Avid Announces Worldwide Availability of Mac OS X Versions of Symphony, Media Composer, Film Composer XL and Avid Xpress.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TEWKSBURY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003

Avid's Most Powerful Set of Real-time Finishing Capabilities Now

Available on the Mac

Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced the worldwide availability of its Symphony(TM) system on the Macintosh OS X platform. Symphony v4.7 is Avid's most powerful Mac platform-based postproduction solution to date, offering real-time finishing capabilities such as color correction, 10-bit DVE and Ultimatte(TM) keying.

"Avid Symphony on Mac OS X takes our Mac-based offerings to an entirely new level with a powerful, real-time finishing environment and the ability to master in any format," said Matt Allard, senior manager of product marketing for Avid Technology. "The product further reinforces our commitment to providing professionals with technology improvements that help them produce high-quality media efficiently and creatively, on whatever platform they choose."

"As a devoted Mac user, it's great to work on Symphony with the stability of OS X," said John Hawkes, owner of John H. Hawkes Productions, an Avid beta test site. "Symphony on the Mac allows me to work on the platform I know best. It integrates seamlessly with other applications, offers new features that give me more creative control, and enables me to work more efficiently and achieve greater consistency throughout a project."

Avid also today announced the immediate availability of the Media Composer(R) XL, Film Composer(R) XL and Avid Xpress(R) systems for the Macintosh OS X platform. These new versions will include real-time Symphony-style color correction, as well as 23.976 fps project support for all Media Composer systems. Avid's new MetaSync(TM) technology, which allows editors to synchronize virtually any kind of metadata with traditional video and audio content, will also now be available on these Mac platform-based products.

Pricing and Availability

The Avid Symphony(TM) system for the Macintosh platform and new Mac OS X versions of the Media Composer, Film Composer, and Avid Xpress systems are now available through Avid's worldwide reseller channel. Pricing starts at the following:

-- As an introductory offering, new Avid Symphony v4.7 systems are priced up to 22% off the regular $90,000 USMSRP through March 28, 2003.

-- Media Composer v11.7 offline starts at $12,000 USMSRP.

-- Film Composer XL v11.7 starts at $53,000 USMSRP.

-- Avid Xpress v5.7 starts at $5,999 USMSRP.

For more details about these products or Avid's other products and services, visit www.avid.com.

About Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid Technology, Inc. delivers the solutions that Make, Manage and Move Media(TM). As a recognized digital standard for professionals who Make the world's media -- from video, audio and film to animation, special effects and streaming media -- Avid's products are used to make more television and news shows, commercials, music videos and CDs, corporate/industrial productions and major motion pictures combined than any other nonlinear editing manufacturer in the world. Building on its award-winning heritage, which includes several Emmy(R) awards as well as an Oscar(R) statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design and engineering of the Avid Film Composer system for motion picture editing, Avid is extending its reach by redefining how digital media is shared, stored and distributed. To Manage today's increasingly rich collection of dynamic media, Avid provides powerful servers, networks and media tools to help customers search files, share media and collaborate on new productions, both locally and globally. Avid's solutions also empower users to easily Move media, whether on air, over cable or satellite or through the Internet. Like no other media company today, Avid's end-to-end solutions span the continuum of media creation, management and distribution. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Tewksbury, MA. More information about Avid is available at www.avid.com.

(C) 2003 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product specifications and availability are subject to change without notice. All prices are USMSRP for the U.S. and Canada only and are subject to change without notice. Contact your local Avid office or reseller for prices outside the U.S. and Canada. Avid, Avid Xpress, Media Composer, Film Composer, MetaSync, Symphony and Make, Manage and Move Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Oscar is a trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emmy is a registered trademark of ATAS/NATAS. Ultimatte is a trademark of Ultimatte Corporation. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.