, storing each channel in up to three formats simultaneously and outputting a proxy for fast retrieval. No background transcoding is required and files are available immediately for editing. EditShare’s unique Universal Media File allows ingested media to be shared and used by editors working on both Avid and Apple editing applications.

FLOW Browse simplifies media cataloging, search and retrieval within EditShare shared storage environments. Users can quickly locate media among hundreds of thousands of clips on the EditShare media spaces. From FLOW Browse, users can update metadata, log clips, and drag and drop media to Avid and FCP bins.

FLOW Ingest and Browse are fully integrated with EditShare’s Storage Series as well as the ultra-performance XStream Series for high-volume, high-demand environments.

EditShare Ark provides a full range of very cost effective, disk-based solutions for backup, mirroring and archiving needs. While Ark systems are not generally usable for realtime editing, in a crisis situation where something has happened to a facility's main EditShare storage, Ark Disk Based Storage can be “activated” and used to complete mission critical work while the primary storage is repaired.

About ION Media Networks

ION Media Networks, Inc. owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group and ION Television, which reaches over 95 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems, and features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros., among others. Using its digital multicasting capability, the Company has launched several digital TV brands, including qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.com.

About EditShare LLC

EditShare LLC is the pioneer of a new category of collaborative editing solutions designed for digital media workgroups and production companies. The EditShare system fuels the collaborative creative process for digital media artists by delivering high quality high performance and cost effective networked collaborative editing solutions. For more information, please visit www.editshare.com .

Press Contact:

Janice Dolan

Zazil Media Group

Tel: +1 (617) 817-6595

janice@zazilmediagroup.com

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