Avid Systems Are Top Choice Among 2006 Academy Award Nominees; Creative professionals behind year's top films once again select Avid, Digidesign, and Softimage tools; Awards show and other Oscar programming also produced with Avid systems.

TEWKSBURY, Mass. -- Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that its film, audio, and animation solutions were used by professionals to produce every film nominated in the Best Picture, Directing, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and Animated Feature categories of the 78th Annual Academy Awards(R). This year's Academy Awards also marks the sixth-consecutive year that every nominee for a Sound Editing Oscar(R) has used the Digidesign(R) Pro Tools(R) system. In addition, content creation teams are using Avid postproduction and broadcast solutions - such as Avid(R) Symphony(TM) Nitris(R) and Avid Deko(R) systems - to assemble sequences and create unique graphic elements for the March 5 Academy Awards show and other programs that will offer red carpet coverage.

"Whether it's critically acclaimed nominated films such as Brokeback Mountain, the awards telecast itself, or other television outlets that cover this prestigious annual event, our film, audio, animation, and broadcast systems continue to be the preferred choice among the industry's most recognized professionals," said David Krall, president and CEO of Avid. "Year after year, the customers we serve produce amazing volumes of work, and the creativity, quality, and storytelling just keeps getting better. We're honored to be able to serve an industry that possesses such talent, and that the teams behind the most recognized films of the year - and the most popular television programs covering the Oscars - continue to rely on Avid's family of tools to help them achieve their very best."

Producers Tap Symphony Nitris for March 5 Telecast

In addition to the numerous Academy Award nominees who chose to work with Avid systems, Los Angeles-based postproduction facility, Chainsaw, will use multiple Avid Symphony Nitris systems to produce both standard-definition and high-definition clip reels and promos for the March 5 Academy Awards telecast. Chainsaw recently purchased the systems for telecast work and for improved turnaround of time-sensitive HD projects.

"For this year's Academy Awards telecast, we're using Symphony Nitris and are experiencing a greater amount of efficiency. Assembly and editing is smoother than ever - particularly for HD rolls - thanks to the full conform between Symphony Nitris and our other Avid systems," said Mike Polito, vice president of Chainsaw. "To produce SD and HD content for an event of this stature - and all within a three-week period - Symphony Nitris is the most effective system out there."

Red Carpet Coverage "Gets Graphic" with Avid Deko

The 78th Annual Academy Awards telecast will also feature a wide range of stunning visuals created with Avid Deko real-time graphics systems. Fontastics - the broadcast graphics design and delivery services facility that is operating as the graphics playback arm for the telecast - is using Avid Deko 3000/Hybrid to design and deliver hundreds of high-definition visuals and effects and a unique graphic look for TV viewers. Other broadcast programs that will rely on Deko systems to produce cutting-edge graphics for red carpet coverage include Access Hollywood, as well as E! Entertainment, which plans to air 16 to 20 hours of Oscar-related content on Sunday, March 5.

The 78th Academy Awards conclude a 2006 awards season in which Avid's video, audio, and 3D animation systems - such as Media Composer(R) Adrenaline(TM), Avid Unity(TM), Digidesign Pro Tools, and SOFTIMAGE(R)|XSI(R) - were consistently chosen to create the work nominated in prominent Oscar, ACE, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards categories. For a complete list of motion pictures, films, television shows, and animated features that received Oscar, ACE, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations - and that were created on Avid systems, please visit www.avid.com/hollywood.

The Academy Awards telecast is scheduled to air on ABC this Sunday, March 5 at 8:00 PM EST.

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, 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. Avid, Film Composer, Digidesign, Pro Tools, Media Composer, Symphony, Nitris, Adrenaline, Deko, Avid Unity, and SOFTIMAGE, XSI 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.