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Digidesign Sells 150 ICON Integrated Console Systems in Six Months


WEBWIRE

TEWKSBURY, MA -- 12/16/2004 -- Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that its audio division, Digidesign, has sold 150 Digidesign® ICON integrated console systems since the product began shipping on April 18, 2004. The sales total for Digidesign ICON -- an audio environment that combines the award winning Digidesign Pro Tools® platform with the fully featured D-Control™ tactile work surface -- is unprecedented in the pro audio industry, where large-format consoles typically take years to achieve critical mass.

The 150th ICON system was sold to Nathaniel Kunkel, a Grammy®-nominated and Emmy® award-winning producer, engineer, and mixer whose credits include Sting, Morrissey, Good Charlotte, and Keane. “I never imagined that I could buy a system that would increase my workflow as much as the ICON has,” says Kunkel, who purchased his Digidesign ICON in October at the Audio Engineering Society Convention in San Francisco. “I am getting my mixes done faster and having more fun than ever. This is an unparalleled musical tool.”

While Kunkel has been using Digidesign ICON to mix music, the product has been widely embraced across a wide spectrum of the pro audio community, from music recording and mixing to sound design, audio post, broadcast, and film sound professionals. Danny van Spreuwel, chief engineer at Meta Sound Studios in Amsterdam, says, “ICON is a perfect tool for large-scale film-mixing projects. Our facility is already equipped with Pro Tools, so everything stays in one system, from recording through the final mix. We love the broad access to plug-ins too. We have already used ICON to complete commercials and film trailers, and will soon be using it to work on ’Robots,’ an animated feature film from 20th Century Fox.”

Lindsay Tomasic, studio manager of Firehouse Recording Studios in Pasadena, CA, commented, “Our clients are happy that we have chosen to change and grow with the times through our investment in ICON. We are impressed with the system’s time-saving features, and our clients come away with a great first impression. The power of our new ICON system has helped us to complete episodes of ’7th Heaven’ and ’8 Simple Rules,’ a Broadway duets project, and some amazing-sounding surround mixes on a range of other projects.”

Other ICON customers include Another Country, Atlantis, Ball State University, Bionic Media, CitéLab, Crazy TV, Magnetix, Megamedia, O’Henry Sound Studios, Producciones Grande, SAE Institutes Worldwide, Santa Barbara Sound Design, Sound Inn Studio, Inside Track, Widget Post, and many more.

“Our customers’ early response to ICON demonstrates that they share our vision of the future of mixing, which integrates the power, flexibility, and time-tested reliability of the Pro Tools platform with the ergonomic functionality of a console environment that puts all of the mix parameters right at the engineer’s fingertips,” says Rich Nevens, Digidesign director of worldwide console sales. “As more and more members of the pro audio community realize the benefits of this approach, we’re confident that ICON will continue to serve their needs -- whether they’re making hit records, producing audio for commercials, or mixing film soundtracks in surround sound. ICON also offers comprehensive Avid picture support, making the system ideal for the growing number of postproduction customers who demand a seamless workflow between audio and video.”

In addition to ICON studio installs, the systems have been used to mix major events like the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN, which featured more than 30 bands performing on six stages.

About Digidesign ICON

ICON is Digidesign’s integrated console environment featuring the all-new D-Control™ tactile worksurface, Pro Tools|HD® Accel as its core DSP engine, and modular Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces for analog and digital I/O. The first truly integrated console solution of its kind, ICON empowers operators to accomplish every aspect of a project -- recording, editing, mixing, and processing -- complete with integrated video and delivery. ICON provides unmatched control with a fully automated, completely recallable, total production system.

For more information, visit Digidesign’s Web site at: www.digidesign.com.

About Digidesign

Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc., is the world’s leading manufacturer of digital audio production systems, and the winner of the 2001 Technical Grammy Award and 2003 Academy Award® of Merit (Oscar® statuette) for the design, development and implementation of the Pro Tools digital audio workstation. The company is the exclusive distributor of the Focusrite hardware and software product lines in North and Latin America. Digidesign provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and radio broadcast industries with tools for digital recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, signal processing, and surround mixing. Digidesign products are marketed in over forty countries worldwide through a distribution network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships. M-Audio, a leading provider of digital audio and MIDI solutions for electronic musicians and audio professionals, is a business unit of Digidesign. For more information, please visit: www.digidesign.com.

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, Grammy, and Emmy award-winning products and services, please visit: www.avid.com.

© 2004 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, D-Control, Digidesign, Film Composer, Pro Tools, and Pro Tools|HD are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. 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® 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 digital audio workstation. Oscar and Academy Award 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.



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