So what happened to Multi-Image Network?

In December, 2005 the private owners of Multi-Image Network took steps to close the company. Their reasons were personal, although no official statements have been forthcoming, the explanations given have to do with personal finances within the family and health problems.

What happened? The original company was formed in 1986 had been profitable for 19 years. The product was sound, popular and in demand. The company was profitable and growing in December of 2005. Closing the company was not a rational business decision. As soon as the closure was announced several interested parties, including competitors, made significant offers to buy the company. All the offers were turned down without explanation.
 

In January 2006 SupportGuys© was formed, the management team from Multi-Image Netwok recognized the need to continue the business (a need driven by their own sense of responsibility to the customers as well as demands from existing customers and continued enthusiasm for the product from new customers) and immediately invested in a facility to continue to support the existing installations. SupportGuys© made an offer to buy the now closed company in January but were also turned down without explanation.

In May of 2006 with the usual help from attorneys, a new company Mediastar Inc.© negotiated and acquired all the intellectual and tangible assets of Multi-Image Network. The name Mediastar-SG© was created to reflect the combination of the ongoing support operation under the name SupportGuys© and the new development and sales activity. Mediastar Inc. is now the more common usage.

The story - so far (a word from the Support Guys themselves and some of the rest of the family)

After the demise of Multi-Image Network, comes Mediastar-SG©.

Mediastar-SG© was founded by us key members of the development and support departments in partnership with the former management team from Multi-Image Network. As the blood, sweat and tears behind the success of the Mediastar® product, we remain committed to continuing the development and support of this industry-leading Master Control and Spot Insertion product for PEG, Cable and broadcast.

Since January 2006, we have released several new software (which is now called Mediastar©) versions and have added new hardware, remote control and system management features to Mediastar©. We have fixed legacy problems and added new code to improve reliability. We will also added many of the enhancements new features you had been asking for.

It goes without saying (so we will say it) that we are a new and seperate company formed by the ex-employees of Multi-Image Network (and some new faces). We recognise that some of you have been left with significant frustrations as a result of the un-timely and unnecessary closure of Multi-Image Network. We too have similar feelings (we didn't get paid either!). Despite our sympathy and understanding, we derived no benefits whatsoever from any business that took place between you and Multi-Image Network (in other words the former owners kept your money!). Although we can advise and suggest ways in which you can minimize the impact on your business, we cannot honor any of the contracts that you may have had with Multi-Image Network.

We will work with you to offer practical alternatives so you can continue to receive Support services from January 2006 onwards,  please call our Sales Department at: 530 82 MEDIA.

For the future, we will be here. We, as a group, are not constrained by the financial dealings of the former owners. We are wholly invested in this company and its family of products. Our willingness to form a new company and pick up where others left off,  gives you the answer to how comitted we are to our customers - they mean the world to us.

Thank you for your continued loyalty

The Support Guys et al

What about support?

Most of our customers have been contacted or have already been working with us.

Our Support Department now offers a Full Service Contract, which allows you to protect the investment you have made in this industry leading system.

Now that we have the full inventory of Mediastar® compatible spare parts and back-up copies of all the installed software - worldwide, you can be assured that we can support the entire Mediastar® product line, from DOS to XP-Pro (we still aren't sure about Vista - hey who is?).

A note about licencing and 3rd-party support:

Please note that Mediastar-SG Inc. now holds exclusive intellectual property rights to all versions of the Mediastar® hardware and software. These rights extend to any and all copies of software and license agreements distributed since 1988. If you have a copy of Mediastar®, you should contact us to verify you have a valid license to use or possess this software. You should register your product with Mediastar-SG Inc. as we will be vigorously enforcing our rights to this intellectual property, names and designs. If you want to release yourself of these license responsiblities, contact Mediastar-SG Inc. to make arrangements to return your software and copy protection devices. As always, you may not pass on your copy of Mediastar® or related hardware, including to 3rd-party support contractors (in any form whatsoever, including Hard drives, CDs, DVDs, Flash Media, Floppies or electronic transfers).

We remain committed to the product and our customers - we are here to help and are just a phone-call away (24hours/7days a week/365 days a year). Call 530 82 MEDIA.