HRS Harris Corp.

Pathfire and Harris Broadcast Communications Join Forces to Automate Digital Ingest and Movement of Programming Metadata and Content Companies Sign Technology License Agreement to Bundle Pathfire Digital Media Gateway Tools and Services with Harris Resource Suite System ATLANTA, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pathfire Inc., the leading provider of digital content distribution and management solutions, and Harris Corporation's Broadcast Communications Division, the world's leading supplier of broadcast technology, announced today a technology license agreement that will enable television broadcasters to dramatically improve station efficiency, accuracy and workflow, from content delivery to playout to air, by virtually eliminating manual handling of programming metadata and content. Under terms of the agreement, the two companies will integrate Pathfire Digital Media Gateway (DMG) Automation Connect and Server Connect for Programming into the Harris Resource Suite (hrs) system. This integration will provide a seamless interface between Harris and Pathfire systems, and automate the receipt, preparation and movement of programming metadata and content to play-to-air servers. Together, Pathfire and Harris systems provide broadcasters automatic retrieval, management and movement of programming metadata and content into the technical operations center, eliminating manual steps and procedures. "Enabling the automation of the digital ingest process is the next logical step in delivery anddistribution of metadata and content throughout broadcast facilities. The availability of metadata and content in a digital format virtually eliminates all handling and potential for errors from ingest through the play-to-air process," said Steve Flanagan, Pathfire vice president, strategic broadcast solutions. "With hrs, we have taken our leading content delivery technology to the next level of evolution," said Brian Lay, hrs product marketing director for Harris Automation Solutions. "Broadcastersare looking for automation technology that connects the digital 'islands' in their facilities. hrs makes that connection by managing station workflow from digital ingest to asset management." Harris Resource Suite (hrs) is a scaleable and modular system that offers new functionalities and interconnections to streamline operations throughout a station, group, network or enterprise. hrs brings together all the elements that a broadcaster needs to automate labor-intensive processes, eliminates duplication of efforts, streamlines asset management processes and shares media seamlessly throughout the enterprise. With hrs' Digital Ingest module, broadcasters can eliminate the need to re-keystroke metadata embedded in digital content delivered to the Pathfire DMG server. Pathfire DMG Automation Connect enables automation systems to provide hands-free management and movement of Pathfire-delivered metadata from ingest to play to air. The integrated solution is planned for availability early in 2004. Harris Harris Broadcast Communications Division is one of five divisions within Harris Corporation, an international communications equipment company focused on providing assured communications(TM) products, systems and services for government and commercial customers in more than 150 countries. One of world's leading suppliers of broadcast technology, Harris Broadcast Communications Division offers a full range of solutions that support the digital delivery, automation and management of audio, video and data. For more information, visit http://www.broadcast.harris.com/. Pathfire Pathfire (http://www.pathfire.com/), a private technology company headquartered in Atlanta, is the leading provider of digital content distribution and management solutions for the broadcast television industry, supplying innovative digital content distribution solutions, from delivery to air, for broadcasters, news organizations, television networks, Hollywood studios and other media and entertainment companies. Through its advanced digital store- and-forward platform, Pathfire delivers news stories, syndicated programming, commercial spots, public service announcements and video news releases to more than 1,100 broadcasters throughout North America. DATASOURCE: Harris Corporation CONTACT: Mike Carey, SVP Marketing, +1-770-619-0801, ext. 1259, or , or Jamie Meyer, Product Manager, +1-678-566-5411, or , both of Pathfire; or Jackie Broo, Manager, Public Relations, Broadcast Communications, Harris Corporation, +1-513-459-3547, or Web site: http://www.harris.com/ http://www.broadcast.harris.com/ http://www.pathfire.com/

Copyright