DG Systems already digitally distributes audio commercials to more than 4,500 radio stations. DG Systems claims to have electronically delivered more than 400,000 audio commercials in digital form so far this year. In addition to the stations, DG Systems says it has more than 4,500 corporate advertisers, 650 ad agencies, and 250 production studios online for the audio delivery system.

Today, video commercials are usually physically delivered. Susan Ice, a spokesperson for DG Systems, told Newsbytes that, "Physical delivery creates two problems for the studio: first, no same-day deliveries are possible, and even next-day is problematical; and second, delivery of tape requires manual threading, queuing, and storing with inevitable degradation. Even analog satellite distribution, which is available, requires transfer to tape for editing. Digital transmission allows all editing to be done on computers, producing a non-degraded product."

DG Systems provides video production houses with their software, encoding hardware, and transmitter. The equipment is supplied free, with all charges on a transaction basis. The video is compressed using the MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Experts Group type 2) standard. The compressed video files are then transmitted to the DG Systems' Network Operations Center, then to the Hughes satellite, then to the television station.

DG Systems also provides, at no charge, each television station with the Pentium-based rack-mountable Advantage Digital Video Playback System and an accompanying Hughes Network Systems DirecPC satellite dish. The Advantage unit incorporates a video monitor and a ninegigabyte (GB) hard drive with an initial capacity to store up to 250 30-second television commercials.

According to DG Systems, the software allows station personnel to preview commercials as well as sort by client, delivery date, and air date. The video, which is automatically downloaded from satellite to the DG Systems Advantage unit, can be fed to existing tape systems or directly into a digital on-air server.

The total system should begin in late July. Among the bigger stations receiving the DG product are: WAGA (Atlanta), WHDH (Boston), WLS (Chicago), KXAS (Dallas/Fort Worth), KTVD (Denver), KABC (Los Angeles), WSVN (Miami), WTAE (Pittsburgh), KPIX (San Francisco), KOMO (Seattle), and WJLA (Washington DC).

(Richard Bowers/1996625/Press Contact: Jeff Byrne, DG Systems, 415-276-6600)