ICE Ships New Adobe After Effects 'On ICE' Software and New BlueICE Hardware.

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 1999--

First-ever acceleration of core After Effects functions at new

price/performance value; OMF support; streamlines the entire

post-production workflow

ICE, a leader in digital video capture, special effects, finishing and distribution solutions, announced that it has shipped its newest Adobe After Effects 'On ICE' software for high-performance compositing, and its new-generation Basic BlueICE and Ultra BlueICE hardware that powers ICE's entire line of products. Backed by the added performance and lower cost of ICE's new hardware, ICE's award-winning hardware/software solutions like After Effects 'On ICE' deliver massive time and cost-savings, significantly streamlining the post production workflow and freeing time for greater creative experimentation. ICE solutions represent a significant new desktop modality for digital artists, who use ICE to gain a significant competitive edge in their markets by leveraging lower-cost desktop systems for more of their work, and growing their business capacity without adding staff or entire new desktop systems. After Effects 'On ICE' and ICE's BlueICE hardware are available from IC E's network of resellers or at www.iced.com.

Adobe After Effects is the ultimate tool for desktop motion graphics and visual effects. After Effects 'On ICE' takes After Effects to a new level, delivering 3 to 7 times the performance of a G3 450 Mhz desktop system when animating position, scale, and rotation with Motion Blur. After Effects 'On ICE' also includes OMF read/writer support to allow Avid nonlinear editing systems users to create files that are readily opened and worked upon in both Avid and After Effects environments.

After Effects 'On ICE' users gain further competitive advantage by leveraging their BlueICE hardware across their entire workflow - with other ICE'd solutions for uncompressed real-time SDI video capture and playback; accelerated visual effects in Avid nonlinear editing systems or popular third-party software like Commotion; and superfast video compression. For many professionals, working 'On ICE' is a strategy for growing the revenue-making capacity of the facility without adding staff or new desktop systems. When more systems are needed to handle an increased volume of work, facilities simply place existing desktops 'On ICE' - for a productivity increase that frees systems to handle more work.

First-Ever Adobe OEM Deal, Meets Market Demand for Performance

After Effects 'On ICE' also is the fruit of Adobe Systems Inc.'s first-ever OEM deal for its After Effects Production Bundle. "When we surveyed our customers recently about what they wanted to see added to After Effects, one of the top requests was for added performance features," said Steve Kilisky, senior product manager for Adobe After Effects. "We are happy to be working with ICE to deliver enhanced performance and new capabilities to After Effects users."

"I've worked with ICE'd solutions for After Effects for over two years as ICE's product line has grown, and I see this newest After Effects 'On ICE' solution as a home-run hit way out of the ballpark," said Brian Maffitt, owner and creative director of Total Training, Inc., and author of the popular Total After Effects training tape series. "This newest After Effects 'On ICE' elegantly fixes long-standing speed limitations with the core After Effects product, and gives users a way to significantly streamline the entire digital video production workflow. For the money, it's a highly worthwhile investment."

"Speed is everything in this business as content creators strive to beat the competition in time and in cost," said Bob Sullivan, president and CEO of ICE. "ICE is the linchpin technology for anyone doing digital video publishing in any media on the desktop today, because we deliver speed not just in After Effects, but in the entire production workflow. We've gotten record orders of this product already since we announced it only six weeks ago - and raves from users about the impact this portends for their overall business, not just their After Effects work. With the enhancements in this After Effects 'On ICE' version and our new hardware, digital video creators just have to be on ICE to be the fastest and the best at what they do on the desktop."

What's New in After Effects 'On ICE' Basic and Ultra Editions:

- After Effects' Geometrics and Compositing with Motion Blur 'On

ICE.' Never-before accelerated features now fly.

- After Effects 4.1 Production Bundle license - as newly released

by Adobe.

- OMF Compatibility - for a streamlined After Effects/Avid

workflow.

- Full Compatibility with all versions of BlueICE hardware.

What's New in BlueICE Hardware:

- Lower-cost, Basic BlueICE - more affordable pricing, performance

enhancements featuring increased memory and processor power.

- New Ultra BlueICE Performance - delivers up to twice the speed of

the existing BlueICE hardware for the ultimate in performance.

- Fully software compatible - Both the entry-level Basic BlueICE

and the Ultra BlueICE boards are completely software-compatible

with previous generation BlueICE hardware.

Pricing and Supported Platforms

After Effects 'On ICE' is available in two versions. The After Effects 'On ICE' Basic Edition is priced at $3,995 including the new Basic BlueICE hardware; the new ICE'd After Effects Module; a copy of After Effects 4.1 Production Bundle; and ICEfx for After Effects. The After Effects 'On ICE' Ultra Edition is priced at $7,995, including Ultra BlueICE hardware; the ICE'd After Effects Module; a copy of After Effects 4.1 Production Bundle; and ICEfx for After Effects, ICE'd Edges, ICE'd CineLook, and ICE'd Final Effects Complete. ICE products are available for both Mac and Windows NT platforms.

About ICE

Founded in 1994 and based in Waltham, MA, Integrated Computing Engines (ICE) is a leader in desktop video capture, special effects, finishing and distribution solutions used by professional producers of video, film, Web graphics, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and other moving images. The ICE hardware/software architecture easily integrates into standard Mac(r)OS and Windows (r) NT platforms, turning desktops into affordable super-fast systems. ICE is privately held and has strategic relationships with SCP Private Equity Partners L.P., Citicorp, and Compaq Computer Corporation.