Avid Technology Ships Avid Unity MediaNet 1.0.

TEWKSBURY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 1999--

Avid Technology (NASDAQ:AVID) announced today that it is now shipping the first version of Avid Unity(TM) MediaNet 1.0, the foundation of Avid's open nonlinear production environment and revolutionary new Avid Unity family of networked storage and distributed computing products. Avid Unity MediaNet 1.0 is a set of open networking and central storage technologies based-on an advanced media file system that enables real-time, simultaneous sharing of high-bandwidth media.

Announced at NAB'99, Avid Unity MediaNet 1.0 connects editors, artists, sound-designers and effects specialists throughout a digital facility to the same network, significantly improving workflow, raising productivity and enhancing creativity by eliminating many of the mundane, mechanical tasks associated with managing today's part linear, part nonlinear post-production process. Included in Avid Unity MediaNet are advanced media transfer utilities and the very latest in server-assisted shared storage and networking technologies, providing support for a wide-range of applications and platforms. Avid Unity MediaNet 1.0 will feature direct connection of the Macintosh platform, as well as network attachment of Windows NT and SGI IRIX platforms.

"When I started using Avid Unity MediaNet, my first thought was that whoever did the design and engineering put a lot of thought into this and got it right," said Chuck Spatariu, Vice President and General Manager of LA Digital Post, one of the first Avid Unity MediaNet beta testers. "The concept of media sharing is truly a revolution for post-production. The system is stable, easy to install, easy to learn and has made it possible to better deploy our resources more efficiently and to do more without having to add people and systems. This is a solution that can save considerable time and money for digital content creators. Its flexibility is amazing and gives me capabilities that simply did not exist before."

Later in 1999 Avid will introduce Avid Unity Media Services. Integrated with Avid Unity MediaNet, Avid Unity Media Services will provide dedicated management and manipulation services for the entire post-production facility from a central location. By leveraging Avid Unity MediaNet to offload various input, output and media manipulation tasks from expensive nonlinear equipment and talent, Avid Unity Media Services will bring the digital content creation process to a new level by allowing tasks to freely migrate within the environment to the most effective location for their completion.

"The shipping of Avid Unity MediaNet is a milestone for Avid and for the post-production industry. With years of research, a number of patent filings and numerous Avid employees involved in enabling the next revolution in post-production, Avid Unity MediaNet showcases Avid's commitment to bringing the full potential of digital technology to the post-production market," said Steve Nezer, vice president and general manager of Avid's Shared Storage and Networking Products group.

Availability

Avid Unity MediaNet is available immediately through Avid's worldwide distribution network. Turnkey Avid Unity MediaNet system prices start at $58,000 USMSRP.

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, corporate communicators, TV news broadcasters, and consumers. For more information, visit Avid's Web site at www.avid.com.

(c) 1999 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product specifications contained herein are subject to change without notice. Avid is a registered trademark and Avid Unity is a trademark of Avid Technology, Inc., or its subsidiaries or divisions. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.