Avid Delivers Support for XDCAM HD 50 Mb/s Format

Customers benefit from higher quality HD picture and workflow enhancements in latest update to editing software

Tewksbury, Mass. — Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID) today announced qualification of the Sony XDCAM HD MPEG 2 Long GoP 50 Mb/s format in its Media Composer®, NewsCutter® and Symphony™ product lines. Customers will be able to increase the speed and quality of productions by working with full raster 1920x1080 HD media in a 4:2:2 color space. The functionality is available via a free software upgrade for all Avid® customers running version 3.0 of Media Composer and Symphony and version 7.0 of NewsCutter software.

With this release, Avid Media Composer, NewsCutter and Symphony products now support the Sony PDW-700 and PDW-HD1500 cameras for ingest at all bit rates (50Mbps for both 1080i and 720p) and frame rates of 1080 50i, 59.94i and 720p. Working in the Sony XDCAM HD 50 Mb/s format will enable customers to leverage the benefits of Avid’s existing interoperability – such as support for XDCAM HD proxies, native MXF media support, real-time multi-format editing and variable frame rate support.

“Avid is committed to making our solutions more open for our customers and partners, and this announcement is just one example of the many ways we are doing that,” said Kirk Arnold, EVP Customer Operations, Avid. “As HD production matures, it becomes even more critical for us to work with strategic partners like Sony to provide our customers with solid file-based workflows.”

Additional new enhancements to Avid Media Composer, NewsCutter and Symphony systems include: French language support for ScriptSync®; workflow improvements such as the ability to select multiple segments on enabled tracks and generate reports on sequence and clip information; and several performance enhancements.

Customers must upgrade to version 3.0.5 of Media Composer and Symphony or version 7.0.5 of NewsCutter software to receive these updates as well as ingest and edit capabilities for the Sony XDCAM HD 50 Mb/s format. Write-back capability for this format is planned for a future release. For more information on how to purchase or upgrade, visit: http://www.avid.com/products/howtobuy/Index.aspx?cmpid=editors08pr_14

About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals – as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid, Digidesign®, M-Audio®, Pinnacle Systems®, Sibelius®, Softimage® and Sundance Digital®. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid’s products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar® statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer® system for motion picture editing. For more information about the company’s Oscar, Grammy® and Emmy® award-winning products and services, visit www.avid.com, del.icio.us, Flickr, technorati and twitter; connect with Avid on Facebook or subscribe to Avid Industry Buzz.

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© 2008 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. Promotions and discounts are subject to availability and change without notice. Avid, Avid DNxHD, Digidesign, Film Composer, M-Audio, Media Composer, NewsCutter, Pinnacle Systems, ScriptSync, Sibelius, Softimage, Sundance Digital and Symphony are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Emmy is a registered trademark of ATAS/NATAS. Oscar is a trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 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.