Sonic Announces CinePlayer™ HD

Collaborates with Hollywood Studios and Technology Leaders to Combine Advanced Interactivity with HD Playback for Next-Generation Optical Media Formats

International CES 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada (January 6, 2005) — Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today announced its new high-definition media player for next-generation optical and content formats, CinePlayer HD. Combining comprehensive support for VCD and DVD formats with advanced interactivity and HD playback, CinePlayer HD will be the reference PC playback solution used during the development and roll-out of authoring systems for the forthcoming HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.

“As Hollywood creates HD packaged media, they not only need professional authoring solutions but also require a reference-standard proofing application to ensure the quality and playability of their final product,” said Mark Ely, senior vice president of strategic planning at Sonic. “Working closely with the standards bodies and Hollywood studios, Sonic will be delivering next-generation authoring solutions this year and with them, Cineplayer HD. With its support for existing media standards, its ability to handle multiple HD video codecs, and its patented advanced interactivity capabilities used to web-enhance over 1,500 major DVD movie titles, CinePlayer HD will be the ideal HD player for PC and aftermarket drive OEMs that want their customers to enjoy Hollywood content on their next-generation optical drives.”

Cineplayer HD combines the interactive playback technology pioneered by Sonic’s subsidiary, InterActual Technologies, with support for advanced video and audio codecs, delivering the ultimate HD movie experience. InterActual’s interactive media player technology has become the de facto standard for adding web-connected and advanced interactivity to Hollywood titles, enabling studios to not only add additional content beyond the scope of the DVD format, but to connect directly with the audience via the Internet. Blockbuster DVDs such as Elf, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix Trilogy, Spiderman and Star Wars all take advantage of InterActual technology and have become benchmarks for the advanced interactivity required in the next-generation HD optical formats.

“Sonic has always been at the forefront of new media technologies and formats,” said Morgan Holly, managing director of Blink Digital, an Ascent Media company, based in Santa Monica, California. “As we get ready to create HD content, having a reference playback system for benchmarking our titles is critical. We look forward to using CinePlayer HD as we bring HD content to market.”

"Intel and Roxio, Sonic’s consumer products division, have been collaborating on the development of highly optimized H.264/AVC codecs for the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor supporting Hyper-Threading Technology," said Kevin Corbett, vice president and chief technology officer, Intel's Desktop Platforms Group. “We look forward to working with Sonic as they bring their H.264 player solutions to market."

CinePlayer HD will be demonstrated at the Pioneer booth (LVCC CEN/9826) and by invitation at the Sonic Solutions demo suite at the Enabling Technology Forums (suite #205 at the Riviera Convention Center).

About CinePlayer HD
CinePlayer HD combines the advanced interactivity pioneered by InterActual and required by Hollywood studios for next-generation formats, with HD video decoders including MPEG-2 HD, H.264/AVC and Windows Media Video 9/VC1. CinePlayer HD will be available to HD content developers in the summer of 2005 with consumer versions expected to follow.

About Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC; http://www.sonic.com) is the leader in digital media software, providing a broad range of interoperable, platform independent software tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users, and technology partners. Sonic’s products range from advanced DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies used to produce the majority of Hollywood DVD film releases, to the award-winning Roxio- and Sonic-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup solutions that have become the premiere choice for consumers, prosumers and business users worldwide.

Sonic products are globally available from major retailers, online at Sonic.com and Roxio.com, and are bundled with PCs, after-market drives and consumer electronic devices. Sonic’s digital media creation engine is the de facto standard and has been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.

Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions, CinePlayer HD, InterActual, and Roxio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective owners and, in some cases, are used by Sonic Solutions under license.