Monday September 28, 9:07 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Dazzle Multimedia Delivers Next Generation Digital
Video PC Product
Hot New Gadget Creates TV-Quality Digital Video For PC, CD,
DVD, Video Tape, Internet
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 (NASDAQ:ADPT - news) 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 (Nasdaq: CUBE - news) 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 |
