ViewCast(R) Corporation (OTCBB:VCST) today announced that the company contributed the use of a Niagara(R) 4222RW encoding system to Farm Aid for a live webcast of the organization's signature benefit concert and a related press conference on Sept. 18, 2004.
"Farm Aid is very pleased to work with ViewCast so that our supporters can view a webcast of this year's press conference and concert," said Wendy Matusovich, development director of Farm Aid. "Hearing the artists speak at the press conference and seeing their performances on-stage provides viewers an in-depth look at the mission and music of Farm Aid."
"The Farm Aid organization and annual concert provide an important benefit to family farm-centered agriculture, and we were happy to contribute to the success of this year's concert through our donation of the Niagara technology," said Horace Irwin, vice president of marketing and business development at ViewCast. "The Niagara 4222RW was an excellent solution for Farm Aid to leverage the Internet in getting its message about responsible agriculture -- not to mention great music -- to interested individuals who could not attend the event in person. More importantly, this provided an immediate increase in potential contributions for Farm Aid's mission by allowing web viewers of the concert to donate $10 to Farm Aid for each virtual ticket. "
Irwin further commented, "This project is a great example of the positive impact that can be obtained with the use of a quick and complete video solution such as our Niagara Streaming Systems to further the strategic goals of both non-profits and other organizations."
ViewCast's Niagara Streaming System captured and encoded the webcast concert for streaming to Internet audiences worldwide. Niagara hardware and software products are produced by ViewCast, a technology leader in the creation of professional products for capture, encoding, and delivery of rich media content for distribution over corporate networks and the Internet. Powered by an Intel(R) Pentium(R) processor, the Niagara 4222RW provides dual-channel video and audio through a pair of Osprey-230 video capture cards. ViewCast worked with Nine Systems who managed and hosted the concert streaming in the Windows Media V9 format.
The webcast of the 2004 Farm Aid concert, which featured Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jerry Lee Lewis and others, can be viewed September 23 through the 30th at www.farmaid.org.
Learn more about ViewCast's line of products at www.viewcast.com.
Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. Dave Matthews joined the Farm Aid Board of Directors in 2001. Farm Aid has raised $26 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. Through public education and direct grants, Farm Aid supports national, regional and local efforts to build and strengthen family farm food systems. Farm Aid promotes sustainable agriculture, fights factory farms, advocates for fair farm prices, and provides credit counseling and direct assistance to farm families.ViewCast
