Friday, February 24, 2006
Roxio Releases MyDVD 8 Premiere
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 03:10 PM
I'm a fan of MyDVD, so I'm looking forward to trying out this product. It jumps from version 6.1 to version 8 because of the merger of Roxio with Sonic. Here's the full press release:
"Santa Clara, California (February 24, 2006) Roxio®, a division of Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today released MyDVD® 8 Premier, which introduces significant enhancements including advanced video editing capabilities and authoring tools, high-quality transitions and effects, customizable menu templates, and support for high definition (HD) video. MyDVD 8 Premier will have particular appeal to the tens of millions of existing MyDVD users looking for more creative control and greater authoring flexibility. MyDVD 8 Premier is available today at www.roxio.com and www.sonic.com for $69.99.
"MyDVD has become a household brand and an accepted standard in consumer DVD authoring software thanks to its wide deployment in OEM hardware solutions worldwide," said Stan Wong, general manager, Roxio division, Sonic Solutions. "Roxio MyDVD 8 Premier enables Sonic to capitalize on this wide distribution by offering existing customers a compelling upgrade path that will substantially enhance their current capabilities and allow them to achieve Hollywood-style results at home."
MyDVD 8 Premier includes everything users need to present personal photos and videos in a professional fashion. Automated video editing features allow users to create polished video productions in a few mouse clicks, while straightforward authoring tools enable them to generate DVDs with attractive motion-video menus, animated buttons, and Dolby Digital® sound. MyDVD 8 Premier's DVD engine is built on the same technology that is trusted by Hollywood studios and high-end post-production facilities to ensure DVDs created will play back on the widest possible selection of set-top players and computers.
Key features and enhancements:
* Hollywood-style authoring - MyDVD 8 Premier makes it easy for users to create personalized DVDs with custom designs and full-motion, multi-chapter menus with advanced navigation. It features a new project tree viewer, which provides a hierarchical view of the DVD project layout, allowing users to easily navigate through project layers during the DVD creation process. MyDVD 8 Premier gives users full control over menu and submenu customization, as well as navigation, including the ability to define play sequences for titles, chapters, button properties and actions. Output options include standard and widescreen formats to allow users to optimize discs to take full advantage of modern living room entertainment systems.
* Breathtaking slideshows - MyDVD 8 Premier allows users to easily import and create photo slideshows with up to 999 photos in full-screen or widescreen format, and add transitions, motion effects (pan and zoom) and audio tracks. It also enables users to touch-up photos if needed using the built-in photo editor, which includes functionality for making common adjustments such as removing red-eye, rotating, cropping (including a predefined 16:9 widescreen setting), and AutoFix.
* Powerful, flexible video editing - MyDVD 8 Premier gives users the freedom to choose how much control they would like over the video editing process. It includes the automated CineMagic® Editor, which quickly turns raw video footage into a professional-looking video production complete with soundtrack and effects, as well as Storyline and Timeline Editors, which offer richer, hands-on control for detailed editing. The powerful Timeline Editor provides users with finite, multi-track editing control and even greater flexibility with in-place editing and video alignment control.
* New, refined user interface - MyDVD 8 Premier features an elegant new interface, designed to maintain ease-of-use without sacrificing power. It also includes MyDVD Home, an intuitive launch pad providing easy access to all components and task assistants such as CineMagic and SlideShow Assistant, which provide step-by step guidance.
* Easy video capture - MyDVD 8 Premier now enables users to easily capture high definition video from HDV camcorders. In addition, it provides unparalleled HD video file support - including DivX HD and MPEG-2 HD - as well as support for a wide range of analog and digital camcorders and video formats, including MPEG-1/2, DV-AVI, TiVo, WMV, and DivX 6. MyDVD 8 Premier also includes SmartScan, which allows users to quickly capture specific scenes from their DV camcorder, and Plug & Burn®, which automatically transfers the entire contents of a DV camcorder tape to DVD with a few clicks.
* Artistic transitions and effects - MyDVD 8 Premier includes a library of more than 300 Hollywood-style transitions, 2D/3D effects and overlays. Transitions can be automatically added to buttons, slideshows and tracks, as well as applied to individual clips or to entire video projects. In addition, MyDVD 8 Premier allows consumers to use multiple video overlays to create dramatic picture-in-picture and chroma key effects.
* Attractive new templates - MyDVD 8 Premier provides exciting new menu template designs for the creation of attractive, customizable DVDs that rival professionally produced DVDs. Each new style features an entire family of coordinated menus, and can be customized with users' personal videos and photos. In addition, MyDVD 8 Premier now includes professional-quality 16:9 (widescreen) motion menu templates in addition to 4:3 (full-screen) templates.
* Robust media management and sharing - MyDVD 8 Premier offers a number of new capabilities to help users better manage, organize, and access their digital video and photos. This includes support for UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) sharing, allowing users to easily access their media stored on any UPnP-enabled device on a home network, and LiveShare™, which allows users to permit family and friends to easily browse and download their photos to a PC using any Web browser. In addition, enhanced Windows Media Center file support and TiVoToGo™ capabilities allow users to easily create DVDs of their favorite TV programs and play them back on a notebook or DVD player. In addition to MyDVD 8 Premier, Roxio today also introduced MyDVD 8 Essentials, designed for entry-level users and individuals requiring basic authoring and light editing features. MyDVD 8 Essentials offers the same elegant user interface, new styles, transitions and effects as MyDVD 8 Premier, and supports standard definition camcorders and formats.
Pricing and Availability
MyDVD 8 Premier and MyDVD 8 Essentials are now available directly at www.roxio.com and www.sonic.com. MyDVD 8 Premier is priced at $69.99, and MyDVD 8 Essentials is priced at $49.99. Consumers can upgrade to Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8, which includes the full functionality of MyDVD 8 Premier in addition to a powerful range of other digital media capabilities such as rich photo editing, innovative audio capabilities, as well as data archival and system backup features.
About Roxio
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions, develops and markets the best-selling digital media software in the world. Roxio offers award-winning software products for CD/DVD burning, photo editing and video editing and has an installed base of over 150 million users. Roxio distributes its products globally through strategic partnerships with major hardware manufacturers, through leading retailers, through Internet partnerships and through direct sales at www.roxio.com. Roxio's parent company, Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) http://www.sonic.com is the leader in digital media software and provides a broad range of software tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users and technology partners. Sonic's products range from professional DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies that are used to produce the majority of Hollywood movies released on DVD, to the award-winning Roxio- and Sonic-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup applications that have become the premiere solutions for consumers and business users worldwide. Sonic's AuthorScript® is the de facto standard for CD and DVD burning and formatting and has been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Broadcom, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California."
"Santa Clara, California (February 24, 2006) Roxio®, a division of Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today released MyDVD® 8 Premier, which introduces significant enhancements including advanced video editing capabilities and authoring tools, high-quality transitions and effects, customizable menu templates, and support for high definition (HD) video. MyDVD 8 Premier will have particular appeal to the tens of millions of existing MyDVD users looking for more creative control and greater authoring flexibility. MyDVD 8 Premier is available today at www.roxio.com and www.sonic.com for $69.99.
"MyDVD has become a household brand and an accepted standard in consumer DVD authoring software thanks to its wide deployment in OEM hardware solutions worldwide," said Stan Wong, general manager, Roxio division, Sonic Solutions. "Roxio MyDVD 8 Premier enables Sonic to capitalize on this wide distribution by offering existing customers a compelling upgrade path that will substantially enhance their current capabilities and allow them to achieve Hollywood-style results at home."
MyDVD 8 Premier includes everything users need to present personal photos and videos in a professional fashion. Automated video editing features allow users to create polished video productions in a few mouse clicks, while straightforward authoring tools enable them to generate DVDs with attractive motion-video menus, animated buttons, and Dolby Digital® sound. MyDVD 8 Premier's DVD engine is built on the same technology that is trusted by Hollywood studios and high-end post-production facilities to ensure DVDs created will play back on the widest possible selection of set-top players and computers.
Key features and enhancements:
* Hollywood-style authoring - MyDVD 8 Premier makes it easy for users to create personalized DVDs with custom designs and full-motion, multi-chapter menus with advanced navigation. It features a new project tree viewer, which provides a hierarchical view of the DVD project layout, allowing users to easily navigate through project layers during the DVD creation process. MyDVD 8 Premier gives users full control over menu and submenu customization, as well as navigation, including the ability to define play sequences for titles, chapters, button properties and actions. Output options include standard and widescreen formats to allow users to optimize discs to take full advantage of modern living room entertainment systems.
* Breathtaking slideshows - MyDVD 8 Premier allows users to easily import and create photo slideshows with up to 999 photos in full-screen or widescreen format, and add transitions, motion effects (pan and zoom) and audio tracks. It also enables users to touch-up photos if needed using the built-in photo editor, which includes functionality for making common adjustments such as removing red-eye, rotating, cropping (including a predefined 16:9 widescreen setting), and AutoFix.
* Powerful, flexible video editing - MyDVD 8 Premier gives users the freedom to choose how much control they would like over the video editing process. It includes the automated CineMagic® Editor, which quickly turns raw video footage into a professional-looking video production complete with soundtrack and effects, as well as Storyline and Timeline Editors, which offer richer, hands-on control for detailed editing. The powerful Timeline Editor provides users with finite, multi-track editing control and even greater flexibility with in-place editing and video alignment control.
* New, refined user interface - MyDVD 8 Premier features an elegant new interface, designed to maintain ease-of-use without sacrificing power. It also includes MyDVD Home, an intuitive launch pad providing easy access to all components and task assistants such as CineMagic and SlideShow Assistant, which provide step-by step guidance.
* Easy video capture - MyDVD 8 Premier now enables users to easily capture high definition video from HDV camcorders. In addition, it provides unparalleled HD video file support - including DivX HD and MPEG-2 HD - as well as support for a wide range of analog and digital camcorders and video formats, including MPEG-1/2, DV-AVI, TiVo, WMV, and DivX 6. MyDVD 8 Premier also includes SmartScan, which allows users to quickly capture specific scenes from their DV camcorder, and Plug & Burn®, which automatically transfers the entire contents of a DV camcorder tape to DVD with a few clicks.
* Artistic transitions and effects - MyDVD 8 Premier includes a library of more than 300 Hollywood-style transitions, 2D/3D effects and overlays. Transitions can be automatically added to buttons, slideshows and tracks, as well as applied to individual clips or to entire video projects. In addition, MyDVD 8 Premier allows consumers to use multiple video overlays to create dramatic picture-in-picture and chroma key effects.
* Attractive new templates - MyDVD 8 Premier provides exciting new menu template designs for the creation of attractive, customizable DVDs that rival professionally produced DVDs. Each new style features an entire family of coordinated menus, and can be customized with users' personal videos and photos. In addition, MyDVD 8 Premier now includes professional-quality 16:9 (widescreen) motion menu templates in addition to 4:3 (full-screen) templates.
* Robust media management and sharing - MyDVD 8 Premier offers a number of new capabilities to help users better manage, organize, and access their digital video and photos. This includes support for UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) sharing, allowing users to easily access their media stored on any UPnP-enabled device on a home network, and LiveShare™, which allows users to permit family and friends to easily browse and download their photos to a PC using any Web browser. In addition, enhanced Windows Media Center file support and TiVoToGo™ capabilities allow users to easily create DVDs of their favorite TV programs and play them back on a notebook or DVD player. In addition to MyDVD 8 Premier, Roxio today also introduced MyDVD 8 Essentials, designed for entry-level users and individuals requiring basic authoring and light editing features. MyDVD 8 Essentials offers the same elegant user interface, new styles, transitions and effects as MyDVD 8 Premier, and supports standard definition camcorders and formats.
Pricing and Availability
MyDVD 8 Premier and MyDVD 8 Essentials are now available directly at www.roxio.com and www.sonic.com. MyDVD 8 Premier is priced at $69.99, and MyDVD 8 Essentials is priced at $49.99. Consumers can upgrade to Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8, which includes the full functionality of MyDVD 8 Premier in addition to a powerful range of other digital media capabilities such as rich photo editing, innovative audio capabilities, as well as data archival and system backup features.
About Roxio
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions, develops and markets the best-selling digital media software in the world. Roxio offers award-winning software products for CD/DVD burning, photo editing and video editing and has an installed base of over 150 million users. Roxio distributes its products globally through strategic partnerships with major hardware manufacturers, through leading retailers, through Internet partnerships and through direct sales at www.roxio.com. Roxio's parent company, Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) http://www.sonic.com is the leader in digital media software and provides a broad range of software tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users and technology partners. Sonic's products range from professional DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies that are used to produce the majority of Hollywood movies released on DVD, to the award-winning Roxio- and Sonic-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup applications that have become the premiere solutions for consumers and business users worldwide. Sonic's AuthorScript® is the de facto standard for CD and DVD burning and formatting and has been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Broadcom, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California."
