media center
COURTROOM 21 PROJECT INSTALLS SONIC FOUNDRY'S MEDIASITE LIVE
FOR ONLINE LEGAL TRAINING AND REMOTE COMMUNICATIONS
Court systems worldwide seeking to improve the administration of justice through technology
turn to Courtroom 21 for real-world product demonstrations
Madison, WI, March 18, 2003 Sonic Foundry® Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), a leading digital media software solutions company today announced its MediaSite Live™ rich media Web presentation system is being integrated into Courtroom 21's court technology demonstration project. The Courtroom 21 Project, a joint initiative by William & Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts, evaluates and provides demonstrations of high-tech products that can enhance the efficiency of the legal system. The non-profit organization also will use MediaSite Live internally for online legal training and remote communications.
Federal and state judges throughout the United State rely on Courtroom 21 for demonstrations of products that can improve their judicial operations. The facility also has hosted judges from Europe, Canada, Africa and Australia who are in the process of making substantial technology investments. Some of the products available in the courtroom include display devices, projection devices, video conferencing systems, evidence presentation software, audio/video infrastructure and a variety of web-based technology.
"The main focus of Courtroom 21 is to determine how technology can assist in the legal process," said Petra LaFountain, Courtroom 21's associate director for technology. "In evaluating MediaSite Live, we immediately envisioned how it could be used for various court-related applications, such as recording court proceedings, judicial conferences, staff training and live broadcasts. For the legal community, where court proceeding involve a variety of media MediaSite Live provides a highly versatile system for capturing all of that disparate material on-the-fly and pulling it all together into one cohesive, easy-to-manage file."
MediaSite Live works transparently during a presentation to synchronize the audio, video, and multimedia collateral in real time and deliver it over the Internet for live or on demand viewing. Because it automatically captures, streams and archives online presentations, there's no advance preparation required of the presenter and no need for technicians behind the scenes. Presenters simply plug their computer into the system and present as usual. The integrated hardware and software system is suitable for corporate training, distance education, executive speeches earnings reports, internal communications, and a host of other applications.
"MediaSite Live provides the best balance of versatility and automation for a courtroom application," said James Dias, vice president of marketing and sales, Sonic Foundry. "Not only does it capture the output of any type of presentation device--computer, audio/video system, document camera or whiteboard--but it synchronizes that with the audio and video of the presenter, and streams live via the web without requiring additional work. It offers true flexibility to accommodate practically any form a presentation might take."
For more information about Courtroom 21, visit www.legaltechcenter.net.
About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.
Founded in 1991, Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO) is a leading provider of desktop and enterprise digital media software solutions. Its complete offering of media tools, systems and services provides a single source for creating, managing, analyzing and enhancing media for government, business, education and entertainment.
Sonic Foundry is based in Madison, Wisconsin, with offices in Santa Monica, Toronto and Pittsburgh. For more information about Sonic Foundry, visit the company's web site at www.sonicfoundry.com.
###