Dazzle Multimedia Delivers Next GenerationDigital Video PC Product; Hot New Gadget
Creates TV-Quality DigitalVideo For PC, CD, DVD, Video Tape, Internet
September 28, 1998 09:07 AM
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1998--Personal and business PC users can now
capture, edit, manage and share MPEG digital video more easily than ever using the new Dazzle
Digital Video Creator, shipping today from Dazzle Multimedia for $249.
The Dazzle Digital Video Creator is the first product to focus on the numerous applications for using
TV-quality digital video including creation and editing of home videos, creating video specifically for
Web pages and video e-mail, developing video-enhanced PowerPoint presentations, and designing
and distributing educational or training materials on CD-ROMs.
Because the new product uses an international standard known as MPEG as its underlying
technology, file compatibility is guaranteed throughout the world. Also, because Microsoft bundles a
software player with Windows 95, 98 and NT, files created by the Dazzle Digital Video Creator can be
played back in software on most Windows-based and Macintosh computers without having to
download or install a special player.
"Our first generation products concentrated mainly on getting video into the PC," said David Taylor,
CEO of Dazzle Multimedia. "Our new product marks the beginning of a whole new way for people to
think about and use digital video. We now give our customers the easiest, most integrated
environment to create video content for use in all kinds of new and interesting ways."
Leading multimedia analysts at Dataquest confirm the growing market for the Dazzle Digital Video
Creator. "Dataquest research shows that the market for video editing/capture devices was one of the
fastest growing in 1997 with worldwide shipments increasing from 471,162 units in 1996 to slightly
more than a million in 1997," said Sujata Ramnarayan, multimedia analyst, Dataquest.
The Dazzle Digital Video Creator captures audio and video in the TV-quality format known as
MPEG-1, which has been internationally adopted and is a pure subset of the technology behind
highly successful new digital video applications including DirecTV, DVD and HDTV.
The Dazzle Digital Video Creator extends the features originated in the company's industry-leading
Dazzle and Snazzi products both in hardware and software. The new product allows users to capture
audio/video files, snapshots or audio-only files. Using the new software, users can immediately edit
the captured files simply by dragging them into the editing window. Unlike most other editing
products, the product's editing occurs in the native MPEG digital domain and requires no complicated
"transcoding" between different formats. Once the files are edited, they can be easily organized using
the software's built-in Media Manager.
Dazzle's new software also has integrated support for distributing the newly created video in a variety
of ways. For example, with a single keystroke, captured and edited video files are automatically
inserted into a Web page with proper HTML formatting, eliminating previously complicated
programming steps. The new video-enabled Web site can then be uploaded to an ISP or published to
a CD-R or CD-RW using any CD recording software including Adaptec's ADPT Easy CD Creator.
Also with a single keystroke, an e-mail message launches from the user's e-mail application with the
selected video automatically attached. And for those who wish to put their digital video on videotape,
or view it on a television, Dazzle's Digital Video Creator provides analog video output capability.
The product's sleek new vertical hardware sits next to the PC on its own base, allowing users to
quickly and easily set up their video connections without having to reach around the back of the PC.
Other hardware additions include monitoring LEDs to alert users to the status of the hardware before,
during or after the capture or playback process.
"The features added in Dazzle's new Digital Video Creator help me capture, edit, manage and
distribute videos and pictures for friends and relatives with only a couple of mouse clicks," said Fred
Zabel from Lockport, N.Y., a user of Dazzle's first generation product. "And when I send my friend
from college an MPEG of my new baby daughter, the whole office stops as his co-workers crowd
around his desk to get a peek."
Dazzle's DVC uses the CLM4111 from C-Cube Microsystems CUBE as its underlying technology for
capturing digital video.
Pricing and Availability
The Dazzle Digital Video Creator is shipping today and will be available from the company's
nationwide network of retailers and resellers for $249. The company plans to announce USB and PCI
card versions of the Dazzle Digital Video Creator later this year, which will sell for $249 and $399
respectively.
About Dazzle Multimedia
Dazzle Multimedia, based in Fremont, designs, builds and markets innovative and affordable MPEG
digital video products for business and personal computer users. Dazzle Multimedia believes these
products represent the initial stage of an evolution from text and character-based processing to a
computing environment in which audio/video and other media are more fully integrated into
documents, presentations and communications. Interested parties can learn more about Dazzle
Multimedia by calling 510/360-2300 or by visiting the company's Web site at www.dazzle.com
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