Avid Xpress Product Family Embraces HD

New Avid Xpress Studio HD and Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack deliver powerful, integrated content creation tools at breakthrough prices LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2005--NAB 2005, (Booth #SL600) - Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID - News) today unveiled the newest offerings in its Avid Xpress ® family of content creation tools - the Avid Xpress Studio HD all-in-one production suite, and the Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack. The Avid Xpress Studio HD system, which now starts at just $3,495 USMSRP, is the industry's first HD content creation suite to include highly integrated HD video editing, audio production, 3D animation, compositing and titling, and DVD authoring software applications combined with professional video and audio production hardware. The new Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack brings together two offerings - the Avid Xpress Pro HD software and the Avid ® Studio Toolkit HD - in a powerful software bundle at the breakthrough price of $2,495 USMSRP. "When we introduced Avid Xpress Studio last year, we did what others in our industry couldn't - we delivered seamless interoperability between an unprecedented group of content creation applications and hardware, all within a single, affordable package. With Avid Xpress Studio HD, we're raising the bar again," said Tim Wilson, senior product marketing manager for Avid. "We've packed this new version with tons of functionality, including native DVCPRO HD and Avid DNxHD(TM) support, groundbreaking 24p editing capabilities, and tighter integration between the software apps - all at an even more affordable price. Plus, with the new PowerPack option, we're giving Avid Xpress Pro HD customers a wider range of choices so they can select the toolset that's best suited for their needs - and will give them the biggest bang for the buck." Avid Xpress Studio HD The Avid Xpress Studio HD suite is built around five industry-leading software applications, including Avid Xpress Pro HD, Avid Pro Tools ® LE, Avid 3D, Avid FX, and Avid DVD by Sonic(TM). The system brings the entire media production process into one unified product, enabling professional content creators to offer services such as video editing, audio postproduction, graphics, compositing, titles, effects, and distribution via tape, DVD, or the Web. The Avid Xpress Studio HD system supports native DVCPRO HD for acquisition, editing, and output over IEEE-1394, plus Avid DNxHD encoding to create effects, transitions, and titles with the image quality of uncompressed HD files - but the bandwidth of SD files. Users can mix both DVCPRO HD and Avid DNxHD media with SD media in the same timeline in real time, and complete projects in a variety of ways, including output back to DVCPRO HD tape, SD DVD, or export to MPEG-2 HD, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) or WMV-HD. The system also includes: * Support for more SD and HD formats and frame rates for Avid 3D - including 10-bit uncompressed SD, DV25, DVCPRO 25, DVCPRO 50, as well as Avid DNxHD 1080i/59.94, 1080i/50, 1080p/25, 1080p/23.976, 720p/23.976, and 1080p/24; * New animation and modeling tools for Avid 3D - including motion presets, parent-child animation, geometry creation with Boolean editing, and new title animation rigs; * New Template Mode for Avid FX - including streamlined launching and effects application, and one-step editing of title templates directly inside the Avid FX Library Browser; and, * Enhancements to Avid DVD by Sonic - including new menu/background templates, plus a wide range of new options for managing content, importing and adding files, and enhancing the workspace view. The Avid Xpress Studio HD system comes in two versions. Avid Xpress Studio HD Essentials includes the Digidesign ® Mbox(TM) hardware for integrating audio I/O with the recording, editing, and real-time mixing capabilities of the Pro Tools LE software. Avid Xpress Studio HD Complete includes the eight-channel Digi 002 ® for professional audio and touch-sensitive motorized faders for automation control within both the Avid Xpress Pro HD and Avid Pro Tools LE applications. Avid Xpress Studio HD Complete also includes the Avid Mojo(TM) Digital Nonlinear Accelerator(TM) (Avid DNA(TM)) for real-time output of multiple streams of video and 3-D effects to client monitor and tape, SD display of HD media, and the ability to mix uncompressed graphics and animation with DV media in real time. Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack The Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack combines the latest release of Avid Xpress Pro HD software with the Avid Studio Toolkit HD suite of software offerings, which includes Avid 3D, Avid FX, and Avid DVD by Sonic. Together, this package provides a robust yet affordable way for content creators to work on HD video projects, create graphics, composites, titles, and effects, and distribute their work to HD tape, DVD, or the Web. Pricing & Availability All of the content creation applications found in the Avid Xpress Studio HD and Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack systems may be purchased individually; prices for these individual applications can be found on the Avid website at www.avid.com. Specific pricing for the new Avid Xpress family offerings is as follows: * The Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack system is priced at $2,495 USMSRP (compared to a total retail value of more than $6,000 USMSRP to purchase the products individually, and just $800 more than Avid Xpress Pro HD alone). * The Avid Xpress Studio HD Essentials system is priced at $3,495 USMSRP (compared to a total retail value of more than $8,000 USMSRP to purchase the products individually, and only $1,000 USMSRP more than Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack). * The Avid Xpress Studio HD Complete system is priced at $5,995 USMSRP (compared to a total retail value of more than $12,000 USMSRP to purchase the products individually, and the same price as Avid Xpress Pro HD, Avid Mojo and the Digi 002 alone).