Sonic Ships World’s First High-Definition Authoring Systems

Scenarist 4 and CineVision Authoring and Encoding Systems Equip Hollywood for High-Definition Launch

April 26, 2006

Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, released the world’s first professional high-definition authoring and encoding systems, Scenarist® 4 and CineVision™, to enable major motion picture studios to begin the rollout of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD commercial titles. Designed for professional content creators who demand the highest level of creative control, Scenarist 4 offers complete support for HDMV (Movie Mode) and BD-J Blu-ray Disc authoring in addition to Standard and Advanced Content HD DVD authoring. Also delivering comprehensive next-generation format support is CineVision, Sonic’s Hollywood-quality encoding workstation that provides expert control over all three HD video codes: AVC/H.264, VC-1, and MPEG-2. Sonic will be demonstrating Scenarist 4 and CineVision during the National Association of Broadcasters show taking place this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center, booth SL3750. Scenarist 4 and CineVision were developed in collaboration with the High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA), an association of top authoring and post-production facilities around the globe, that Sonic formed in 2005 to help facilitate the successful launch of high-definition titles. Both Scenarist 4 and CineVision were refined based on feedback from content creators who used pre-release versions to produce the industry’s first replicated discs using the advanced interactive modes of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. “As one of the leading providers of postproduction services in Hollywood, our clients rely on us to turn their blockbuster content into compelling, high-quality interactive DVDs and the same is true with the new HD formats,” said Duncan Wain, president, Comchoice. “Through our HDAA association, Sonic has enabled us to gain in-depth, hands-on advanced interactive experience during the development of Scenarist 4 and CineVision. We have also had the opportunity to help shape these powerful applications, which we will now use to produce fully interactive HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles.” Featuring the same logical workflow and user interface already familiar to the majority of professional DVD authors, Scenarist 4 can be configured to specifically address the needs of authoring facilities producing titles in one or both high-definition formats. As with its predecessor, Scenarist 4 offers surgical control over every aspect of the high-definition authoring process, enabling full access to the HD formats while ensuring maximum player compatibility of titles with next-generation HD players. With Scenarist 4, content creators are able to exploit the full potential of the next-generation formats, delivering titles with dynamic navigation, stunning graphical elements, and engaging interactive features. With the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats anchored on the highest-quality consumer electronics video possible, Sonic developed the CineVision encoding system to complement Scenarist 4 and deliver master-quality video streams across all of the next-generation HD formats: H.264/AVC, VC1, and MPEG-2. Designed to integrate seamlessly within the HD authoring workflow, the CineVision encoder not only links directly into Scenarist 4, but offers comprehensive support for a broad range of HD video input formats including QuickTime, AVI, and DPX image sequences. In addition, CineVision combines comprehensive control over encoding parameters with advanced post-encode quality control and workflow optimization tools such as segment-based re-encoding, ExpressQC™, and StreamData™. An exclusive, patent-pending quality control tool, ExpressQC is built into the CineVision Timeline and automatically identifies sections that are that are statistically lower in quality, compared to the source material. StreamData provides the facility to exchange key encoding metadata including encoding parameters, chapter-point information, and reference frame data. “Creating titles for the new high-definition formats is exponentially more complex than for standard-definition DVD, requiring production tools that deliver the highest degree of control, quality, and workflow optimization,” said Rolf Hartley, senior vice president and general manager of Sonic’s Professional Products Group. “Scenarist 4 and CineVision continue the tradition set by our Scenarist DVD systems by providing breakthrough innovations in creativity, efficiency and productivity that, in the hands of content creators, will usher in a new era of high-definition home entertainment.”

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