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Vertigo to Provide First-Ever High-Definition Microsoft Silverlight Online Video Player for NBC Universal's Coverage of the Olympic Winter Games

Vertigo has been selected to provide high-definition (HD) live streaming and on-demand video for Microsoft Silverlight media players to NBC Universal during the media company's February 12-28, 2010 coverage of the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, BC. The announcement was made today by Perkins Miller, senior vice president, digital media, NBC Olympics and Scott Stanfield, CEO, Vertigo.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vertigo will provide HD on-demand video through a custom Silverlight media player and an immersive Microsoft Deep Zoom photo gallery experience for the network's online audience at the NBC Olympics Web site -- http://www.nbcolympics.com. During the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Vertigo will help deliver HD Microsoft IIS Smooth Streaming video for a wide variety of competitions, athlete interviews, and Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

"We are proud to be working with NBC and Microsoft to bring HD on-demand IIS Smooth Streaming video to NBC's online audience for the Olympic Winter Games," said Scott Stanfield, CEO, Vertigo. "This agreement builds on our successful launch of the Sunday Night Football Extra Silverlight media player and underscores our leadership and expertise in delivering the highest quality rich media experiences available on the Web."

"Microsoft looks forward to working with partners like Vertigo and NBC to provide a differentiated online experience that will allow users to engage with NBC's coverage of the Olympic Winter Games through video, photos and social media tools," said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Platform at Microsoft Corp. "Vertigo's interactive Vancouver Winter Olympics Silverlight player will deliver an immersive online Olympics experience, enabling fans to connect with their favorite events and athletes in a unique and easy way."

"We are excited to bring our audience the best Vancouver Olympic Winter Games coverage online by delivering a truly engaging experience," added Perkins Miller, senior vice president, digital media, NBC Olympics. "Viewers will be able to watch HD streaming video in real-time or on-demand, zoom in and out of photos and interact with the content through a number of social media options."

The NBC Olympics Web site Silverlight video player will deliver all Olympic video in high-definition full 720p. The player will include IIS Smooth Streaming that adjusts video quality to the user's bandwidth; PVR-like features such as slow motion, fast forward and rewind; and rich data overlays and visualizations. Similarly, the enhanced Deep Zoom photo viewer will make thousands of photos from the Olympic Winter Games available to visitors. The photo viewer will enable the user to move through photos easily with simple controls, experience multiple viewing options, discover image detail using Silverlight Deep Zoom, and transition seamlessly between Grid and Slideshow viewing modes.

About NBC Olympics

NBC, America's Olympic Network, has broadcast 11 Olympic Games, the most Olympics broadcast by any network. NBC surpassed ABC's 10 Olympics with the 2008 Beijing Games, the most watched event in U.S. television history with 215 million viewers.

The 2010 Vancouver Games mark the sixth of an unprecedented seven consecutive Olympic broadcasts by NBC Sports which began with the 2000 Sydney Games and continues through the 2012 London Games.

About Vertigo

Vertigo is an award-winning design and development firm that uses the latest Microsoft technologies to redefine the user experience for the Web, mobile and multi-touch environments. Vertigo develops rich media solutions such as Silverlight Deep Zoom image galleries, HD on-demand and live-streaming videos and social media integration.

Vertigo's customers range from startups to Fortune 50 companies and include firms such as Microsoft, NBC, AT&T, HP and Chevron. Founded in 1997, Vertigo is privately held and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit www.vertigo.com for more info, or call at (510)-307-8200.

© 2009 Vertigo Software, Inc. Vertigo Software is a registered trademark of Vertigo Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All rights reserved.

For more information about Vertigo's custom HD Silverlight video player and immersive photo gallery experience for the NBC Olympics Web site, visit: www.vertigo.com/olympics.