Leading Italian Web Portal Libero.it to Offer High-Quality Video Content Powered by DivX Open Video System
July 16, 2004—San Diego, CA—DivXNetworks, Inc., the company that created the revolutionary, patent-pending DivX video compression technology, and Wind, a leading Italian telecommunications company, have signed an agreement for the launch of a secure, DivX-powered video-on-demand service offered through Libero.it, Wind’s popular Italian web portal.
The new video-on-demand service is powered by the DivX Open Video System, an end-to-end solution for the secure delivery of DVD-quality video over IP networks. Wind will offer a variety of full-length, premium DivX encoded video content to subscribers to the Libero web portal. Libero.it is among Italy’s most visited web portals with over 8 million unique monthly visitors. The secure DivX files offered on Libero are downloaded and played on consumer PCs and will soon be playable on any of the millions of DivX Certified consumer electronics devices hitting the market in 2004.
The DivX-powered Wind Video-on-Demand service provides high-quality video at sizes 7 to 10 times smaller than DVD and utilizes full Digital Rights Management (DRM) for unparalleled security. The DivX Open Video System is a secure video-on-demand service that enables consumers with high-speed Internet connections to purchase or rent selected titles online and begin viewing DVD-quality content almost immediately. Thanks to “progressive download” technology, users can begin viewing the films in full-screen, high-quality format a few minutes after the download has begun.
“We are excited to launch the first major telecommunications deployment of a secure DivX video-on-demand system with Wind, an innovative company that is providing real value to their broadband customers with great entertainment services,” said Kevin Hell, chief marketing officer and managing director at DivXNetworks, Inc. “Libero subscribers can now enjoy a wide-range of DVD-quality video content directly on their PCs and will soon be able to playback those same files on a variety of DivX Certified DVD players and portable video players.”
The DivX Open Video System, one of the world’s most successful secure, IP-based video-on-demand solutions, has been running successfully for over 2 years without a compromise in security and currently powers over 17,000 full-length titles from over 75 content providers. The DivX digital rights management system uses industry-standard encryption and security technology to enable millions of secure transactions provided through partner websites utilizing both rental and purchase models to create a seamless and secure user experience.
For more information on DivX video, visit www.divxnetworks.com. To learn more about the new VOD service from Wind Telecommunications, visit www.libero.it.
About DivXNetworks
DivXNetworks is a consumer-focused video technology company positioned at the center of multimedia convergence. The company’s core offering is the DivX ® video codec, among the world’s most popular video compression technologies with over 120 million users worldwide. Often called “the MP3 of video,” the patent-pending DivX video technology offers DVD-quality at 10 times greater compression than MPEG-2 files, enabling full length films to easily fit on a CD or be delivered over broadband connections. DivX video technology powers a range of applications that span the convergence value chain, from a secure IP-based video-on-demand solution to next-generation consumer electronics products and video software applications. DivXNetworks is headquartered in San Diego, California, with satellite offices in Los Angeles and San Jose, CA, Taipei, Taiwan, Tokyo, Japan, Guildford, England and Dortmund, Germany.
About Libero / Wind:
WIND Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. has instigated radical changes in the services on offer Italy and in the way they are marketed, with the aim of establishing new market standards: the integration of telephone services, the development of the Internet, a global response to the communications needs of people and businesses. The Wind Group’s brands focus on specific types of service: the «Wind» trademark is applied to mobile and convergent services, the «Infostrada» brand to fixed-line telephony, whilst «Libero» is the brand used for the Group’s Internet services, and itNet supplies ad hoc Internet services and content for corporate customers. Libero, Wind ‘s web portal, is the number one Internet Service Provider in Italy and among the leaders of the Italian Internet audience. With its 7,5 million unique visitors and a reach of 46% according to Nielsen Net Ratings data Libero is the co-leader of Italian Internet audience. Libero offers a wide range of contents, ranging from the mail service – with more than 14 million of web mail boxes – the leading Italian web community, with more than 2,6 million registered users, the search service to thematic channel as finance, news and sports.