News release

Media 100 and Compaq Computer Bring Media Supercomputer Power to the Desktop

Media 100 and Compaq Work Closely to Optimize Compaq Evo Workstation W8000 to Support Real-Time Performance of 844/X™ and GenesisEngine™ Supercomputer Platform

Media 100 Inc. (NASDAQ: MDEA), a leading developer of advanced media systems, and Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) announced today a co-marketing and co-development relationship in support of Media 100's newest advanced media system, 844/X™ and its media supercomputer platform, GenesisEngine™. This relationship enables Media 100 and Compaq to provide a powerful workstation to host Media 100's new content design system.

"The dual processor Evo Workstation W8000 is simply the most powerful, reliable and best-performing workstation in its class and enables Media 100 to provide supercomputer power in a standard, affordable, open desktop solution," said Giles Rae, vice president of engineering for Media 100. "The Evo Workstation W8000 provides the power, data throughput and expandability, including a 64-bit/66 MHz bus required to support the processing of eight streams of 10-bit uncompressed video in real time by the GenesisEngine."

The relationship between Media 100 and Compaq, a leading provider of workstations to the digital content creation (DCC) market, is expected to significantly contribute to annual global sales of Compaq Evo Workstations and strengthen Compaq's position in this growing market. In addition, the two companies have entered into a co-marketing agreement in which they will jointly promote 844/X on the Compaq Evo Workstation W8000 through events marketing, online marketing, advertising and trade show support.

"With features such as the fastest Intel® Xeon™ processors and a high-performance PCI architecture, we've developed a workstation with the demands of nonlinear editing, animation and other image-intensive markets in mind," said Keith LeFebvre, director of workstation and thin client business for Compaq. "Media 100 has engineered incredible functionality from the ground up in 844/X, and we are pleased to be working with them to further enhance this outstanding solution. The partnership between Media 100 and Compaq also demonstrates the commitment by both companies to delivering innovative technology at affordable prices."

GenesisEngine

The GenesisEngine is a media supercomputer platform designed to run on the PCI bus of a standard workstation. The custom silicon design of the GenesisEngine integrates speed, workflow and quality for content designers at a level that has never before been possible. The GenesisEngine supports extremely high precision, real-time digital video and audio media processing at extremely fast data rates, and accelerates media production workflow while maintaining high picture and audio quality.

844/X

844/X, a next generation system for content design powered by the GenesisEngine, delivers real-time image processing—along with high internal precision to support the arrangement and editing of complex audio-visual content incorporating many layers—to broadcast designers, visual effects artists, and online editors. The system's fast, fluid workflow, image processing speed and precision, output image and audio quality, and desktop configuration using the Compaq Evo Workstation W8000 and storage, are breakthroughs in digital media processing and PC-level integration.

Compaq Evo Workstation W8000

Powered by the latest Intel Xeon processor with speeds up to 2.2 GHz with the Intel 860 chipset, the Evo Workstation W8000 is dual-processor capable, uses high-performance Rambus memory, and offers a wide variety of graphics card options. With its 64-bit PCI architecture that has been optimized for applications such as nonlinear editing and compositing, seven slots (1 AGP Pro, 6 PCI) and seven drive bays, the Compaq Evo Workstation W8000 provides a superlative, scalable platform. A powerful platform optimized for customers working in applications ranging from video editing and 3D animation, the Evo Workstation W8000 PCI architecture and robust design also provide support for high data integrity and high-quality digital audio applications.

About Media 100

Media 100 develops advanced media systems for content design, enabling creative professionals to create highly evocative effects-intensive work, all on a personal computer. Creative artists and content design teams around the world use Media 100's Emmy Award-winning solutions. The company is headquartered in Marlboro, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.media100.com.

About Compaq

Founded in 1982, Compaq Computer Corporation is a leading global provider of information technology products, services and solutions for enterprise customers. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures and markets information technology equipment, software, services and solutions, including industry-leading enterprise storage and computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, communication products, personal desktop and notebook computers, and personal entertainment and Internet access devices that are sold in more than 200 countries directly and through a network of authorized Compaq marketing partners. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.