# # # For Immediate Release # # #

Century Embedded Technologies and VT Media Technologies Announce the Immediate Availability of Next Generation Set-Top Box

Provides Complete Production-Ready Solution for Advanced iTV, Video-on-Demand and Internet Services

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - December 13, 2001 - Century Embedded Technologies, a leader in graphical application technologies for embedded Linux, and VT Media Technology, a leading supplier of set-top computers and related convergent media equipment, today announced the immediate availability of WebMedia for the VT900 Set-Top Box (STB). The collaboration offers multimedia services delivered over standard broadband networks, allowing access to services such as interactive television (iTV), Video-on-Demand (VOD), and high speed Internet access.

The combined solution, based on VT Media Technologies' VT900 STB reference design and Century's WebMedia software platform allows the deployment of a wide range of streamed audio and video content via the Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTP). RTP provides a standard way for clients and servers from multiple vendors to stream multimedia content. The VT900 STB offers broadcasters, cable operators, and other content providers a full-featured, easily scalable hardware and software solution for delivering and maintaining services on their networks.

The VT900 is a high quality STB system at a low cost. It has easy-to-use interfaces for Internet browsing and a supports a wide range of digital video applications. Combined with WebMedia, the solution provides a comprehensive platform that hosts hardware and software components including enhanced TV applications, high-speed Internet access, a customizable user interface and program guide, digital video recording, and streaming audio and video. The VT900 addresses a growing consumer demand for personalized content, convenience, and control over information and entertainment media.

"Our collaboration with VT Media Technologies delivers a complete and flexible production-ready STB," said Gregory Haerr, CEO of Century Embedded Technologies an Open Source leader. "The VT900 is a ready-to-deploy option for cable operators and accelerates their speed to market with proven and fully integrated advanced digital technologies provided with WebMedia."

Century Embedded Technologies' Webmedia provides an open standards software platform based on embedded Linux with the flexibility required to integrate enhanced television services and content, manage and deploy applications via IP multicast and coordinate services from multiple vendors. WebMedia is a suite of embedded development tools, SDK, runtime utilities, and applications that work together to form an interactive, graphical user environment.

Technical Details

Optimized for National Semiconductor's Geode system on chip, the VT900 uses Sigma Designs' EM8400 MPEG Decoder and the MacPHYTER™ Ethernet adapter. Additional peripherals are available and include DVD Player, CDRW, and standard IDE Hardware.

WebMedia supports multiple industry standards including a full featured Internet browser that supports HTML, Javascript, and plug-ins such as Macromedia's Flash, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for secure e-commerce transactions, and the TCP/IP protocol. Software upgrades and maintenance are delivered via multicasting to any or all STBs across a subscriber base. This mechanism also ensures that the STB is scalable for future enhancements.

A Software Development Kit is available and offers a suite of software development tools that enable third-party developers to build and customize applications on top of WebMedia using APIs and application components. The SDK includes documentation, software libraries, sample code, and user interface templates.

For an overview of Century's WebMedia, visit http://embedded.censoft.com/documents/index.php#webdocs. A downloadable open source version is also available: http://embedded.censoft.com/downloads/downloads.php.

To view more details about VT Media Technologies and VT900, visit http://www.vtmt.com/. A datasheet about the VT900 platform is available http://www.vtmt.com/html/vt900.html.

Availability

For commercial inquiries and pricing, contact Century Embedded Technologies at: cetsales@centurysoftware.com or (801) 268-3088. Century offers custom engineering services, maintenance and support.

About VT Media Technologies

VT Media Technologies is a leading supplier of Set-Top Computers, and related convergent media equipment. They can be reached at sales@vtmt.com, www.vtmt.com or (320) 763-8491. The address is VT Media Technologies, 6307 County Road 87 SW, Alexandria, MN 56308.

About Century Embedded Technologies

Century Software Embedded Technologies, a newly created division of Century Software, Inc., is a leading developer of core applications technologies for the worldwide embedded Linux applications market. These technologies include: graphical windowing system development and runtime environments; customized Internet browsers and HTML viewers; embedded and Internet appliance multimedia technologies, including MP3 audio and MPEG video players and recorders; PDA/WebPAD runtime and development suites, PIM suites; and set-top boxes. Complete solutions These core technologies are designed specifically to allow chip manufacturers, hardware board vendors, and their customers to build embedded applications on x86, PowerPC, StrongARM, MIPS, SH and other microprocessor architectures running on either the Nano-X or the X Window System. Based in Salt Lake City, Century Software was founded in 1985 and is privately held. Century Software's CEO, Gregory Haerr, is the founder and chief maintainer of the Nano-X Project, and founder of the ViewML Project.