Dazzle Multimedia Ships Industry's First USB Digital Video and Photo Products
03/29/99 Business Wire
(Copyright (c) 1999, Business Wire)
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 1999--Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to making digital video publishing easier for consumers, Dazzle Multimedia Monday announced that it is now shipping three new USB products.
The USB Dazzle Digital Video Creator, Dazzle Digital Video Creator-Internet Edition and Dazzle Digital Photo Maker, available for $249, $299 and $99, respectively, allow personal and business computer users to capture, edit, manage and publish video and still photos.
"We are excited to be the first company to ship USB products in the digital video market," said David Taylor, chief executive officer of Dazzle Multimedia. "The USB versions of our products offer consumers added features such as higher connection speed and simple installation, making digital video easier to use than ever."
"The video-capture category is growing rapidly," said John S. Lostroscio, vice president of merchandising, hardware division, CompUSA. "We have seen impressive sales gains each quarter, and the Dazzle Digital Video Creator is a leader in this category. We are pleased to include Dazzle's new USB products in our wide assortment of video-capture products."
The Dazzle Product Line
Dazzle's products are plug-and-play devices for novice to advanced computer users that focus on applications for using TV-quality digital video, including creation and editing of home videos, creating video for Web pages and video e-mail, developing video-enhanced PowerPoint presentations, and designing and distributing educational or training materials on CD-ROMs.
Like its predecessor, the USB Dazzle Digital Video Creator's detachable Media Manager displays thumbnails of the user's video, audio and still image files. For users who want to put their edited MPEG video on VHS tapes, the Dazzle Digital Video Creator includes an analog video output.
The new Dazzle Digital Video Creator-Internet Edition extends the features of the original Digital Video Creator. The Internet Edition supports the Internet-standard streaming video and audio formats from RealNetworks, allowing users to create and play back files in the Real Systems G2 format.
Further, the Internet Edition allows users to automatically create Web pages that include MPEG or Real format files, then upload those pages directly to their ISP or hosting service.
The Digital Photo Maker allows users to capture, edit, manage, publish and share video snapshots, turning any camcorder into a high-resolution digital camera.
With its user-friendly, fully integrated software, users can easily create formatted photo Web pages; send high-speed, high-quality photo e-mails; and produce a photo slide show without launching individual applications for each task.
Also, Dazzle's Digital Photo Maker allows users to capture full frame rate video files at quarter-resolution, perfect for video e-mail applications.
MPEG Ensures Greater File Compatibility
Because all of Dazzle Multimedia's video products use the international standard known as MPEG as the 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 on most Windows-based and Macintosh computers without having to download or install a special player.
More specifically, Dazzle's 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.
With the Dazzle Digital Creator-Internet Edition, Dazzle gives more than 53 million registered users of RealPlayer the opportunity to create and play back video in the RealSystems format.
Pricing and Availability
The USB versions of the Dazzle Digital Video Creator ($249), Dazzle Digital Video Creator-Internet Edition ($299) and the Dazzle Digital Photo Maker ($99) are shipping today. The products will be available from the company's nationwide network of retailers and resellers, including CompUSA, Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Micro Center and Office Depot.
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