Optibase Previews HD Encoder

HERRSCHING, Germany -- Optibase, Ltd. (NASDAQ: OBAS), a leading provider of advanced digital video solutions, willshow for the first time real-time professional MPEG-2 HD encoding for the PC, at theNational Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2005 inBooth #SL 343. Optibase’s MovieMaker 200 HD is designed for professional quality ingest ofHD for broadcasting, video on demand (VOD), ad insertion, program initiation and postproductionstudios, as well as for integrators working on high-resolution military simulation orsurveillance projects.

Optibase is developing the MovieMaker 200 HD hardware encoder in response to the risingdemand for high-quality HD compression solutions from its existing client-base who havebeen tapping Optibase’s encoding platforms for professional encoding, DVD production,video server upload and archiving for over a decade.

"All of our production for the past year or so has been in High Definition.The biggest bottleneck in our workflow is getting that rocking HD video onto DVD or into aStandard Definition broadcast," commented Terry Fryer, Managing Partner,ThirdWaveProductions.com, a leading content producer and Optibase customer. "Ournormal procedure involves getting a down-res version of our HD content onto a Digibeta.Tweaking the video and using a real-time encoder is time consuming, expensive and hard tocontrol.Optibase has now come up with the MovieMaker200 HD--no more down resolution, no moretransfers, and we get to do the HD encode in house, on our own schedule. This translatesinto less time, less money, and more control—so what's not to like? We're looking forward tofolding the MovieMaker 200 HD into our workflow."

The MovieMaker 200 HD board is designed to support both high definition and standarddefinition video input, with MPEG-2 compression support at up to 80Mbps. The board isdesigned to digitize from an array of inputs (file, analog or digital) and to drop files to a hostas either compressed or uncompressed data. The MovieMaker 200 HD board will ship withOptibase’s full-featured encoding management application, MPEG Composer 200, version4.0, with integrated device control, parameter setting, and encode status monitoring. Theboard will be released with a powerful software developer toolkit (SDK) for system integratorsand OEM partners to develop their own HD-based applications and products.

“Users have long trusted our MovieMaker 200S as a reliable platform for top quality videoand audio encoding,” commented Boaz Gruener, vice president, Optibase’s videotechnologies business unit. “With the introduction of MovieMaker 200 HD, we will be able tooffer these customers six-times more resolution for even greater levels of detail - which is thekind of quality improvement that is essential for all applications, from more accurate militarysurveillance to broadcast-quality video output for content creators.”

In a separate release:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and HERZLIYA, Israel -- Optibase, Ltd. (Nasdaq:OBAS - News) a leading provider of advanced digital video solutions, today announced that it has developed a new addition to the company's family of streaming appliances - MGW 200. This appliance combines a hardware-based MPEG-2, -1 encoder and decoder for one-way and two-way communications. Target applications include video contribution, corporate-communications and training, video server upload, high-end video monitoring and other IP streaming applications. The new platform completes the line of IP streaming appliances, which also include the telco-grade MGW 1100 and the mid-range MGW 2000e. The MGW 200 will be showcased at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2005 in Booth #SL 343.

With MGW 200, Optibase brings ease of use together with advanced features and top video quality. The system transmits and receives live video over an IP network, encodes a single, live analog or SDI source into MPEG-2, -1, and streams it in real time via IP in multicast or unicast mode. Coupled with a hardware decoder, it provides instantaneous two-way communication and video delivery using Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) and Session Description Protocol (SDP) to automatically trigger the player for live or scheduled programming and optimize data traffic and bit rates.

"The small footprint and integrated operation of the MGW 200 makes it an ideal solution for customers in education, enterprise and broadcasting, whether they are streaming live video for training, setting up a video on demand (VOD) system, monitoring security cameras, or backhauling video from location back to a television station," said Uzi Breier, Optibase's CEO. "As more and more organizations become interested in the ease and efficiency of IP streaming, this system offers reliability and quality together with integrated, user-friendly and cost-economic operation."

Optibase Ltd.

DVC Digitalvideo Computing GmbH