ESS Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESST), a digital multimedia and communications company, announced today that Vialta, one of the its subsidiaries, has introduced its ViMedia (Video Internet Media) disc. The disc is a delivery system for media-rich content and hyperlinked interaction for Vialta’s proprietary DVD player, ViDVD. The company expects to begin shipping ViMedia in April 2001. Additional editions of ViMedia will be provided on a subscription basis.

Charles Root, VP of Marketing for Vialta, stated, ‘ViMedia will offer a content delivery solution with a multifunction disc magazine format for Vialta’s ViDVD player. ViMedia will provide subscribers with audio, video, text and Internet capabilities that will establish new levels of consumer interaction with film media and merchandising partners.’

The initial ViMedia product will be bundled with Vialta’s ViDVD players, and mailed to subscribers on an encrypted web-coded DVD/CD disc called ViMedia Magazine. The company noted that the initial discs will contain: multiple movies; movie previews; digital music; KTV (karaoke music); travel information; cooking videos; merchandising catalogs; and links to the Internet.

Fred Chan, chairman and CEO of Vialta, added, ‘From the convenience of the living room, a consumer can point-and-click for e-commerce and lifestyle material delivered by ViMedia’s disc and the Internet. The capabilities of ViMedia will revolutionize consumers’ experience with information, entertainment and e-commerce.’

Mr. Root added, ‘The ViMedia and ViDVD products provide new low-cost avenues of media distribution for broadcast film, music, and advertising. With the ability to combine over ten hours of high-quality digital video, digital audio, and web hyperlinks on a single DVD disc, the ViMedia Magazine offers a new way to bring content to the consumer.