Avid Ships Avid Cinema for Windows.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 1998--

-- Company Delivers Affordable, Easy-to-Use Video

Editing Software for Consumers --

At COMDEX Fall '98, Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVID), recognized as a leading supplier of video, audio and special effects systems for Hollywood films and television programs, announced today that it is shipping Avid Cinema for Windows. Avid Cinema is easy-to-use and affordable video editing and publishing software that allows home, business and school users to digitally capture, edit and publish professional-looking movies on a Windows-based PC.

Marcel Dubois, a Massachusetts-based video hobbyist, says, "Like many husbands and fathers, I have stacks of video tapes of school plays, sporting events, weddings, birthdays and family get-togethers. With Avid Cinema video editing and publishing software, I can add special effects, songs from my favorite CDs and professional-looking titles to add impact to these tapes, turning them into entertaining movies that my family can enjoy again and again. I look forward to taking advantage of Avid Cinema's publishing capabilities to send my movies over the Internet where they can easily be shared with family and friends."

"Avid Cinema is a powerful tool for the classroom," said Joe Picking, educational technology coordinator at Tri-County Computer Services Association in Ohio, which helps several Ohio school districts integrate technology into their school systems. "When considering technology for the classroom, we must ensure that it not only enhances the learning process but is also intuitive enough so that educators and students can learn it very quickly. Avid Cinema offers an easy way to produce multimedia reports, video yearbooks, virtual field trips and a variety of other innovative projects. By integrating Avid Cinema into their classrooms, educators as well as students are able to learn and express themselves in ways that simply weren't possible before."

Brian Bentley, president and CEO of Missing Link Media, a Texas-based computer company, claims that his clients are using Avid Cinema to enhance their business. "We see an increasing number of companies that are using Avid Cinema to give them a competitive edge. For example, we have a number of realtors that are using Avid Cinema to create video tours of their property listings, enabling potential buyers to tour homes across the country without having to leave their couches. Because Avid Cinema is so easy-to-use, these realtors are able to increase their sales without investing a lot of time and resources."

Avid Cinema is based on Avid's industry-leading high-end editing and effects technology, which has been used in the creation of many of Hollywood's biggest movies and television shows including "Titanic" and "Seinfeld." Using storyboard templates designed by professional screenwriters, consumers can design their own movies for home, school and business projects. Avid Cinema supports a variety of video capture cards so users can easily capture full-motion video, still images, audio or graphics from a VCR, camcorder, TV or the Web. Using drag and drop techniques, consumers can manipulate their digital video and audio clips, apply more than 60 special effects, and add voice-overs, soundtracks, animated titles and credits. With the click of a button, the finished movie can be published to videotape, CD-ROM, QuickTime or AVI files as well as various file formats for the Internet including RealNetworks' RealVideo format for email or web streaming applications.

System Requirements

The Avid Cinema software is available for the Windows 95 OSR2 and Windows 98 OS with a 200 MHz Pentium with MMX or Pentium II processors with 32+MB RAM , CD-ROM drive and AGP or PCI slot for video card. Avid Cinema requires a video capture card and supports a range of choices, including the ATI All-in-Wonder (PCI), ATI All-in-Wonder Pro (PCI or AGP), Hauppauge WinTV Model 404 (PCI), STB TV (PCI), STB TV/FM (PCI), or Intel Smart Video Recorder III (PCI) cards.

Pricing and Availability

The Avid Cinema software for Windows-based PCs is currently available in the US and Canada for a USMSRP of $139 through CompUSA and Best Buy superstores, Fry's Electronics, J&R Musicland, and MicroCenter locations as well as PC Connection, Tiger Direct and MicroWarehouse direct order catalogues. The software will also be sold through the Avid Cinema Webstore at www.avidcinema.com.

Avid Technology, Inc. is an international, industry-leading provider of digital audio and video tools for information and entertainment applications. The company's products are used by a variety of customers worldwide including film, television and interactive content producers, TV news broadcasters, corporate communicators and consumers. For more information, visit Avid's Web site at www.avid.com.

Avid is a registered trademark and Avid Cinema is a trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries or divisions. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change without notice.(c) 1998, Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.