CONTACT: Paul F. Hassen, Director of Public Relations
(201) 596-3434 or PM (908) 499-7086

NEWARK -- The first live action ISDN video and audio broadcastacross the Internet will focus around Pope John Paul II's visit to the United States this week.

Internet users can be part of computer history by viewing continuously live action video as well as by listening to audio commentary of the pontiff's visit to New Jersey, New York and Baltimore. The sounds and images will be available on the Internet via "PopeTV" located on the Catholic Information Center on the Internet (CICI) homepage located at http://www.catholic.net.

The sights and sounds of the events along with expert commentary will be provided by Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) with Maryland Public Television (MPT) providing local coverage of the Pope's visit to Baltimore. CICI also will provide up-to-the-minute details of his itinerary.

"CICI's efforts to cover the Pope's visit extend beyond conventional media with the creation of Pope TV," said Roman Anderson, CICI project director, who developed the idea for Pope TV several months ago. "The extraordinary nature of a visit by the Pontiff is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate new technology. Afterall, the church throughout history has embraced technological advances to speed the spread of its message."

Internet users with an ISDN or T-1 connection can receive fullmotion MPEG video along with CD-quality audio. Users with 14.4K or 28.8K modems can receive AM/FM quality audio along with a series of still photos.

The Pope TV cybercast is made possible by the debut of revolutionary software called StreamWorks TM, developed by Xing Technology Corp. of Arroyo Grande, CA. StreamWorks turns the audio-video multicast into a single efficient data stream without overburdening the net. Husky Labs of Baltimore is providing the systems integration for the Xing reflective server.

The Center for Computerized Conferencing and Communications at NJIT Media Center, within eyesight of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark where the first Papal event takes place, is providing satellite downlink and video redistribution.

StreamWorks is transparently integrated with the World Wide Web, enabling Internet surfers to access audio and video in real-time, using existing browsers. StreamWorks can co-exist with HTTP/CGI Webservers and HTML-based Web browser to provide real-time delivery of audio and video using existing Internet infrastructure and software. For example, a NetScape user can listen to an Internetradio station simply by selecting StreamWorks enabled sites via their browser. Equally, StreamWorks delivers video to a HTML-browser within standard viewing screens.

To receive video and audio, users must have the client version of StreamWorks installed on their computer. Software for Windows3.1, Unix/X-Windows and Macintosh PowerPC systems is available for downloading from the Xing Technology at http://www.xingtech.com .

CICI is a central directory of information on the Internet that reflects the Magisterium or authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church. The homepage offers a wide range of information about the Catholic faith, the Church's teachings, and the moral issues confronting the world using hyperlinks to Internet sites, homepages,documents and discussion groups. CICI is designed to be of interest to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

"CICI is much more than a Internet WebSite, it's our attempt to bring the teachings of the Church to more people through technology, "said James S. Mulholland, Jr., CICI publisher. "We saw theInternet's potential for fostering global peace through education,communication and sharing of information."

CICI is operated by the Vatican's Path to Peace Foundation which is based in New York City. Path to Peace's goal is to support the Holy See's mission to the United Nations, keeping the moral standards and message of the Gospel before the international community--whether in Rome, Beijing, or Cyberspace.

Students and researchers from the Center for Computerized Conferencing and Communications at New Jersey Institute of Technology began the technical aspects of the CICI home page project earlier this year with a grant from the Path to Peace Foundation.

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