Seagate Launches New Program to Enable Expandable In-Home DVR Storage Cable and Satellite TV Service Operators Can Leverage Seagate External Storage Products, Call Centers and Marketing to Offer Subscribers Modular Storage Products for TV SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Seagate today launched a unique program to help cable TV and satellite service providers design, sell and support in-home media center storage expansion devices. Today, at The National Show (booth 1123) in New Orleans, Seagate is demonstrating the new class of add-on storage devices a cable or satellite operator can offer its customers. Seagate is also offering details on a comprehensive business model that enables service operators to launch this new service to subscribers with minimized startup time, investment, and inventory commitment. Manufacturers of set-top boxes, digital video recorders and home media centers are looking for an efficient way to upgrade and expand the capabilities of their products. As subscribers become more comfortable with their DVRs and home media centers, more content will fill up these devices' internal drives. The continued growth of high definition services will further increase the need for storage capacity by an estimated factor of 9x. Using Seagate external storage units, subscribers will be able to easily expand the storage capacity of their compatible DVRs, adding years of life to the popular devices. Based on its successful and award-winning design for PC-based external backup and storage, Seagate's partnership with service providers goes far beyond providing a storage unit: -- Product customization -- many aspects of the external storage unit's industrial design can be customized to maximize the service operator's brand image. -- Technology flexibility -- Seagate also offers a variety of capacity points and compatible interfaces (USB, 1394, and external Serial ATA), and can assist with the development of features such as content security and enhanced video streaming. -- Outsourcing efficiency -- service operators can utilize the call centers of the world's leading hard drive company to outsource any or all customer support for these external storage units, including pre-sales support, order-taking and product fulfillment, 24x7 technical support, and warranty service. This eliminates the need to train customer support staff on hard drive technology, reduces inventory exposure, and speeds time to market. "Today's announcement offers much more than extended storage for DVRs," said Rob Pait, Seagate director of Global Consumer Electronics Marketing. "We're helping service operators offer extended services for their subscribers. When TV viewers run out of storage for their DVR, or add high-definition service and its requirements for exponentially greater capacity, all they need to do is grab a new Seagate external storage box and plug it in. The unit is designed to be stackable, and connecting multiple units for more storage is a snap, so there's no limit to the amount of digital programming the customer can store. It's also a great-looking product -- even the hottest television series will love slipping itself into a Seagate external storage unit until it's ready to play." DVR service is becoming a fast-growing source of new revenue streams for cable and satellite TV operators. DVR service gives TV viewers easy program recording and the ability to pause and rewind live TV; for the cable and satellite operator, DVR service holds out the potential for reduced customer churn, higher retention rates in the digital tier and additional revenue streams. Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide range of Enterprise, PC, Notebook and Consumer Electronics applications. The Company is committed to delivering award-winning products, customer support and reliability, to meet the world's growing demand for information storage. Seagate can be found around the globe and at http://www.seagate.com/. NOTE: Seagate and Seagate Technology are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. The WAVE logo is a trademark or registered trademark of Seagate Technology LLC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. DATASOURCE: Seagate Technology CONTACT: John Paulsen, +1-831-439-2499, or , or Woody Monroy, +1-831-439-2838, or , both of Seagate Web site: http://www.seagate.com/

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