Videosurgery and Tilburg University Named Finalists in 2012 AV Technology End-User Awards for Inventive Uses of Mediasite

LAS VEGAS, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UBTech Booth #301 — Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the trusted market leader for lecture capture, enterprise and event webcasting, today announced two of its customers - Videosurgery in Australia and Tilburg School of Economics and Management in the Netherlands – are finalists in the 2012 AV Technology End-User Awards for their creative uses of the company's webcasting platform Mediasite.  

This second annual awards program through AV Technology Magazine recognizes innovations that benefit end-users, technology managers and facility directors. Videosurgery is recognized in the "Most Innovative Install of AV in Healthcare" category and Tilburg University's iSTAR Learning Project in the "Best Interactive and Remote Learning System."

Professor and surgeon Andrew Renaut runs a private practice and started a company called Videosurgery to stream surgical procedures live and on-demand via Mediasite, providing more continuing education opportunities to virtually step inside the operating room. Located at Brisbane Private Hospital in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Videosurgery's Vs-2 broadcast system is specifically designed to remotely capture video from dedicated cameras in the operating room and then to webcast these to a secure audience via Mediasite. The facility also allows established specialists in remote areas and in developing countries such as China to access the expertise of specialists in metropolitan areas and developed countries via Mediasite webcasts to keep pace with the new techniques in surgery. Medical educators can tap into the Videosurgery webcasts via Renaut's secure educational website Australian Institute of Medical Education. 

"The real value of watching live surgery is that surgical trainees can experience, real time, the unexpected events and in particular how to deal with those events. Mediasite allows surgical trainees, medical students and allied health professionals access to the OR which they might not otherwise get due to constraints on time and space," Renaut said. "Mediasite allows a large number of viewers to watch the surgery simultaneously and also to post a comment online, which are relayed to the operating surgeon by two-way audio via a moderator. It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts and I look forward to our continued working relationship with Sonic Foundry."

Tilburg University's iSTAR Learning Project is recognized for its use of Mediasite as its core educational technology for lecture capture and flipped instruction. iSTAR stands for "Interactive web lectures, Snippets-practice, Try and test, Ask questions, and Results" and focuses on in-depth applications of blended e-learning in the introductory courses of management accounting and financial accounting. The program uses short studio-recorded lecture blocks with case studies and self-guided student exercises. Students can receive bonus points for taking practice tests through Blackboard and immediately check their answers through another lecture block.

"The iSTAR Learning Project and Mediasite help Tilburg University reach students with technology at their fingertips. Mediasite has allowed us to improve performance of professors and students. iSTAR increased the pass rate among students from 58 percent to 79 percent and student satisfaction ratings have increased significantly," said Bob van den Brand, adjunct associate professor at Tilburg University. "We couldn't have done it without Sonic Foundry's support, and we are excited to be a finalist for the AV Technology awards."

Winners are selected by a jury of five esteemed judges and will be announced at the NewBay Media Awards Ceremony June 12 at InfoComm 2012 in Las Vegas. 

"The AV Technology End User Awards recognize innovative tech managers who prioritize user concerns such as ROI, ease of use, network impact, reliability and versatility. The Videosurgery application in Australia and Tilburg University are smart deployments, but they also demonstrate how AV technology can substantially increase an organization's efficiency and instructional reach," said Margot Douaihy, AV Technology Magazine editor.

"Sonic Foundry is proud to partner with two initiatives of such high caliber and congratulates Videosurgery and Tilburg University on their webcasting achievements. These recognitions are well deserved and both are excellent examples of the power of Mediasite to increase engagement, knowledge retention and academic achievement," said Gary Weis, chief executive officer of Sonic Foundry.

The patented Mediasite webcasting and video content management platform quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of live and on-demand streaming videos and rich media presentations that combine video with slides.

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.
Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the trusted market leader for enterprise webcasting and lecture capture, providing video communication solutions for education, business and government. Powered by the patented Mediasite webcasting platform and Mediasite Events group, the company empowers people to transform the way they communicate online, using video webcasts to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance. Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective owners.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Sonic Foundry, Inc.