Leaders of seven major industries driving convergence and national digital
highway to meet at IMA Convergence Forum

ANNAPOLIS, MD--NOVEMBER 10, 1993--Leaders of seven major industries who are
driving the development of the national digital information highway will
be meeting in early 1994 through the Interactive Multimedia Association's
(IMA) second "Convergence Forum." The first forum was held June 2 and 3,
1993 in Boulder, Colorado. Senior business and technical management from
the cable television, telecommunications, computer, consumer electronics,
publishing, broadcast, and film industries are meeting to discuss the
major business, technology and policy issues needing to be resolved to
help make the Information Highway a reality.

The Convergence Forum is spearheaded by IMA board member Philip Corman,
corporate manager, Interactive Video Services, Digital Equipment
Corporation, and will address a number of key issues in the industry,
including:

* Cross-industry cooperation on policy, patent and regulatory issues.

The IMA's goal is to foster industry cooperation with the appropriate
government agencies to develop strong policies that support the emergence
of the Information Highway. The forum will also include discussions
regarding competitiveness, cost-effectiveness, public access, patents and
copyright/licensing.

* Technical issues which will facilitate the convergence of the various
industries.

* Major requirements and obstacles confronting publishers and information
providers which may limit the delivery of interactive programming and
content over interactive video services (such as interactive TV). 

These topics include the protection of assets in a networked environment
(avoiding piracy), cost-effective creation of content (combining text,
video, photos and graphics is often expensive and very time-consuming),
and securing the timely delivery of content to users. 

"The IMA Convergence Forum is a unique initiative that serves as a
productive meeting ground for the diverse industries that will play a
major role in the development of future new technologies," said Corman.
"In addition to our role in bringing together industries, we're also
heavily involved with setting up a productive partnership with appropriate
governmental agencies to ensure open discussion of the issues, fairness,
competitiveness and cost-effectiveness." 

"Because this convergence of technology and industries includes so many
critical businesses, and is closely tied to current White House
administration goals, the issues that arise dwarf all previous issues
facing these industries separately," Corman said.

Companies and organizations that participated in the first Convergence
Forum included representatives from the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB), Public Broadcast Systems (PBS), National Broadcasting
Company (NBC), McGraw-Hill, Time Warner, Continental Cable, Cable Labs, US
West, Ameritech, Panasonic, Phillips, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, Digital
Equipment Corporation (DEC), Apple Computer, Kaleida, Sun, and Intel.

The IMA expects to announce the exact date and location of the second
meeting of the Convergence Forum later this month.

The Interactive Multimedia Association is an international trade
association with more than 260 member companies and organizations
representing all areas of the multimedia industry. Its mission is to
promote the development of interactive multimedia applications and reduce
existing barriers to the widespread use of multimedia technology.

Interactive Multimedia Association
3 Church Circle, Suite 800, Annapolis, MD 21401-1933
410-626-1380,  fax 410-263-0590

 ============================================================
 From the  'New Product Information'  Electronic News Service
 ============================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
 the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
 OmniPage Pro is now used for converting all printed input! 
 ============================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  U.S.A.
 Email: RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@delphi.com (Internet)
 ============================================================
