SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 16, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Virage, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRGE) today announced that the Commissioners Office in Hillsborough County, Florida is leveraging Virage software to digitally record, manage, and distribute all of the Board of County Commissioners' public meetings. The system enables county commissioners and their support staff to watch recent public meetings in entirety or to search for and review specific parts of the webcasts by topic, keyword, or speaker. Virage is a leading provider of video and rich media communication software.
"Easy access to a digital repository of public meetings saves us a considerable amount of time and taxpayers' money," said Roger Dean, director of Information and Technology Services for the Commissioners Office in Hillsborough County. "The demand for our content has increased steadily year-after-year, leaving our staff overwhelmed with manual searches and video tape duplication. With Virage, county officials can now search for and review video from public meetings just minutes after the meeting ends. This solution improves access to discussions and debates concerning county improvements and the welfare of its residents. We're pleased with the Virage system and we plan to expand its use further this coming year."
In October, the Hillsborough County Commissioners Office began webcasting regularly scheduled public meetings. Using the Virage SmartEncode(tm) process, the content is indexed and encoded into RealVideo streaming format. As part of this process, significant information is captured and time-stamped including names, topics of speeches, dialogue and close-captioned text. This information is combined to enable the subsequent search and retrieval process. From a web browser, County employees can search for particular topics of interest and review the resulting video right at their desktops.
About Virage
Established in 1995, Virage is a leading provider of video and rich media communication software. Virage builds integrated rich media business solutions for corporations, media & entertainment companies, universities and government agencies worldwide. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Virage (www.virage.com) has offices throughout the United States and Europe.
Virage and VideoLogger are registered trademarks. The Virage logo, SmartEncode, MediaSync, Virage ControlCenter, Virage Solution Server, VS Webcasting, VS Publishing and VS Production are trademarks of Virage, Inc. Other company product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others, and are hereby acknowledged.