With the Atzio distribution model, when video is released by a content provider, it’s packaged for Internet distribution, protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology and added to the content producer's broad online catalog of titles. A registered, paid-up subscriber or other end user can browse the producer's catalog and choose a video which is then automatically added to his or her personal wish list (or queue). An Atzio technology-powered server then signals the end user’s Internet Media Receiver (IMR) to transfer the content over the Internet. (IMRs are set-top boxes; media center and other PCs; and other IP-enabled devices.)

The company’s technology works by splitting a large video file (such as a movie) into many digital “chunks.” Each chunk will be distributed to peers (the IMRs of end users who have paid for the specific video file). Each peer will then ‘propagate’ its chunk of the video file to another, using a portion of the upstream bandwidth available to each peer. Atzio’s technology then reconstitutes the chunks into a whole file in a relatively short time. This technique creates an extremely efficient ‘large pipe’ that allows content providers to serve the network with fewer servers, reducing their distribution and administrative costs.

Technically speaking, data swarming can be considered as a peer-to-peer technology since each peer establishes a direct communication with another when propagating the data among users who have selected -- and paid for -- a determined content. This technology is by no means similar to uncontrolled “sharing” or “file-swapping”.

Since the beginning, the Atzio system has been built by and for content providers. Everything in the Atzio system has been done to make the system compatible with the ethical and technical requirements of the producers of content. Secure distribution, DRM, compliance with MPAA ratings, territoriality rights, etc. are a few of the features integrated by default in the Atzio platform.

In particular, the Atzio system has been built to comply with four non-negotiable requirements of content producers:

• Zero Tolerance for Piracy. The data swarming network from Atzio does not contain any illegitimate content. The system built by the Company is a professional delivery network, and only a restricted list of established providers are allowed to load content. End-users do not have the ability to “share” or transfer unauthorized content to each other. The peer-to-peer optimization techniques we develop are systematically protected by U.S. and International Intellectual Property laws which prevent their use for illegitimate purposes.
  
  
• The Content Provider is in Control. The content providers remain in control of the user interface and the way in which their content is selected and replicated. Although some exceptions may apply, Atzio exclusively provides the protocol and back-end platform for data transfers. This gives the content producers the ability to seamlessly incorporate the Atzio protocol in their existing multimedia applications, and to keep control of the “Marketing Message” passed on to its customers.
  
  
• Filtering is Non-negotiable. The Content proposed on the network is filtered and is only made available to the appropriate audience.
  
  
• DRM Compatible. The content is protected against unauthorized copy by using state-of-the-art DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies. The Atzio network is compatible with the majority of the DRM systems in the industry such as those from DivX Networks, Microsoft and RealNetworks (in alphabetical order). Content providers who have already implemented a particular DRM technology from these vendors will be able to re-use the content already protected by their DRM vendor.

The data swarming technology from Atzio has been built from the ground-up for television and video content. TV viewers watch content in a predictable way, and the Atzio protocol leverages this predictability to enhance and optimize the delivery of data. This methodology is key to providing content distributors with the most efficient and cost-effective system.

The data swarming technology from Atzio is marketed as Peer-to-PeerTelevision™. More details about the technology of Atzio will be made available later this year. Please contact us for more info.