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Intervideo announces WinDVD 5 playback of HD-DVDs with InterActual Add-on pack

Posted at 14 February 2004 00:20 CET by Seán Byrne
InterVideo Announces WinDVD 5 Playback of High-Definition DVD Discs with InterActual Add-on Pack InterVideo(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:IVII) announced today that WinDVD(R) 5, its award-winning software solution for watching DVDs on a PC, provides playback of the new high-definition movies on DVD discs when combined with InterVideo's InterActual(R) add-on pack. With the software, users can enjoy the pristine resolution enabled by Microsoft(R) Windows Media(R) 9 Series (WMV HD). In addition to playback support for the high-definition DVD discs, InterVideo announced two new WinDVD capabilities that are about to be released -- support for playback (but not duplication) of Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) on a PC and support for on-disc playback of the new Windows Media HD discs on a PC.A growing number of Hollywood moviemakers, including Artisan, IMAX and National Geographic, have released or will soon release high-definition DVD packs that include a standard definition disc and a second disc with WMV HD versions of the films. With video resolutions of up to 1080p, the new WMV HD titles deliver approximately six times the resolution of today's DVD video. By adding the optional InterActual add-on pack, WinDVD 5 users can cost-effectively enjoy the unparalleled video experience these WMV HD DVDs offer on their desktop and laptop PCs and PCs connected to a high-definition home theater system. No additional software is required. Future versions will also enable playback of non-InterActual enhanced discs as well."InterVideo's seamless integration of InterActual's technology makes it easy and affordable for consumers to experience both the dramatically superior image quality of high-definition DVD videos and the exciting interactive features major motion picture studios have added to their DVD-Video offerings," said Todd Collart, President & CEO of InterActual. "WinDVD 5 is the first software for DVD playback on a PC to offer this kind of flexibility." "InterVideo is committed to maintaining its leadership in developing innovative software DVD playback solutions for PCs," said Steve Ro, InterVideo's president. "We anticipated the impact that HDTV will have on the evolution of DVD Video and are focused on bringing these new experiences to PC users as they emerge." Ro explained that InterVideo is currently finalizing new technologies that will enable WinDVD playback of Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) and WMV HD media. "These technologies remove the barriers to transferring protected discs from the original recorder to a PC for playback while protecting the content from being copied. It's a new concept in copy protection for PC playback and will be especially important for content recorded from high definition television programming," he added. As part of its commitment to make watching a video on a PC or laptop more entertaining, InterVideo has also added its new Smart Stretch(TM) Technology and Mobile Technology to WinDVD 5. With Smart Stretch, users can customize their viewing image with intelligent compensation for the differences in displays and aspect ratios, i.e., when viewing 4:3 content on 16:9 or vice versa. InterVideo's non-linear technology minimizes the distortion by only stretching the edges of the video and maintaining the original content in the center portion of the image. InterVideo Mobile Technology to help users extend the battery life and playback time of mobile PCs featuring Intel(R)'s new Centrino(TM) mobile technology and other Intel notebook processors. In addition to the new InterActual add-on option, InterVideo also offers the DVD-Audio pack with navigation controls and playback capabilities for the latest high-definition standard in music listening. With the pack, users can navigate the audio content, skip tracks, play music, or access the special audio disc menus to view slide shows, pictures, lyrics and bonus sessions with ease. Pricing, Availability InterVideo's new InterActual add-on packs for WinDVD Gold 5 and WinDVD Platinum 5 are available at InterVideo's web site, www.intervideo.com for a suggested list price of $ 19.95. InterVideo markets WinDVD to consumers and hardware OEMs, including manufacturers of PCs, video cards, camcorders, disk drives and consumer electronics products. It can be used with PC and laptop computers running Windows 98/2000/Me/XP. Available at InterVideo's web site at www.intervideo.com and at retail outlets around the world, the suggested list prices for WinDVD Gold 5 and WinDVD Platinum 5 are $ 49.95 and $ 69.95 respectively. Also available at InterVideo's web site, the DVD-Audio pack is priced at $ 39.95 About InterVideo, Inc. InterVideo is a leading provider of DVD software. InterVideo has developed a technology platform from which it has created a broad suite of integrated multimedia software products that allow users to capture, edit, author, burn, distribute, and play digital video. InterVideo's software is bundled with products sold by the majority of the top ten PC OEMs ranked in terms of sales by IDC. The company is headquartered in Fremont, CA with regional offices in Europe, Taiwan, China and Japan. For more information, contact InterVideo at 510/651-0888 or visit the company's Web site at www.intervideo.com. Safe Harbor Statement Except for the historical statements contained herein, the foregoing release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding InterVideo WinDVD(R) products. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially due to several factors, including but not limited to the market acceptance of our new products and product enhancements, the ability to forecast customer behavior and recognize or respond to emerging trends, changing preferences or competitive factors, the resolution of any notices of claims regarding alleged infringement of third parties' intellectual property rights, the ability to maintain or expand our relationship with PC OEMS and other risks and uncertainties. Please consult the various reports and documents filed by InterVideo with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to InterVideo's Form 10-Q for other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and InterVideo disclaims any responsibility to update or revise any forward-looking statement provided in this news release. InterVideo is a registered trademarks and UniPass is a trademark of InterVideo, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Source: Business Wire

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There are 4 comments

jef195
Banned
Posted on: 14 Feb 04 01:38
    It seems gradually were moving to "DRM" protected content each day.
    psychoace
    CD Freaks Senior Member
    Posted on: 14 Feb 04 03:45
      nothing wrong with that if you buy the product. Although the big problem is what will happen if a company goes out of buisness and turns off there server that allows you to watch your dvd ? now you have a 30 dollar nothing. I can't play my t2 hd version right now cause of the damn 30 day trial thing or whatever
      WhoCares
      CD Freaks Junior Member
      Posted on: 14 Feb 04 09:57
        I'm running Windows XP SP2 (pre-release) Windows MP9 and DRM are CORE components with this release. VERY SUCKY! M$ is going to have a lot of unhappy customers with this one.
        Seán
        Senior Administrator & Reviewer
        Posted on: 14 Feb 04 11:05
          I downloaded the Windows Media 9 HDTV 720p sample clips as I was interested in seeing what their quality is like compared with a satellite HDTV channel I get "Euro 1080". While WM9 definitely does look a lot more detailed than DVD, it does not do a good job at smooth scenes such as calm water and sky. For example, have a look at the clip "The Magic of Flight" and in the first 30 or seconds of it showing a river, large artefacts are clearly visible on the lower part of the sreen (at least on my display). :c The picture quality is similar to a JPEG image that has been really compressed down. Euro 1080 (MPEG2 1080i) appears quite different. The tennis match that was on at the time looks like a good quality 2 megapixel photo from a digital camera that has sprung to life :d Then again, WM9 squezes the picture down to about 7Mbps where as the HDTV satellite channel had a bitrate of about 17Mbps at the time of watching.

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