Adobe
Licenses Sonic DVD Technology
Sonic to Provide Foundation for Future DVD Authoring Applications
Marin County, California (December 11, 2001) - Sonic Solutions
(NASDAQ: SNIC),
the world's leading supplier of authoring systems for DVD-Video
production, today announced that Adobe Systems Incorporated
(NASDAQ: ADBE), the leader in network publishing, has agreed
to license Sonic's DVD authoring technology as the foundation
of a new Adobe-branded DVD authoring application for the emerging
desktop DVD publishing market.
"We expect DVD to become the medium of choice for video
publishing, and DVD authoring to be one of our fastest-growing
market segments," said Bryan Lamkin, Senior Vice President
of Adobe Systems' Graphics Business Unit. "Sonic's reputation
as the premier supplier of DVD technology made them the clear
choice for Adobe's DVD solution."
Under the terms of the agreement, Adobe will license the technology
underlying Sonic's desktop DVD authoring applications, including
Sonic's industry-leading AuthorScript® formatting engine.
Adobe and Sonic will work together to initiate the development
of Adobe-branded DVD software, and the companies plan to cooperate
in marketing their respective product lines. Sonic will continue
its focus on home and consumer markets, as well as on systems
for Hollywood studios, professional post production and high-end
corporate applications.
"We're very pleased to be teaming with Adobe as they expand
their digital video and digital imaging product lines to include
DVD-Video creation," said Bob Doris, President of Sonic.
"Adobe's product lineup and success in digital media joined
with Sonic's expertise in DVD-Video makes for an unbeatable
combination."
The DVD market is expanding rapidly as consumers adopt DVD player
technology faster than any other video playback device. The
rate of adoption for DVD technology has outpaced the CD by a
factor of three and the VCR by a factor of seven. According
to Dataquest, the annual sales of DVD home players will exceed
60 million units by 2004. Also by 2004, an additional 100 million
DVD units will be sold in desktop and laptop computers. The
ability to author DVDs directly on the desktop is expanding
rapidly, with manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, LaCie,
Logitec, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Ricoh, Sony and others
bundling Sonic MyDVD with their recordable DVD drives for use
with desktop computers.
About Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC)
Based in Marin County, California, Sonic (http://www.sonic.com)
is the world's leading manufacturer of solutions for DVD creation.
Sonic DVD Creator®, Sonic Scenarist®, Sonic ReelDVD™
and Sonic DVD Fusion® are the most widely-used systems for
professional DVD publishing, and are installed worldwide at
major studios, post production facilities and in corporate marketing
departments. Sonic DVDit!® (http://www.dvdit.com)
is the leading DVD authoring application for videographers and
corporate video producers; more than 1 million copies of DVDit!
have been sold. Sonic MyDVD™ (http://www.mydvd3.com)
is the first DVD authoring application for consumers, and is
the leading DVD solution among DVD recorder and PC manufacturers.
Sonic is a full voting member of the DVD Forum, the standards-setting
body for the DVD format.
© 2001 Sonic Solutions. Sonic Solutions, the Sonic logo,
MyDVD, and ReelDVD are trademarks of Sonic Solutions. AuthorScript,
DVD Creator, DVD Fusion, DVDit!. Scenarist, and SonicStudio
are registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions. All other company
or product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Specifications, pricing and delivery schedules are subject
to change without notice.
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