Press Release: XS Network
March 13, 2002
HONOLULU, HI -- Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, one of the largest lodging companies in Hawaii and the Pacific
Rim, has formed a strategic alliance with XS Network, the world leader in global camera networks, to install a
broadcast-quality network of live digital webcams at Outrigger resorts throughout Hawaii, Australia, Micronesia
and the Fiji Islands.
Executives at Outrigger and XS Network believe this will be the largest resort-based network of live webcams providing
digital, broadcast-quality video via the Internet. The network of cameras will be accessed through the hotelier's
Web site, www.outrigger.com and through www.XSCity.com,
the flagship Web site for XS network.
Equally significant is the first-ever use of proprietary wireless broadcasting technology developed by XS Network
to stream broadcast-quality images at up to 30 frames per second to the Internet, television and hand-held personal
communication devices.
XS Network's infrastructure and equipment allow the company to send data at very high rates compared with other
webcam networks on the market which don't use digital cameras and stream at 1-5 frames per second.
The entire webcam network, consisting of up to 20 Outrigger beachfront resorts throughout the Pacific and Australia,
is projected for completion by June 2003 at a total cost of more than $1 million.
By the end of 2002, XS Network will complete the first phase of the webcam network, which includes camera and server
installations at 10 Outrigger resorts on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.
The announcement was made after the first day both companies' Web sites featured live video broadcasts from a webcam
mounted on the 10th floor of the Outrigger Reef Hotel on the beach in Waikiki. The live images of the beach at
Waikiki are the first such broadcasts using XS Network's new proprietary wireless webcam technology.
Some properties may receive more than one camera to broadcast a variety of programming, such as beach activities,
surf conditions and various events hosted on-property. Each camera can be remotely programmed to scan up to 180
degrees, plus pan, tilt and zoom.
``We are very excited about the strategic alliance with XS Network and the benefits it will ultimately provide
our guests,'' said David Carey, President and CEO of Outrigger Enterprises Inc.
``Nothing is more powerful than live pictures of exotic tropical locations,'' Carey remarked. ``We can now show
a prospective guest the waves crashing on the beach, the sun rising over Diamond Head or the sun setting in Fiji
as it happens. This will be a service our competitors are not providing.''
Outrigger resort locations scheduled for live webcam installations this year include three on Maui, three on the
Big Island of Hawaii, two on Oahu and two on Kauai.
By next summer, other Outrigger properties to be added include locations in Fiji, Guam, the Marshall Islands, New
Caledonia and properties along Australia's Gold Coast of Queensland near the Great Barrier Reef.
``We understand this will be the largest and possibly only network of live, broadcast-ready, resort-based, beachfront
webcams in the world,'' added Carey. ``We're setting a precedent that will clearly establish Outrigger Hotels &
Resorts as an innovative leader throughout the travel industry worldwide.''
XS Network, a California-based Microsoft Certified Solution Provider, has a turnkey encoder/server system that
enables live broadcast video distribution, remote camera control and network management over any IP connection.
This enables a single person to operate and control one or more remote cameras from virtually anywhere in the world
via an Internet or other network connection.
``Our technology and partnerships allow XS Network to license and distribute media over a wide spectrum of different
formats including live or recorded television, HDTV, interactive television, wireless and Web,'' said Chris Carmichael,
founder of XS Network. ``This has already set the stage for us to be a leader in content syndication.''
XS Network will also install Hawaii's first island-wide wireless network. Operating in the 5.8-28 GHz frequencies,
the company can send data at enormous rates. This will be achieved using advanced wireless Ethernet bridges to
link camera locations from both ends of Oahu to their collocated data centers in Honolulu and California. The wireless
network also opens up opportunity to provide bandwidth to hotels, as XS Network can provide data at affordable
prices throughout Hawaii at a rate of 155 MB per second.
``Our strategic alliance with XS Network, combined with our existing real-time online reservation system, will
strengthen Outrigger's position as the lodging industry's leader in Hawaii and the Pacific now and well into the
21st Century,'' Carey said.
About Outrigger Hotels & Resorts
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is a division of Hawaii-based Outrigger Enterprises, the largest lodging company
in Hawaii and one of the fastest growing lodging companies in the Pacific. Under its two hotel brands -- Outrigger
Hotels & Resorts and OHANA Hotels & Resorts -- the privately-held company currently operates or has under
development 45 hotels and resort condominiums throughout the Pacific region, representing more than 12,000 hotel
rooms and condominium units in Hawaii, Micronesia, Australia and the South Pacific. Outrigger's affiliate, Outrigger
Lodging Services, manages nearly two dozen hotels and resorts throughout the United States.
About XS Network
Based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., XS Network Inc. is a privately-held multimedia lifestyle marketing and broadcast
distribution company delivering lifestyle content targeted to the Y-Generation audience involved or interested
in sports, extreme or otherwise. Its exclusive technology, patents and partnerships with businesses worldwide has
the company positioned to be the leader in the interactive live broadcast market.
Content is geared toward this increasingly powerful demographic via a wide range of interactive media. Proprietary
content is available for licensing and distribution over television, HDTV, wireless and Web applications.
On their Web site, XSCity.com, visitors can explore and purchase music, movies, videos, entertainment, travel,
sports equipment, concert tickets, video games, apparel and eyewear. They can also conduct personal financial transactions
including banking, trading and much more. Exclusive features include a specialized subscriber-based service that
alerts members to news updates in a variety of customized areas of interest.
XS Network is currently enhancing its Internet Sportal® Web site with wireless Web content that will improve
the sale of products and services worldwide. With integrated services focused on enhancing the multimedia environment
and delivering innovative original programming, XS Network creates an extraordinary interaction with its audience
that builds powerful consumer loyalty. The combination of distinct lifestyle content, a high volume of traffic,
and the ability to broadcast and distribute content enables them to maintain a strong revenue base in both the
near- and long-term.
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Contact:
XS Network
Chris Carmichael, 949/349-1550
or
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts
Jim Austin, 808/921-6803