FYI
Tuesday January 6, 9:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Sonic Solutions Introduces Corporate DVD Authoring for Under $900
New DVDit! Software Turns PowerPoint Presentations Into DVDs
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1998--Sonic Solutions introduced today at the MacWorld Exposition in
San Francisco new software designed to bring DVD authoring to the corporate desktop.
Called DVDit!, the application converts multimedia productions and presentations into DVD-Video discs. It has a suggested
U.S. list price of $899.
DVDit! is designed to work in conjunction with popular desktop applications such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple
HyperCard, Adobe Premiere and web authoring tools. DVDit! produces a DVD disc image file which can be saved on a
DVD-R recordable disc for playback on set-top DVD players or DVD ROM-equipped PCs. Market researchers expect that
by the end of 1998, there will be as many as 15 million DVD-equipped PCs and 5 million set-top players in consumers' hands.
''Sonic DVDit! is one of those rare advances -- an enabling technology -- that will truly enhance the way we reach our clients,''
said William Barrie, Technology Manager at Ernst & Young. ''DVD brings exceptional video and audio to our presentations,
in the first format which is standard across both desktop PCs and consumer set-top players.''
DVDit! is designed for anyone delivering multimedia presentations or promotional videos -- sales representatives, consultants,
ad agencies, marketing departments, educators and multimedia developers. It provides an easy means of delivering one-offs
and comps to clients, direct merchandising to consumers and interactive, self-paced training.
DVDit! is designed to be easy to use and fit within existing design environments. Content is authored using popular desktop
applications with which the user is already familiar; the user then selects DVDit! Setup from the Menu, just like Page Setup;
and then clicks on DVDit!, just like printing. DVDit! then creates a DVD disc image file that can be copied to a DVD-R
recordable disc, or even played off of a hard disk or Syquest Quest drive directly.
''Apple is excited to have Sonic, for the first time, bring easy and affordable DVD authoring on the Macintosh to the corporate
environment,'' said Jeff Martin, Senior Director, Worldwide Design and Publishing Markets, at Apple Computer. ''Sonic is the
industry leader in DVD production tools and, with the introduction of DVDit!, they have opened the floodgates for DVD
publishing in the office.''
''1998 is the Year of DVD,'' said Christopher Kryzan, Vice-president of Marketing for Sonic Solutions. ''DVD brings
full-motion, full-screen video and high-quality audio on inexpensive playback media for the first time. Just like the DTP
revolution of the 1980s, DVD is about to change the way companies communicate. And DVDit! is the easiest way to make
DVDs.''
DVDit! will ship in March, 1998 with the PowerPoint plug-in. Additional plug-ins will be available beginning in May, 1998.
DVDit! will be available through mail-order and retail locations, and can be ordered today at www.dvdit.com . Sonic will offer
a special promotional price to those who pre-order the product through Jan. 31, 1998.
The DVD Format
The DVD format was developed by a consortium of companies from the consumer electronics, computer and movie industries,
and finalized in September 1996. Although identical in size to a CD, DVD discs can store 4.7 gigabytes on a single layer, single
side. This capacity is enough to store a full-length, high-quality movie with Dolby Digital surround sound.
The DVD specification includes five ''books,'' three of which are relevant to computer-based applications:
-- DVD-Video is the standard for set-top players, and includes MPEG-2 encoded video, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound,
and extensive interactivity.
-- DVD-ROM players will be used in DVD-equipped computers, and add area for program content; by definition, they are
required to play DVD-Video discs.
-- DVD-R recorders transfer DVD-formatted content onto recordable DVD media, which can then be played on DVD Video
and DVD-ROM players.
A separate DVD-Audio format is under development and is intended as a high-end replacement for audio CDs. And a
DVD-RAM format, of which several versions exist, is under discussion; however, it's important to note that DVD-RAM
actually has little to do with DVD, and is really best thought of as being similar to a magneto-optical, Iomega Jaz or Syquest
drive.
The DVD Market
Today, there are more than 500,000 set-top DVD players in the market and thousands of popular titles in the new format. By
the end of 1998, most market researchers agree that there will be more than 15 million DVD-ROM equipped PCs and as
many as 5 million set-top players shipped. Most professional A/V presentation facilities (hotel banquet rooms, conference
centers, suites) will be equipped with DVD players by mid-1998.
About Sonic DVD Creator
Sonic DVD Creator is the first and most widely-used and most complete DVD premastering system in use today. DVD
Creator consists of modules for high-quality MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 video encoding, audio prep and encoding, authoring and
proofing. The Sonic DVD Creator Workstation is network-enabled and can easily be expanded into a larger workgroup as a
facility's DVD production business grows. Included with the system are Sonic DVD Studio for video and audio encoding, s
DVD Producer authoring software, and DVD PrePlay for proofing titles. Sonic was the first to bring Hollywood DVD
production below $100K, and is now the first to deliver a solution for the corporate market.
About Sonic
Based in Novato, Calif., Sonic Solutions designs and manufactures tools to assist video, audio and multimedia professionals in
preparing music, video, film, graphics and entertainment software. SonicStudio is the leading digital audio workstation used
around the world by audio professionals to prepare recorded sound for release on Digital Audio Compact Disc, as well as to
prepare sound for film and video soundtracks and for broadcast on radio and television. Sonic DVD Creator is the leading
professional system for producing content for the DVD format, and has been used to create hundreds of DVD titles
worldwide. Sonic has been a leader in advancing DVD technology and is a full voting-member of the DVD Forum - the
standards-setting body for the DVD format.
Note to Editors: Sonic, Sonic Solutions, the Sonic logo, DVD Creator, DVDit!, DVD Production Alliance, DVD Producer
and DVD PrePlay are trademarks of Sonic Solutions. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective
owners.
Contact:
Sonic Solutions
Paul Lefebvre, 415/893-8000
paul_lefebvre@sonic.com |
