3DsoundSurge Press Release: RealNetworks Announces RealSlideshow 2.0; Enabling New Applications for Personal and Promotional Broadcasting of Digital Pictures with Audio Over the Internet

RealNetworks Announces RealSlideshow 2.0; Enabling New Applications for Personal and Promotional Broadcasting of Digital Pictures with Audio Over the Internet

RealSlideshow to be Promoted and Hosted by Tripod - Building on Partnerships with Adobe Systems, Corbis, IXLA, Kodak, Macromedia, PhotoHighway.com, PhotoPoint.com, Seattle Filmworks, Sonic Foundry, Trellix and Zing

SEATTLE, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), the recognized leader in media delivery on the Internet, today announced RealSlideshow(TM) 2.0 and RealSlideshow Plus 2.0, providing the easiest way to share digital pictures with audio narration and music over the Internet. New to RealSlideshow is support for MP3 audio, built-in email support, as well as support for additional image formats. RealSlideshow creates Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) -- based presentations which can be experienced by RealPlayer® 7 users. RealSlideshow 2.0 beta and RealSlideshow Plus 2.0 beta are immediately available for download from http://www.realnetworks.com/products/slideshow/index.html .

``More than one million hobbyists and businesses who want to tell their story by easily combining the impact of images and audio with the enormous distribution capabilities of streaming media have accessed RealSlideshow,'' said Ben Rotholtz, general manager, Systems and Tools, RealNetworks, Inc. ``We're excited to bring the new features in RealSlideshow 2.0, such as MP3 audio and new image support, to the millions of Lycos' Tripod users to convey their personal, educational and promotional messages over the Internet.''

New Features in RealSlideshow 2.0

RealSlideshow 2.0 includes new features that make personal and promotional broadcasting of digital pictures over the Internet easier and more engaging, including:

MP3 audio support enables users to import any MP3 file as background music or narration
Image formats PNG and GIF allow the use of vector graphics, logos and screenshots in slide shows
Web-based email functionality permits users to create multimedia email
Customizable RealPlayer layout templates allow creation of everything from streaming birthday cards to product promotions

Tripod Support for RealSlideshow

Lycos' Tripod -- which provides homepage-publishing tools, interactive community, stimulating original content, and commerce opportunities to nearly half of the Lycos community's 10 million members -- will allow its members to integrate RealSlideshow multimedia presentations into their homepages for free via Tripod Home Studio or Trellix Web Tripod Edition. Trellix will be providing a Web Gem by the end of the year, which will make it simple to integrate RealSlideshow presentations into Trellix Web sites and publish them to Tripod.

``Tripod prides itself in equipping millions of Web users with the best personal-publishing tools and services to create professional-looking Web pages,'' said Don Zereski, general manager, Tripod. ``RealSlideshow and Tripod have created a new era in personal publishing on the Web. Now, together, Tripod and RealSlideshow will provide a direct and easy path for our customers to enhance their sites -- everything from vanity sites to e-commerce pages --to tell their stories or display family photos, in a more compelling way, through streaming media.''

RealNetworks today also announced an agreement with Zing to promote and host RealSlideshow presentations. RealSlideshow is distributed or supported by the following: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop LE, Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition, Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition, Corbis, GeoCities, Getty Images, IXLA, Kodak PictureCD, Macromedia FireWorks, PhotoHighway.com, PhotoPoint.com, Seattle Filmworks, Sonic Foundry ACID, Sonic Foundry Audio Anywhere, Sound Ideas, Trellix Web, Lycos' Tripod and Zing.

Pricing and Availability

RealSlideshow 2.0 beta for Windows is immediately available for free download from http://www.realnetworks.com/products/slideshow/index.html . RealSlideshow Plus 2.0 beta for Windows is immediately available for purchase and download for $29.99 from http://www.realnetworks.com/products/slideshow/index.html .

About RealNetworks

RealNetworks, Inc., based in Seattle, is the recognized leader in streaming media delivery on the Internet. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks consumer software on the Internet at http://www.real.com . All RealNetworks systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at http://www.realnetworks.com .

RealNetworks continues to maintain a strong leadership share of the streaming media market. As of December 1999, there are more than 92 million unique users of RealPlayer and more than 85% of all streaming media Web pages on the Internet use industry leading RealAudio®, RealVideo®, RealFlash(TM), RealText® or RealPix(TM), and more than 350,000 hours of live RealAudio and RealVideo programming are available each week (Source: Hotbot).

RealNetworks, RealPlayer, RealAudio, RealSlideshow, RealText, RealPix and RealVideo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. RealFlash is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. and RealNetworks, Inc. Macromedia and Flash are registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. All other companies or products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE: RealNetworks, Inc.