Sonic Releases eDVD 4 for HD Interactivity
June 24, 2005
Marin County, CA - Sonic Solutions announced the release of eDVDŽ 4 ($199), the latest version of Sonic's powerful content enhancement solution for DVD. The company says that eDVD is the first point-and-click application allowing content authors to enhance standard DVD titles with interactive features like those planned for next-generation high definition (HD) disc formats. Designed to be compatible with any DVD authoring software, eDVD gives DVD-Video viewers a dynamic, Web-linked user experience when played on PC or Macintosh, and increases entertainment value by providing an on-screen presentation environment that integrates both video and bonus content.
"The release of eDVD 4 gives our customers a unique advantage in a very competitive DVD authoring market, said Clint Ludeman," vice president of marketing for Sonic s Professional Products Group. "With eDVD 4, DVD authors are able to differentiate themselves by making discs that are more interactive, provide more information, and give the audience a more compelling viewing experience. They can offer their customers additional value by making DVD an even richer and more powerful way of communicating their message."
Enhanced content supported by eDVD includes high definition video files, MP3s, Flash animations, PDF files, high-resolution graphic files, and even executable applications. eDVD brings this diverse supplemental material together with a DVD's video content into a single, customizable interactive presentation. In addition, eDVD is designed to enable a DVD title to support unlimited links to the Internet, thereby enabling ongoing access to updated material and making it easier for disc publishers to develop revenue-generating connections to their audience.
Available online at Sonic and at Roxio, eDVD 4 has been shaped by extensive research that allowed Sonic to incorporate features and functionality based on input from thousands of commercial DVD authors and video enthusiasts.
According to Sonic eDVD 4 includes the following capabilities:
- eDVD 4 can link to virtually any type of PC/Mac file including Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, High Definition video and audio files, MP3 files, Macromedia Flash files, Word and Excel documents, and software executables such as games or other specialized computer applications.
- eDVD 4 lets DVD authors choose from a wide range of enhanced-DVD skins so that they can easily customize the look and feel of each project.
- eDVD 4 lets DVD authors customize the application s boot-up splash screen so that their client s logo and information about the discs enhancements are the first thing that end users see when the DVD is placed into a computer.
With eDVD 4, content producers have an unlimited license to replicate discs that include Sonic s InterActual Player
Broad Industry Support for Bringing HD-like Interactivity to DVDs with eDVD 4
In bringing together DVD and the Internet, Sonic says eDVD jump-starts the development of features that will soon be standard on the next-generation HD optical formats, allowing DVD producers in a variety of fields to take advantage of interactive, Web-enabled capabilities like those found on premium Hollywood releases featuring InterActual-enabled bonus content.
Corporate Video Production
eDVD lets corporate producers make the most of their video investment by incorporating additional video and multimedia elements that complement and enhance traditional video presentations.
"We use eDVD to provide one-click access to PDFs of sales materials, brochures, and catalogs," said Russ Belliston, Senior DVD author at Nu Skin Enterprises a global direct selling company. "With eDVD 4's support for PowerPoint, Keynote, and Excel, we can include our latest sales presentations and up-to-date pricing information, which significantly increases the utility of our DVDs and the productivity of our distributors."
Education
eDVD 4's user-friendly wizard-driven interface gives educators a simple yet powerful tool to create rich, effective multimedia for their classrooms, according to the manufacturer.
"eDVD 4 has the power to make advanced interactive DVD an integral part of education curricula," stated Peggy O'Neill-Jones, professor of technical communication and media production at Metropolitan State College of Denver. "You can combine high-quality educational video with on-disc web pages and PowerPoint presentations that complement the lessons, as well as interactive Flash learning tools, PDFs of tests, and more. Being able to put all that on one DVD creates a deeper, more compelling experience for students."
Music Oriented DVDs
Building on the mass consumer appeal, sound quality, and format innovations that have already made DVD so popular for music, eDVD 4 offers artists, producers, and record companies an extremely flexible toolset that not only supports their creative aspirations but also drives music enthusiasts to artists websites and provides seamless links from DVD to HD stills, concert videos, music services, and other content.
"eDVD 4 is an indispensable tool, giving us the ability to create links from DVD menus to high definition video of a band s performance, MP3s of their latest single, or to a band or record label Web site," said Roger Talkov, president of authoring facility DVDLabs in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Our DVD and DualDisc clients have been asking for these enhancements for a long time, and eDVD is the only reliable solution that enables us to satisfy their needs quickly, easily and inexpensively."
eDVD 4 is available through Sonic's worldwide network of value-added resellers and online. For more information go to:
Sonic
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