Avid DS Nitris Expands Hi-Res and HD Finishing Capabilities; Dual-Link Connectivity and 64-bit Computing Architecture Facilitate HD-RGB and 2K/4K Projects; DS Assist Station Expands Online Workflow.

LAS VEGAS -- Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced version 8.0 of the Avid(R) DS Nitris(R) system, featuring new hardware and software enhancements for advanced postproduction professionals working on high-resolution and digital intermediate (DI) film and television projects. Designed to support HD-RGB formats that offer the highest tape-based image quality currently available, Avid DS Nitris v8.0 provides dual-link 4:4:4 hardware connectivity for higher data throughput as well as a native 64-bit software architecture that accelerates system performance for deep layer compositing and hi-res projects. Version 8.0 also delivers dual-boot capability with Avid Symphony(TM) Nitris, giving editors access to both Symphony and Avid DS software functionality on a single workstation with the same Avid Nitris hardware. In addition, Avid also announced the Avid DS Assist Station(TM), a software-only version of the Avid DS v8.0 toolset, which customers can deploy on lower-cost workstations to handle less-intensive tasks such as conform checks, while using the Avid DS Nitris system for higher-bandwidth work.

"The ability to work with higher-resolution formats is critical for anyone in a television or film finishing environment," said Matt Allard, senior product manager at Avid. "Today, HD-RGB is emerging as the new de facto mastering standard in the advanced television market because of its superior color fidelity. In feature film, producers want a similar level of uncompressed color quality for their 2K and 4K DI work. By enhancing Avid DS Nitris with these hi-res capabilities and expanding the online workflow with the DS Assist Station, we're enabling professionals to work more efficiently in whatever resolution they need as their delivery requirements evolve over time."

Bill Admans, director of Creative Editorial at FotoKem, said, "Many of our high-end clients have tested and begun to use the new HD-RGB digital film cameras as a primary acquisition format. FotoKem has been mastering film dailies and final product to HDCamSR in 4:4:4 for some time now, because of its superior quality. The studios are already telling us that this will be their primary acquisition and mastering format for the '06-'07 Fall television season. The addition of HD-RGB 4:4:4 workflows to Avid DS Nitris are very important to our business, and we are extremely pleased about the arrival of these new features. But at the end of the day, it's not just about bells and whistles. FotoKem chooses Avid because the company consistently delivers quality, end-to-end workflows backed with the confidence of the highest level of technical support."

The Ultimate System for High-Resolution Workflows

Version 8.0 of Avid DS Nitris combines real-time multi-stream 10-bit HD performance, and a deep creative toolset to provide time-sensitive post environments with unmatched performance for editing and finishing SD, HD and 2K/4K DI work. Highlights of the new system include:

--Dual-link HD-SDI connectivity - offering new integrated I/O hardware that provides the necessary bandwidth for capturing and editing 4:4:4 HD-RGB formats such as HDCAM SR;

--Dual-boot capability - expanding the flexibility of HD finishing options by allowing editors to run either Symphony or Avid DS software on the same system;

--Native 64-bit system and software support - leveraging the advantages of workstations that feature 64-bit processors for faster performance through access to greater physical memory, a critical component when working with high-bandwidth, high resolution files;

--Support for 720p50 sequences - providing European customers transitioning to HD with capture, conform, finishing and mastering in the 720p50 standard; and

--Support for Avid Unity ISIS(TM) - allowing the system to work with Avid's newest shared-storage system to exchange and share media assets with other connected systems.

Accelerated Finishing with the Avid DS Assist Station

The new Avid DS Assist Station, a software-only version of the Avid DS 8.0 toolset, enables facilities to accelerate the finishing process by building a collaborative workflow around a central Avid DS Nitris system. Capable of running on a lower-cost workstation, the Avid DS Assist Station software can be networked with Avid DS Nitris to serve as a satellite system, ideal for offloading tasks - such as conform checks, rotoscopy, graphics and composites - to an assistant editor or effects specialist. The expanded workflow improves the efficiency of online work, making the Avid DS Assist Station software the perfect complement to the hardware-accelerated power of the Avid DS Nitris system.

Pricing and Availability

Pricing for the Avid DS Nitris v8.0 system is $147,995 USMSRP as a turnkey system, which includes a CPU workstation, monitors, 2.5 TBs of RAID storage, and one license for Avid DS RP (remote processing software for offloading computationally intensive tasks). Existing Avid DS Nitris v7.6 customers with assurance contracts can upgrade to version 8.0 with dual-boot capability for $9,995 USMSRP, and can purchase the Avid dual-link HD-SDI card for $9,995 USMSRP. The Avid DS Assist Station is available for $9,995 USMSRP.

Both the Avid DS Nitris v8.0 system and the Avid DS Assist Station are expected to ship in Q2 2006. For more information, please visit www.avid.com/dsnitris/.

About Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid Technology, Inc. is the world leader in digital nonlinear media creation, management, and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation, games, and broadcast professionals to work more efficiently, productively, and creatively. For more information about the company's Oscar(R), Grammy(R), and Emmy(R) award-winning products and services, please visit: www.avid.com.

(C) 2006 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, 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, Film Composer, Digidesign, Pro Tools, Symphony, Nitris, Avid DS Assist Station, and Avid Unity ISIS are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer(R) system for motion picture editing. Digidesign, Avid's audio division, received an Oscar statuette representing the 2003 Scientific and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of its Pro Tools(R) digital audio workstation. Academy Award and Oscar are trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emmy is a registered trademark of ATAS/NATAS. Grammy is a trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.