Avid Introduces New Products, Demonstrates New Technologies, Announces Product Upgrades at NAB '98.LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 1998--Avid(r) Technology, Inc., (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :AVID) the leading provider of computer-based video, film and audio applications for information and entertainment, is making a number of major announcements at this year's National Association of Broadcasters Conference (NAB). Announcements include four new products for the Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. platform, technology demonstrations of HD/DTV and interactive television program creation, and demonstrations of current and future technology for its flagship editing and effects products. New Windows NT-Based Editing and Effects Solutions For Film and Television; Broadcast News Markets Avid is introducing four new Intel Architecture-based solutions for the film, television and broadcast news markets. These new solutions are a result of Avid's continued commitment to bring visual computing The use of computers for 3D modeling and animation. See visualization. technology to a range of computing platforms. New solutions for film and television include the Avid Symphony(TM) uncompressed finishing system, Avid Marquee(TM) title animation system and Masquerade(TM) paint and 2D animation system. Avid is also introducing the Avid NewsCutter DV(TM) news editing system for broadcast news production. Avid Symphony: New Uncompressed Television Finishing System Avid Symphony is a new uncompressed nonlinear A system in which the output is not a uniform relationship to the input. nonlinear - (Scientific computation) A property of a system whose output is not proportional to its input. finishing system for high-end television programs and commercials. Avid Symphony features three uncompressed real-time streams (two for video and one for graphics and titles) and an advanced feature set to address the highest-end television finishing market. It augments Avid's current suite of solutions for television post-production, offers Total Conform of Media Composer(r) projects and provides strong links to Avid's effects and audio solutions. The new solution also incorporates an Avid user interface, familiar to more than 40,000 editors worldwide. Avid currently plans to ship the Windows NT-based Avid Symphony in Q4. Avid NewsCutter DV and NewsPlayer DV: The Industry's First Complete DV-Native News Editing and Playback Solution Avid is introducing the NewsCutter DV , the latest in the line of Avid's renowned NewsCutter disk-based news editing systems, and the NewsPlayer DV(TM), a DV-native multichannel Using two or more paths for transmission or processing. It can refer to a variety of architectures including (1) multiple I/O channels between the CPU and peripheral devices, (2) multiple wires in a cable, (3) multiple "logical" channels within a single wire or fiber or (4) multiple playback server. The combined products offer the industry's first integrated, DV-native editing and playback solution for broadcast news production. Broadcasters acquiring media in a DV format will now have the ability to edit and play back media without dubbing dubbing removal of most of the comb of day-old chickens. See also decombing. back to tape or changing media formats, making DV production faster, easier-to-use and more efficient with no generation loss. Avid Marquee 3D Title Animation System Avid is also announcing Avid Marquee, a new resolution-independent 3D title animation software for Silicon Graphics(r) and Windows NT(r) workstations. The first solution of its type from Avid, Avid Marquee combines the best aspects of word processing word processing, use of a computer program or a dedicated hardware and software package to write, edit, format, and print a document. Text is most commonly entered using a keyboard similar to a typewriter's, although handwritten input (see pen-based computer) and with real-time 3D text, true 3D rotation and texture mapping In computer graphics, the application of a type of surface to a 3D image. A texture can be uniform, such as a brick wall, or irregular, such as wood grain or marble. The common method is to create a 2D bitmapped image of the texture, called a "texture map," which is then "wrapped around" . Avid Marquee offers sophisticated titling and real time 3D character animation Character animation is a specialized process of the animation process, concerning the animation of one or more characters featured in an animated work. It is usually as one aspect of a larger production, and often to complement voice acting. to artists as well as Media Composer users with a simple user interface and an Avid-style timeline. Whether artists are creating graphics for promos, opens, bumpers or commercials, Avid Marquee is designed to be a fast and flexible tool for creating complex titles. Masquerade: Paint and 2D Animation Software Masquerade is a new paint and 2D animation system for Windows NT(r) workstations. The software builds on the strengths of Avid's industry-leading Matador matador In bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and attempts to dispatch the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. Most of the techniques used by modern matadors were established in the 1910s by Juan Belmonte (b. 1894–d. paint software, bringing many of its high-end capabilities to Windows NT workstations. It is designed for professional graphics artists in the film and video industries and provides a rich 2D and paint feature set. Effects can be applied to individual layers, and users can now paint directly onto objects through effects and transforms in real time. Masquerade's automation tools make complex work with sequences of images easier and faster. Technology Demonstration to Add Interactive Content to Television Programs Avid and Microsoft are also showcasing technology that enables interactive television programming. The demonstration offers an early concept of how the Internet and television may eventually come together, as it enables viewers to access additional information about the programs they are watching and act on it through the Internet. The NAB technology demonstration shows a solution which allows television post-production professionals to create interactive HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. information using an application such as Microsoft Front Page or Microsoft Word A full-featured word processing program for Windows and the Macintosh from Microsoft. Included in the Microsoft application suite, it is a sophisticated program with rudimentary desktop publishing capabilities that has become the most widely used word processing application on the market. and then embed that interactive information into a television program while it is being created, using a system similar to Avid's Media Composer digital editing system running on a Windows NT workstation. Avid Explores HD/DTV Solutions Avid is showing how television post-production professionals and broadcasters can generate high-definition television high-definition television (HDTV) Any system producing significantly greater picture resolution than that of the ordinary 525-line (625-line in Europe) television screen. Conventional television transmits signals in analog form. output from its currently-available Media Composer and Media Illusion(TM) and upcoming Symphony and NewsCutter DV nonlinear systems. Avid is also exploring the concept of 'mezzanine' or intermediate HDTV (High Definition TV) A set of digital television (DTV) standards that offer the highest resolution and sharpest picture. Although some HDTV sets are available in standard (rather square) screen sizes, the overwhelming majority of sets are wide screen, which eliminates compression as a viable means for editing and delivering high-quality HD images. "The move to DTV (Digital TeleVision) Transmitting TV using digital signals. The major DTV standards are ATSC (North America), DVB (Europe) and ISDB (Japan). All three use MPEG-2 video compression and Dolby Digital audio compression. DVB and ISDB also include MPEG audio compression. is inevitable, and broadcasters need efficient tools that enable high definition production. We also believe that the majority of the broadcast day - as much as 80 to 85% - will still be transmitted as multichannel DTV via standard 601 systems," said Pete Fasciano, Avid fellow, advanced development. Media Composer 7.0 and Editing Technology Previews Avid is highlighting its newly-available Media Composer and Film Composer(r) Version 7.0 nonlinear editing See nonlinear video editing. systems, as well as previewing future editing technologies, at its NAB exhibit booth. Version 7.0 demonstrations focus on the new Media Composer 9000 model, the flagship of the Media Composer line, which includes Intraframe. Editing as well as 8-8-8 audio and a range of sophisticated capabilities for film and television post-production. Upcoming technology previews include a number of refinements to Intraframe Editing as well as new technology for editing film-based television projects. Next Releases of Media Illusion and Matador Effects Solutions Avid is introducing a major new release, Version 5.0, of Media Illusion, its advanced nonlinear digital compositing and special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. system. Version 5.0 features CompositionLink(TM), which allows users to rebuild quickly and automatically Media Composer edits and add effects within the uncompressed environment of Media Illusion, using an Avid-style timeline. Avid is also previewing the upcoming release, Version 7.5, of its award-winning Matador(r) paint and 2D animation software, the industry's leading paint, rotoscoping Creating animated characters by tracing an action movie with real actors frame by frame. Performed via the computer today, rotoscoping was originally accomplished in the early 1900s by projecting each movie frame onto a frosted glass easel, from which the illustrator traced and redrew the and 2D animation system. Next Release of MCXpress(TM) Digital Video System; Avid Xpress(TM) and MCXpress Compatibility with DV and Firewire Avid is showcasing its leading corporate/institutional digital video systems, Avid Xpress for Macintosh and MCXpress for Windows NT. Avid is demonstrating how users can integrate affordable IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 1394 Firewire and DV solutions with Avid Xpress and MCXpress, and is featuring demonstrations of the newly-available Avid Xpress Version 2.0 system, as well as previews of the upcoming release of the MCXpress Version 1.6 system. Detailed information on each of the above announcements is available at www.avid.com/news. Information on Avid/Digidesign's NAB news is available at www.digidesign.com. -0- Avid Technology "Avid" redirects here. For the "Advancement Via Individual Determination" educational program, see AVID. Avid Technology, Inc NASDAQ: AVID is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear media editing (NLE) , Inc., is an international, industry-leading provider of digital audio and video tools for creating content for information and entertainment applications. Avid products are used by customers ranging from communications professionals to film, television and interactive content producers to broadcast news organizations. Avid and Media Composer are registered trademarks and Avid Symphony, Marquee, Masquerade, Media Illusion, Avid Xpress, CompositionLink, Intraframe, MCXpress and NewsCutter DV are trademarks of Avid Technology. Matador is a registered trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. in the UK. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Product specifications subject to change without notice. "1998. All rights reserved. CONTACT: Avid Technology Inc. Julie Gordon, 978/640-3486 julie_gordon@avid.com |
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