History of Leadership
Sonic has a long history of optical disc technology innovation. The company began its pioneering work in 1989 delivering the first commercial CD mastering system. As the world transitioned to DVD, Sonic led the way again, delivering the first commercial DVD production system for Hollywood studios in 1996, the first DVD authoring application for the prosumer market in 1999 and the first consumer DVD creation software, MyDVD, in 2000.
As the world transitions to high definition, Sonic Solutions is once again at the forefront.
High Definition Initiatives
Sonic Solutions began working on high-definition formats more than two years ago, starting with the industry's first specifications for advanced interactivity and more recently with the development of advanced high-definition authoring and encoding tools for Hollywood. Sonic has been an active participant in high-definition industry associations, including the DVD Forum and the Blu-ray Disc Association. Sonic's growing patent portfolio will play a large role in these next-generation formats from authoring and recording to advanced interactivity and delivery of updated, online content.
In 2005, Sonic formed the High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA), to help Hollywood and their authoring partners prepare for the launch of the next generation formats. Sonic provided member companies with key high-definition tools and technologies. The work of the HDAA has resulted in the production of the industry's first discs to make use of advanced interactivity for both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD.
Sonic has also been working with consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers such as Broadcom who have licensed the company's technologies for use in high-definition, multi-function consumer electronics players. In addition, Sonic recently introduced its Blu-ray Disc (BD) Technology Preview Kit. The Kit is a collection of software applications that enable PC and drive manufacturers to qualify a full range of BD capabilities including data backup of as much as 25GB on Blu-ray Disc Recordable (BD-R) or Blu-ray Disc Rewritable (BD-RE) media, non-protected Blu-ray disc copying, and BDAV format recording and playback.
Sonic's high-definition expertise is also migrating downstream to its Roxio-branded consumer applications. Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 and Toast 7 feature high-definition capabilities today, and new applications are currently being developed that will enable consumers to realize the full potential of the new media. |