News Releases

Aug 29, 2000 08:29 AM

BRISBANE, Calif., August 29, 2000 - Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, (NYSE:HIT) today announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with Graham Technology Solutions (GTS) of Cupertino, California. Under terms of the agreement, Hitachi America will partner with GTS to develop state-of-the-art services for live streaming video and device control over the Internet. In addition, Hitachi America will provide a $3 million investment in GTS.

As a world leader in security video camera manufacturing and MPEG/MJPEG compression technology, Hitachi continues to innovate in the area of network appliances that can easily connect video cameras to the Internet. Hitachi chose to partner with GTS because of GTS' unmatched technology and infrastructure for real-time monitoring and controlling of video data over the Internet. The GTS technology manages live low-latency video streams and features the ability to command the pan, tilt, and zoom controls remotely with a very high response rate. This low-latency media delivery is especially effective for applications requiring real-time interaction such as remote monitoring, collaboration, and distance learning

In making the announcement, Tomoharu Shimayama, president and CEO of Hitachi America, Ltd., said, "Hitachi continues to lead in the manufacture of video security cameras and appliances that easily connect to the Internet. We chose to work with GTS because of GTS' leadership in offering live, low-latency Internet video, which, along with our cameras, provides clients with a total Internet-based security solution. This partnership we believe will accelerate the use of the Internet for cost efficient monitoring and control for monitoring and security applications. This type of business solution is part of Hitachi's global strategy to employ the Internet to become a 'Best Solutions Partner,' consistent with the previously announced 'i.e.Hitachi Plan.'"

Jerry Bugajski, president and chief executive officer of GTS explains that the Hitachi partnership is a natural one. "We are excited to be working with Hitachi America to provide solutions for our customers that encompass both the software and the appliances. We selected the Hitachi video server solution because it has a robust architecture that provides all the essential features requested by our current customers and can scale to meet their future needs. In addition, Hitachi's state-of-the-art video security cameras and monitors complement our Internet-based live streaming video and device control. We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership."

Under the strategic relationship, Hitachi America will employ its recently developed MPEG/MJPEG compression video server appliance, together with GTS's media delivery service to provide low-cost, real-time streaming services to a variety of industrial monitoring and control applications. The effect of the service will allow users to visually monitor operations through the Internet, thus assuring process and procedure integrity. The Hitachi video server uses MPEG and MJPEG compression technology to convert analog signals from standard cameras to a digital signal that can be easily streamed to the Internet.