Avid to Ship New Media Composer Family Worldwide on June 21; Company hosts webcast to highlight system's latest features, including HD and real-time multi-cam on the Mac.

TEWKSBURY, Mass. -- Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that it expects to ship the new family of Media Composer(R) products on Wednesday, June 21. Introduced in April at NAB 2006, the new Media Composer family is now available to editors in a range of flexible configurations, including a software-only application, which offers portability and the option to add hardware acceleration as required. All products in the Media Composer family feature version 2.5 software, which delivers improved dual-platform functionality, with the addition of broad HD capabilities and real-time multi-cam support on Mac OS X (Tiger). In addition, the new Media Composer family is designed to offer workflow-intelligent features that support team-based collaboration through the Avid(R) Interplay(TM) system - the world's first nonlinear workflow engine - which is expected to ship in Q3 2006.

"The availability of Media Composer software just gives us so many options - we're really excited. The software delivers all the professional tools we require - HD, Mac functionality, mixed resolutions, motion tracking, and keying, and we can now affordably add seats to supplement our hardware-accelerated systems," said Jamie Beedy, post supervisor at Karl Productions, a Chicago video production company. "We had considered switching to Final Cut Pro, but having to deal with multiple manufacturers whenever there is a problem is something we don't have time for. Plus, we beta tested Media Composer, and are impressed with the performance. Every time we sit down to use this system, we're simply amazed that we've got the world's best creative toolset running on our laptops. We can't imagine using anything else."

The latest version of Media Composer software builds on the application's comprehensive toolset and adds new features, including:

--HD format support on the Mac - allows editors to work with popular HD formats such as DVCPRO HD, HDV, and Avid DNxHD(R). Using the optional Avid DNxcel(TM) board, editors can also encode HD material into Avid DNxHD resolutions of 145 Mb, 220 Mb, and 10-bit 220 Mb data rates.

--Enhanced real-time multi-cam - delivers improved real-time multi-cam functionality for the Mac and PC with support for HD resolutions and the ability to preview grouped clips before adding selections to the timeline.

--XDCAM HD support - allows editors to work with Sony's new file-based HD format.

--Motion tracking and stabilization with SteadyGlide(TM) - enables editors to smooth shaky camera footage while maintaining desirable camera motion, such as pans and tilts.

--Full-screen playback over DVI - enables users to monitor SD or HD projects on LCD or plasma displays through on-board graphics cards without the need for expensive I/O or HD monitors.

--Workflow-intelligence with Avid Interplay - allows editors to use remote bins, monitor project changes, and access the powerful transcode, low-res encode, and integrated asset management tools of Avid Interplay.

Wednesday, June 21 Webcast

On Wednesday, June 21 at 1:00 PM ET, Avid will host a webcast to highlight a number of the latest features in Media Composer. During the online demonstration, Tim Wilson, senior product marketing manager for Avid, will showcase several innovative features, including SteadyGlide Motion Tracking, full-screen HD playback over DVI, and other time-saving tasks. For more information and to register, please visit www.avid.com/mclive.

Pricing and Availability

The Media Composer family provides Mac and PC customers with a range of scalable editing configurations that offer real-time HD, SD, and DV performance, superior image quality, and unmatched media management capabilities. Systems are available in the following configurations:

--Media Composer - Avid's renowned creative toolset available in a software-only version for both Mac and PC, desktops and laptops, featuring comprehensive HD support and leveraging the latest in Multi-Core CPU and GPU power available to both platforms, $4,995 USMSRP;

--Media Composer with Avid Mojo(R) SDI Digital Nonlinear Accelerator(TM) - software application with Avid's new Mojo Serial Digital Interface (SDI) I/O device for uncompressed SD capture and output for real-time monitoring and FireWire connectivity for DV, HDV, and DVCPRO HD projects (also available June 21), $7,495 USMSRP;

--Media Composer Adrenaline(TM) - facility-class configuration designed for professionals who require full analog and digital I/O and hardware acceleration for superior performance, $19,995 USMSRP; and

--Media Composer Adrenaline with Avid DNxcel - fully expanded software and hardware system for encoding HD material to 10-bit or 8-bit Avid DNxHD, Avid's mastering-quality format that provides the image quality of 10-bit uncompressed HD at SD bandwidths, $22,995 USMSRP.

Avid also offers special academic pricing for all Media Composer configurations for educational institutions. For more information about Avid's academic programs, visit www.avid.com/mcacademic.

For more information about Media Composer, please visit www.avid.com/mediacomposer.

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. Al 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, Media Composer, Interplay, Avid DNxHD, SteadyGlide, Avid Mojo, Avid DNxcel, Symphony, Nitris, Adrenaline, and Digital Nonlinear Accelerator 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.