Digital Home Thoughts: Roxio Creator 2009 Released

I always have the best of intentions, but sometimes I just miss the news. Case in point, Roxio Creator 2009. I had a pre-release phone call with Roxio about the software, but the day the software was released (a few weeks ago now) I never managed to post on it. Better late than never, here's the news posting. The Roxio product page has lots of info about the new product, and the full press release is after the break.

Roxio Launches Creator 2009
Top-Selling Media Suite with Integrated Online Services Makes it Easier than Ever for Families to Create and Share their Digital Lives

Santa Clara, California (August 26, 2008) - Roxio®, a division of Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today launched Roxio Creator^TM 2009, the latest version of the company's market-leading suite of photo, video, and music authoring, burning, and online sharing applications. Creator 2009 introduces a range of pioneering audio features, integration of family-friendly online services, and advanced support for High Definition (HD) video. Creator 2009 also offers a streamlined workflow that enables consumers to complete a broad range of media creation, editing, sharing, and management projects more efficiently. Taking the guesswork out of evolving technologies and complicated formats and enabling users to take full advantage of all of Creator's capabilities, Creator 2009 offers direct links to informative tutorials and how-to articles that provide guidance and creative inspiration. Roxio Creator 2009 is available today at www.roxio.com for $99.99 and will be introduced early next month in retail stores worldwide.

"Whether it's the desire to edit hours of footage from a special family event, create a personalized photo slideshow of exotic travels or compose a perfect music playlist, consumers just want a straightforward solution that enables them to quickly and effortlessly create, preserve and enjoy their personal media content," said Vito Salvaggio, vice president of consumer products, Roxio division of Sonic Solutions. "We listened to our customers and with Creator 2009 delivered a suite that is not only powerful, but also easy enough for family members of all skill levels to achieve great results."

Roxio Creator 2009 introduces a variety of new features and enhancements to help both families and digital multimedia enthusiasts organize their digital world and express themselves through engaging movies, powerful multimedia stories and creative projects.

Roxio Creator 2009 Highlights:

Online and Mobile Sharing
Users will appreciate the direct access to Roxio Online, a new digital storytelling platform that enables families to turn their photos and videos into engaging slideshows that can be shared and enjoyed on PCs, DVDs, TVs, a range of handheld devices, and popular social networking sites. For added convenience, Roxio Online can be accessed from within Creator 2009's product launcher and is available from within applications such as VideoWave®, CineMagic® or Media Manager. The Roxio Online service is available through a free subscription. Consumers can unlock additional creation and sharing capabilities by upgrading to Roxio Online's premium service.

Ease-of-Use
The redesigned Creator 2009 product launcher provides quick access to all the tasks and creation tools available within Creator. Whether it's editing video, creating a photo slideshow or burning an audio CD, Creator's friendly and interactive design makes it easy to quickly accomplish a given task. Also easily accessible are a variety of helpful how-to articles and video-tutorials designed to guide consumers through the creative process.

Beyond the dozens of new workflow enhancements that make projects easier to complete, Creator 2009 also features SyncIt! ^TM, a new desktop applet that automatically converts digital files to preferred formats for viewing on mobile devices, smart encoding technology for the quick authoring of HD video, and enhanced multi-core processor support for the latest CPUs.

Life in High Definition
Families and others can now create stunning HD projects using footage from AVCHD camcorders and favorite HD programming from TiVo® and other DVRs and burn it in HD, using DVD burners, onto standard DVDs for playback on a Playstation® 3 and other Blu-ray Disc players. This technology provides consumers with an affordable alternative to enjoy up to 60 minutes of video in HD. For even more impressive results, consumers may chose from a variety of new high definition menu themes and easily add them to their final productions. Enabled by a High-Def/Blu-ray Disc Plug-in, consumers can burn HD video to Blu-ray Disc, and enjoy more than three hours of HD movies on their HDTV using any Blu-ray Disc set-top player.

Superior Audio and Music
Headlining the new audio capabilities of Roxio Creator 2009 is Audiobook Creator^TM, an innovative technology that converts an entire audiobook into a single file with preserved chapter markers, making it easy for on-the-go readers to enjoy their favorite book on iPod®, iPhone® or other portable players like the Creative Zen®. Until now, users were only able to convert audiobook CDs into dozens of individual chapter files, making it difficult and often frustrating to manage on a portable device. Creator's already impressive audio capabilities are enhanced by the new Beatmatching^TM feature which enables users to create music compilations of perfectly synchronized cross fades for great sounding party mixes that are ideal for special occasions and gatherings.

In support of the launch of Creator 2009, Roxio is extending MyMoments^TM, its educational portal that offers consumers a wealth of digital media resources including how-to videos, informative tutorials and blogs. Included in the latest additions is Extreme Digital Makeover^TM, a web-based video series dedicated to helping users make the most of their digital lives. To view the series or to learn how you could become a makeover candidate visit: <link>.

Pricing and Availability
Roxio Creator 2009 will be available in retail stores worldwide this month and is available today directly from Roxio at www.roxio.com for $99.99. The High-Def/Blu-ray Disc plug-in will be sold as a downloadable component from roxio.com for $29.99. Roxio will offer the High-Def/Blu-ray Disc plug-in for free for customers who purchase from roxio.com through September 30, 2008.

For enthusiasts who want even more capabilities and control, Roxio is releasing Roxio Creator 2009 Ultimate for $129. The Ultimate version includes everything available in Creator 2009 and, in addition, includes the High-Def/Blu-ray Disc plug-in and a comprehensive set of audio and backup tools, which would cost over $300 if purchased separately.*

About Roxio
Roxio, Sonic's consumer products group, develops a range of award-winning digital media creation, management, preservation, sharing, and enjoyment applications for home and business users under the Roxio brand. Roxio products offer the perfect blend of ease and power, enabling consumers to achieve professional results from their photo, video, and music projects with minimal effort. Roxio's flagship applications, Creator® for the PC and Toast® for the Apple Macintosh, are the best-selling products in their respective categories in North American retail.

Roxio's parent company, Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC; http://www.sonic.com), enables the creation, management, and enjoyment of digital media content through its Hollywood to Home^TM products, services, and technologies. Sonic's products range from the advanced authoring systems used to produce Hollywood DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles to the award-winning Roxio-branded photo, video, music, and digital-media management applications and services. Sonic's patented technologies and AuthorScript® media engine are relied upon by leading technology firms to define rich media experiences on a wide array of consumer electronics, mobile devices, set-top players, retail kiosks, and PCs. Always an innovator, Sonic has taken a leading role in helping professional and consumer markets make the successful transition to the new high-definition media formats and, through the Qflix^TM platform, Sonic is defining new models for the digital distribution of Hollywood entertainment. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, including the launch, distribution, and market acceptance of Creator 2009. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Sonic Solutions' annual and quarterly reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release should be read in conjunction with Sonic Solutions' most recent annual report on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contain a more detailed discussion of the Company's business including risks and uncertainties that may affect future results. Sonic Solutions does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.

Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions, Roxio, the Roxio logo, Roxio Creator, MyMoments, Creator, Toast, VideoWave, CineMagic, SyncIt!, Audiobook Creator, MyMoments, Extreme Digital Makeover, Hollywood to Home, AuthorScript and Qflix are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by Sonic Solutions 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. Specifications, pricing and delivery schedules are subject to change without notice.

*Based on SRP