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2011.02.14

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ACCESS and Human-Monitoring Showcase hipix™ Technology and Applications at Mobile World Congress 2011-First Joint Demonstration Since Companies Announced Partnership

  • Demonstration of New hipix and hipix plus Apps Currently Available on the Android Market
  • Demonstration of ACCESS Transcoder with hipix Inside
  • Demonstration of Interactive Personal Manga (Comics) Reader Application with hipix
  • Companies Sign Contract to Extend hipix Technologies to Mobile and Beyond-PC Markets

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, — February 14, 2011 — ACCESS CO., LTD., a global provider of advanced software technologies to the mobile, beyond-PC and digital TV markets, and Human-Monitoring Ltd., the developer of hipix, a Rich Picture Format compression technology, will showcase the hipix technology, in combination with ACCESS software technology, as well as new image applications using the technology at Mobile World Congress 2011, which opens today in Barcelona. The companies also announced today they have signed a contract to extend hipix technology to the global mobile and beyond-PC markets. This is the first joint demonstration since the two companies officially announced their partnership.

Human-Monitoring’s patent-pending hipix technology utilizes the existing h.264 video CoDec to achieve still image compression that is two to ten times more effective than JPEG images on mobile handsets. The latest hipix release for Android further enriches the user experience by supporting the addition of user-friendly voice annotations to photographs prior to distribution or uploading. These personalized “talking pictures” can be viewed using any standard h.264 video player like QuickTime, RealPlayer® or KMPlayer.

Demonstrations
At Mobile World Congress, ACCESS and Human-Monitoring will demonstrate the hipix Rich Picture Format compression technology in combination with the ACCESS transcoder. The ACCESS transcoder is a comprehensive digital content transcoding solution designed from the ground up to enable the seamless delivery and display of very complex content to smartphones, tablet PCs and digital televisions. The combination of the ACCESS transcoder and the hipix Rich Picture Format compression technology expands the versatility of the transcoding solution, creating a comprehensive solution that enables content publishers, device manufacturers and operators to add very rich multimedia functionality to their published content and to deliver this content to users quickly and efficiently.

Demonstrations: New hipix Apps
In conjunction with Mobile World Congress, Human-Monitoring has released two new Android applications:

  • hipix – enables the compression of still images that is two to ten time more effective than JPEG, while also supporting the addition of voice annotations
  • hipix plus – Rich Picture Format hipix enables the same advanced image compression as hipix but also supports audio compression plus URL, geo-tagging and various other data tags, while generating only a single, extremely small file.

hipix and hipix plus solutions for mobile communication, social networking and e-publishing will be demonstrated in the ACCESS booth at Mobile World Congress. Visitors who use Android phones are welcome to install hipix and hipix plus to enjoy the features enabled by the Rich Picture Format, including the addition of voice and text comments as well as personal contact tags to the photos that they take while in Barcelona.

Until now photos taken on mobile devices have suffered two main drawbacks: they are either low resolution with a small file size that can be easily shared, or they are high resolution and take too much time, effort or bandwidth to transfer or share. The hipix compression algorithm provides full-resolution, high-quality photographs so highly optimized that they are seamlessly accessible on smartphones, tablet PCs, cameras and other consumer devices without large bandwidth requirements.

The advent of high megapixel mobile phone and tablet cameras, has created great interest in high-quality still images with enhanced functionality, while the actual implementation was held back only by the cumbersome size of these files and data transmission cost. With hipix technology, these barriers have now been removed.

ACCESS and Human-Monitoring Partnership
Based on the contract ACCESS and Human-Monitoring have signed, ACCESS will enhance its market leading NetFront Browser with hipix technology to enable the presentation of media-rich still images that include audio and voice annotation. In addition ACCESS will develop mobile and beyond-PC hipix applications for the Japanese and global markets and will also distribute Human-Monitoring’s other innovative image processing technologies globally.

“We’re pleased to be able to demonstrate our latest hipix multimedia compression technology as an integrated solution with ACCESS technology at Mobile World Congress. hipix Rich Picture Format compression technology provides operators, manufacturers and content providers with a compelling multimedia solution that supports not only the efficient delivery of large content files, it also enables the delivery and presentation of very rich content that provides users with a uniquely satisfying experience. Super-function images offer a new way to share, interact and value what until now was a low-resolution 2D photo. We also expect social networks worldwide to benefit from the interactive elements enabled by super-function images,” added Meir Kollmann, president and CEO, Human-Monitoring.

“hipix technology brings a new level of functionality to our products, facilitating the use of multimedia assets that enable a dramatically rich and unique user experience. This functionality aligns perfectly with the expectations for very rich multimedia experiences created by the arrival of the HTML5 standard among users and content providers. We look forward to working with Human-Monitoring to continue the development of products and services that deliver rich and compelling user experiences on devices ranging from smartphones and tablet PCs to digital televisions,” said Dr. Tomihisa Kamada, president and CEO, ACCESS.

The ACCESS booth at Mobile World Congress 2011 is located in the Hall 3 courtyard, booth number CY23. For additional information visit the ACCESS Mobile World Congress page at www.access-company.com/news/events/mwc_2011/mwc2011/.

About ACCESS
ACCESS CO., LTD. is a global company providing leading technology, software products and platforms for web browsing, mobile phones, wireless handhelds, digital TVs and other networked devices. ACCESS’ product portfolio including its NetFront series provides customers with solutions that enable faster time to market, flexibility and customizability. Recently, ACCESS has launched NetFront Life as a global brand with applications and services for end users. Additional information about NetFront Life is available at www.netfrontlife.com. The company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operates subsidiaries and affiliates in Asia, Europe and the United States. ACCESS is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers’ Index under the number 4813. For more information about ACCESS, please visit www.access-company.com.

About Human Monitoring
Human-Monitoring Ltd. (HM) is a leading provider of innovative still-image and video processing technologies, based on patent pending algorithms. HM’s core competence is its original approach of utilizing open standards for enhanced user experience, while relying on the existing infrastructure.

HM’s Products licensing include software in the form of object and source code:

  • hipix – H.264 based still-image compression including the Rich Picture Format
  • Matisse H.264 Encoders – for Windows, Linux and TI’s DSPs.
  • Leonardo Digital Video Stabilizer (anti-shake) – for a variety of DSPs, x86 and VHDL
  • Fresco Panoramic Video Stitching – for a variety of DSPs, x86 and VHDL

For additional information about Human-Monitoring Ltd., please visit www.hipixpro.com

© 2011 ACCESS CO., LTD. All rights reserved.
ACCESS, the ACCESS logo, and NetFront are registered trademarks or trademarks of ACCESS CO., LTD. in the United States, Japan and/or other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
© 2011 Human Monitoring., LTD. All rights reserved.
hipix and the hipix logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Human Monitoring in the United States, Japan and/or other countries.
All other trademarks, logos and trade names mentioned in the document are the property of their respective owners.