LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2000--Sonic Solutions announced today at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB) an extension to the DVD format that allows PCs to play CD-ROMs formatted as DVD-Video discs. |
Called cDVD(TM), the format makes use of a new, embedded software-only DVD player developed in collaboration with RAVISENT Technologies (NasdaqVST - news) that makes it possible for Pentium-level PC users to view DVD-formatted Video titles delivered via CD, DVD, or any other storage media. The new cDVD technology will be included in all Sonic DVD authoring systems -- including DVDit!.
``Sonic users have created more DVD content than all other DVD developers combined,'' said Alan McCann, General Manager, Digital Media Division for RAVISENT Technologies. ``By enabling every one of the tens of thousands of DVDit!, DVD Creator and DVD Fusion users to output a player along with their content, we can ensure that everyone who wants to view high-quality MPEG video with DVD interactivity on their personal computer has that ability.''
``While DVD is the fastest-growing consumer electronics format in history, the majority of PCs are still CD-ROM-based,'' said James Manning, DVDit! Product Manager for Sonic. ``Working with RAVISENT, an industry leader in DVD software players, Sonic has created a DVD playback solution that works on virtually any PC with a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. DVDit! users can now distribute a DVD player with every title they publish -- ensuring that their video presentation will play everywhere.''
The RAVISENT CineMaster® cDVD player includes complete DVD navigation capabilities, exceptional MPEG video decoding, and PCM and MPEG audio playback. The player will be automatically embedded in all titles produced by Sonic DVDit!, DVD Fusion and DVD Creator, and can be distributed royalty-free with each cDVD or DVD disc created. The web-enabled player will be easily upgradable through Sonic's web store (http://store.dvdit.com) to add Dolby Digital audio decoding, the ability to play commercial DVD titles from DVD-ROM drives and the ability to play new High Definition DVD video content.
