Black Diamond Consulting, Inc., announce the release of Surround Video SDK at the Microsoft Explorer '96 Conference and Exhibition in Boston. Bringing innovative technology to multi-media authors and the Internet, Surround Video SDK helps developers create dynamic desktop and Internet-ready multimedia titles with navigation of 360 degree panoramic images.

The Surround Video SDK is a collection of tools that developers can use to add 360 degree panoramic images to an application, as well as an ActiveX(TM) control to allow the use of Surround Video images in HTML documents on WEB pages.

The images can either be photographed or be generated via 3D rendering software. The Surround Video SDK supports progressive rendering, hot spotting with URL links, and development of Internet and native multimedia titles.

Lyle Speirs, President of Black Diamond, explains, "This powerful tool provides the professional developer with a wide range of options in the creation of desktop-based or Internet-ready business and edutainment software. Users are able to interact with your products and services from every angle, with complete freedom of movement in photo-realistic backgrounds -- while maintaining realistic perspective."

"Microsoft(R) is pleased to see the Surround Video SDK released," said Brad Chase, General Manager in the Internet Platform and Tools Division at Microsoft. "Internet and multimedia developers now have an ActiveX control that makes panoramic images within web sites and CD titles uniquely interactive."

Features include:

-- Full support of Microsoft's ActiveX(TM) Internet strategy.

-- Interactive navigation by users to Surround Video images, URL links, Web pages, chats, or any other Internet resources by using the Link Editor, an advanced tool for the creation of hotlinks.

-- Importing and editing of images via the Surround Image Editor. The editor allows for the authoring of seamless panoramic images.

-- Support for panoramic images in Internet applications.

-- A runtime Surround Video Library for distributing Internet applications. Images can be incorporated into custom software and titles via the Surround Video SDK API. This API is a single Component Object Model DLL that exports the interfaces that allow runtime image display, manipulation and navigation.

-- Surround Video SDK can be used to incorporate video assets (such as ActiveMovie or Video for Windows), overlayed onto digitized panoramic images.

-- Surround Video SDK Control supports Internet Explorer 3.0, Windows95 and Windows NT 4.0, and can be used in Netscape with

NCompass ActiveX Plug-Ins For Navigator. Apple Power Macintosh support is planned for a future runtries.

Microsoft, ActiveX, and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other counties.

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