Sonic Announces First Application to Enable
Industry-Approved DVD-on-Demand
Roxio Venue(tm) to Enable Consumers to
Create Protected DVDs of Entertainment Purchased from Online Service
Providers
Novato, California (8 August 8, 2006) - Sonic
Solutions(r), the leader in digital media software, today announced Roxio Venue,
a comprehensive media application that lets consumers select, manage, view, and
securely burn entertainment purchased online onto recordable DVDs that play on
standard DVD players as well as PCs. Roxio Venue is built on Sonic's
AuthorScript(r) DVD on Demand(tm) engine, the first technology to support the
managed recording of entertainment using the Content Scramble System (CSS) - the
copy protection found on commercially released DVDs.
Roxio Venue is available now to online
entertainment service providers for evaluation and will be released later this
year through Sonic's direct, retail, and OEM channels. The CSS feature of Roxio
Venue will be activated after final approval of recordable CSS.
"With almost 40 million broadband-connected U.S.
households, many consumers are using online entertainment services to
obtain movies and programming," said Mark Ely, executive vice president of
corporate strategy, Sonic Solutions. "By incorporating studio-approved
copy protection, including key technology for the recently announced recordable
CSS format, Roxio Venue will pave the way for more high-quality
entertainment to be distributed electronically and for consumers to have the
ability to enjoy that content in the comfort of their living room."
In addition to enabling the secure download and
burning of premium content, Roxio Venue includes high-quality internet video and
DVD playback as well as a media manager for quickly organizing organising and
retrieving entertainment. Venue's flexible design and component
architecture make it easy for Internet video service providers to uniquely
configure the application to meet the specific needs of their customers, and as
recordable CSS and other new copy protection system are approved, the Venue
application can automatically be updated.
Roxio Venue and AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand are key
elements of Sonic's comprehensive initiatives to provide the infrastructure,
applications, and technologies for new models of entertainment distribution and
consumption via the internet. The initiatives are designed to provide
consumers convenient new ways to access and enjoy entertainment, while giving
content owners the ability to generate additional revenue by unlocking their
vast video libraries and electronically delivering them securely to new
channels, platforms and devices.
"The recent change to allow the recording of CSS
encryption to DVDs sets the stage and signals a fundamental shift in the way
entertainment is distributed" said, Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst, Enderle
Group. "Sonic was not only instrumental in orchestrating this shift, but has the
established relationships, expertise, and technologies to help ensure convenient
electronic distribution becomes widely available to consumers."
About Sonic AuthorScript
DVD-on-Demand
Sonic AuthorScript(r) DVD-on-Demand(tm), provides
an end-to-end solution for digital distribution, including a DRM gateway for
secure export of content from approved download systems, precision video codecs
that simultaneously convert Internet- delivered video into MPEG-2 video for DVD
during the download process, automated DVD formatting tools for converting video
into interactive DVDs, and an Extensible Media Protection Architecture (XMPA)
that allows a wide variety of studio-approved copy protection mechanisms,
including recordable CSS, to be applied to DVDs as they are being burned. Sonic
DVD-on-Demand is also capable of delivering the special features, additional
language tracks and bonus material that are traditionally included in retail
packaged DVDs in addition to printable DVD labels and cover art for
collectible-quality packaging. AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand is being
incorporated into a variety of solutions in a range of markets including
on-demand manufacturing systems, Internet video-on-demand services, set-top
devices, retail kiosks, and third-party PC software
applications.
About Sonic Solutions
Sonic
Solutions; http://www.sonic.com) is the
leader in digital media software, providing a broad range of interoperable,
platform-independent software tools and applications for creative professionals,
business and home users, and technology partners. Sonic's products range from
advanced DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies
used to produce the majority of Hollywood DVD film releases, to the
award-winning Roxio(r)-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup
solutions that have become the premier choice for consumers, prosumers and
business users worldwide.
Sonic products are globally available from major
retailers, online at Sonic.com and Roxio.com, and are bundled with PCs,
after-market drives and consumer electronic devices. Sonic's digital media
creation engine is the de facto standard and has been licensed by major software
and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta,
Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County,
California.
Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions,
AuthorScript, Roxio and DVD on Demand are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Sonic Solutions or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.
All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective owners
and, in some cases, are used by Sonic Solutions under
license.
Source: Sonic
