Avid Announces October Availability of Native HDV Support

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2005--Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ : AVID - News) today announced that it expects to deliver native HDV editing and workflow support in its PC-based Avid Xpress ® Pro and Media Composer ® Adrenaline(TM) products by October 17, 2005. Customers who purchase either a Media Composer Adrenaline HD 2.x system with an assurance contract or an Avid Xpress Pro HD 5.x system before October 17 may receive free HDV software upgrades when the release ships next month. "Although HDV is still relatively new as a format, there's no question that it is having a significant impact in the marketplace, with early adoption among broadcasters, post-production facilities and independent producers," said Patrick McLean, senior product manager for Avid. "Our customers have been asking Avid to support this new format, and we're pleased to announce that we're delivering it. More importantly, we've invested heavily to ensure that our HDV implementation addresses key customer needs such as mixing HDV with DV and other formats in the same timeline in real-time. When they begin working with HDV, they'll have the same kind of seamless workflow experience as they do when working on an Avid system today." "I've been beta testing HDV on Avid Xpress Pro for over a month, and one of the best things is that my workflow hasn't changed at all. Avid has clearly put a lot of thought into this implementation - they simply understand how professionals need to work," said David Benjamin, an editor for IFILM currently working on Team Extreme, a film project for Fuel TV. "Plus, with Avid's rock-solid media management, script-based editing, open timeline, and real-time effects capabilities, I feel truly empowered as an artist - which is more than I can say about the experiences I've had using other HDV-ready NLEs." Pricing and Availability The planned October release of HDV support will be for PC-based systems, and Avid will offer HDV as a free upgrade to customers who purchase either a Media Composer Adrenaline HD 2.x system with an assurance contract or an Avid Xpress Pro HD 5.x system before October 17, 2005. Avid Xpress Pro 4.x customers can purchase the HDV upgrade for $50.00 USMSR Click here for more Avid Xpress Pro HD info, pricing and specials