National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

A -- PUBLIC MEETING SOL Q- POC Customer Representative 1-800-287-3863 Department of Commerce Technology Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Gaithersburg, MD. Date: March 1, 1995 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is soliciting proposals under its focused program competition, Digital Video in Information Networks (95-04) and announces a public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for all interested parties. An estimated $15 million in first-year ATP funding is available under this focused program competition 95-04. The ATP reserves the right to utilize for this competition more or less funding than the amount stated above, depending on the quality of the proposals received. The actual number of proposals funded will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals. Outyear funding is contingent on the approval of future Congressional appropriations and satisfactory program performance. This is the first of three competitions planned for this ATP focused program. Two additional competitions are planned, the second of which should occur 18 to 24 months after the initial competition. The follow-on competitions are intended to fill technical gaps and focus on system integration technology and assessment of applications performance running over interoperable information networks infrastructure. Award recipients will be required to share non- proprietary information at workshops which will be held throughout the duration of the program. The ATP operates under program procedures published at Part 295, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit dated November 1994 (containing proposal cover sheets, other required forms, background material, and instructions for submission of proposals) and the focused program paper entitled ''Digital Video in Information Networks, Supplemental Information Program Competition 95-04,'' may be obtained by phone (1-800-ATP-FUND), fax (301-926-9524), e-mail (atp@micf.nist.gov), or written request at the address shown below. Only FULL proposals are being solicited under this focused program competition 95-04. Abbreviated/pre-proposals WILL NOT be accepted. Proposals submitted by facsimile or electronic mail WILL NOT be accepted. If a proposer's proposal is judged to be of high enough quality to be invited in for an oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit a list of questions to the proposer that must be addressed at the oral review. The due date for submission of full proposals is 3 p.m. eastern time on Friday, May 12, 1995. Should the NIST facility be closed on the specified due date, ATP proposals will be due at 3 p.m. eastern time on the next business day that the NIST facility is open. Proposals received after this deadline WILL NOT be considered. Decisions on the awards for this competition should be made within three months after full proposals are received. Send proposals to: Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. Mark envelope Focused Program 95-04. The goal of this five-year Digital Video in Information Networks focused program is to promote U.S. economic growth by supporting sustained, high-risk research and development, which will accelerate the development and deployment of an interoperable information infrastructure. The business goals of the program are: A) Accelerate the growth of multimedia information services by providing access to the broadest base of users using interoperable digital video capabilities across heterogeneous distributed information services, networks and appliances; B) Stimulate diversity of content by lowering market-entry costs for video and multimedia information services providers, by ensuring access to consumers through interoperability, and enabling the design of new tools for content creation and software industries; C) Enable new applications that increase commercial sector efficiency and employee productivity by incorporating video into computer-based applications. This program will focus on the following technical challenges: A) Research and development to guide the creation and definition of interconnection point interfaces and the design of conversion equipment; B) Research and development to enable the conversion and integration of video technology across computing, communication and consumer electronics environments; C) Research and development to enable the development of digital video tools and management capabilities; D) System integration technology emphasizing the innovations in creating interoperable and scalable systems which demonstrate the capability of providing services of commercial applications. The first solicitation will address the technology barriers that are fundamental to widespread deployment and use of digital video on the Information Infrastructure, and encourage development of early application demonstrations to demonstrate results. Areas addressed include the following: Interoperable system components; examples of these components are: Interfaces between the interconnection points of various networks (e.g., wired and wireless), between codecs and networks (such as ATM), and between new transmission/compression techniques and old appliances (migration path to new technology); digital transcoders from one format to another (e.g., from DIRECTV's Digital Satellite System DSS to Grand Alliance HDTV); interoperable sub-system architecture and design to accelerate the deployment of HDTV technology to both TV and computer-based applications; user interfaces tools and data models to access multiple information services. Information capacity: Improve compression techniques' efficiency, which enables system-level tradeoffs among picture quality, data rate, latency, jitters, and the cost of delivering video to users; compression techniques to enable interactive and two-way exchange of video using simple appliances and to enable the incorporation of video into computer-based applications. Tools: Intuitive user access, authoring and testing tools for digital video; manipulation of the video database (content creation, updating, retrieval, editing, browsing,...); video management (quality and mechanisms for payment, audit, security); standard compliance testing tools of digital video and testing of interoperability subsystems. It is imperative that the interoperable digital video infrastructure be driven by both service provider and user requirements, and solutions are tested for interoperability. It is required that the envisioned research and development be driven by applications, commercial or entertainment, which have the most economic benefits. A public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for potential proposers and other interested parties will be held from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. eastern time on March 27, 1995, at the Gaithersburg Hilton, 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD (Interstate I-270, Exit 11). The morning session will provide general information on the ATP and hints on preparing good proposals (covering the same material presented at previous ATP Proposers' Conferences). The afternoon breakout session will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions on the scope and technical and business goals of this focused program. Attendance at this public meeting is not required. No registration fee will be charged. In case of severe weather, please call NIST's Facilities Status Line 301-975-6478, for a pre-recorded message of the status of NIST opening. If NIST is closed, the meeting will be rescheduled. To register for this public meeting or for further information, contact ATP, by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND; fax: 301-926-9524; or e-mail: atp@micf.nist.gov. (0058)

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