Tampa's Bay News 9 Selects Pinnacle Networked News Solution to Anchor Digital Newsroom Designed by AF Associates

Tampa's Bay News 9 Selects Pinnacle Networked News Solution to
Anchor Digital Newsroom Designed by AF Associates
Tapeless, All-Digital Workflow Will Enable Bay News 9 to Deliver World-Class
News Coverage to Second Largest Market in Southeast 


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 10  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pinnacle Systems(R),
Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLE), a leader in digital video solutions for broadcasters, today
announced that its networked news solutions have been selected by Tampa's Bay
News 9 as the backbone for an all-digital newsroom.

"As we move into a new and larger facility, our challenge is to continue to
streamline our production processes and lay the groundwork for improved
content. When choosing technology partners for the project, we required a depth
of knowledge and experience designing systems for 24-hour news operations,"
said Steve Weitekamp, director of operations for Bay News 9. "Over the past few
years, Pinnacle has provided news editing and file storage for several news
channels around the country. Pinnacle's networked news solution is an integral
part of the new Bay News 9 operating system and provides us with a solid
foundation for our future, with the flexibility and performance we need to stay
competitive."

The Bay News 9 newsroom is being designed and built by AF Associates. The
project will be located in St. Petersburg where it will provide Bay News 9 with
a world-class infrastructure commensurate with the demands of servicing the
Tampa Bay area, one of the largest markets in the United States.

"I am pleased to be able to continue the collaborative effort with Pinnacle
that has proven successful in previous projects," said David Linick, senior
project manager for AF Associates. "Bay News 9's forward thinking Management
and Engineering team, along with the technology brought to the project by
Pinnacle, will result in a 24 Hour News Channel that will meet the needs of
this growing market."

The system will provide Bay News 9 with sophisticated functionality including
12 simultaneous Pinnacle Vortex encoding channels for capture and compression
of high resolution, broadcast-ready DV25 and low-bandwidth MPEG-1 proxy video.
Ingested media will be stored on six Pinnacle Palladium Store 1000 high
performance shared storage systems, delivering more than 800 hours of online
storage, which is available within ten seconds of the start of ingest for
editing and playout to air.

"We are very proud that Pinnacle has been selected by Bay News 9 and our
experienced partners at AF Associates, one of the premier designers of modern
broadcast facilities," said Ajay Chopra, COO for Pinnacle Systems. "Pinnacle's
news solutions provide local and regional broadcasters with a comprehensive
system for ingest, editing and playout that have been tested and proven at the
word's largest news operations. The system will ensure that Bay News 9's entire
news process flows seamlessly."

The Bay News 9 system will also include a range of editing products from
Pinnacle including 19 Pinnacle VortexEdit turnkey news editors and three
Pinnacle Liquid blue craft editors. Multiple channels of Pinnacle Vortex
playout will be under direct control of the station's Omnibus automation
system. The Pinnacle Vortex system stores all media in its original state and
conforms edited segments on-the-fly at air time.

"After a successful build in 1997, it is my great pleasure to have the
opportunity to work with the same professional team and provide Bay News 9 with
the next generation newsroom and facility. It is wonderful to implement
Pinnacle Systems, which have a proven track record to AFA," added Marc
Bressack, associate vice president of Sales for AF Associates.

About AF Associates

A.F. Associates, known for Engineering the Future of Television(TM), provides
engineering consultation and turnkey systems solutions for the broadcast,
cable, entertainment, satellite, production/post production and corporate video
industries. Turnkey systems integration services include: project management,
engineering, documentation, detailed design, equipment procurement, pre-wiring,
installation, and commissioning. AFA maintains headquarters in Northvale, NJ, a
full operations facility in San Jose, CA, and an office in Tampa, FL. For
further information, visit http://www.afassoc.com/.

About Pinnacle Systems, Inc.

Pinnacle Systems provides broadcasters and consumers with cutting-edge digital
media creation, storage, and play-back solutions for use at Home, at Work and
on the Air. Pinnacle Systems' award winning digital media solutions are in use
around the world for broadcast, video editing, DVD and CDR authoring and on the
Internet. A recognized industry leader, the company has received nine
prestigious Emmy Awards for its technical innovations and carries this
commitment throughout all of its product lines. Pinnacle Systems may be reached
at 650-526-1600 or at http://www.pinnaclesys.com/.

NOTE:  Pinnacle Systems, Pinnacle Liquid Edition, Pinnacle Studio, Pinnacle
Liquid chrome, and Pinnacle Liquid blue are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Pinnacle Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other
countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

DATASOURCE: Pinnacle Systems, Inc.



CONTACT:  media, Alissa Vasilevskis of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.,

[phone], or ; or investors,

; or Evan Sirof of MarComm-on-Call, [phone], or

, for Pinnacle Systems, Inc.



Web site:  http://www.afassoc.com/

Web site:  http://www.pinnaclesys.com/

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