Sonic Solutions (SNIC)

Professional DVD Production

Our tools enable professional customers to prepare DVD, HD DVD and BD (the “Formats”) titles. The tools we sell support some or all of the following processes:

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Video Encoding – The Formats specify MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264 (AVC), and VC-1 compressed digital video as the video formats to be used on authored titles for packaged media and independent releases.

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Some of our professional tools include or support hardware integrated with our encoding system designed to support expert user control of the encoding process, and to facilitate the operation of the encoding system with standard professional video tape recorders and other typical peripheral devices.

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Audio Encoding – Our tools include the ability to encode audio in the methods supported by the Formats, including compressed formats such as MPEG-2, DTS, and Dolby Digital as well as uncompressed PCM audio. Some of our professional tools include or support hardware integrated with the encoding process and permit encoding of advanced audio formats such as “surround” audio.

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Format Authoring – Our tools enable the customer to combine and organize individual compressed video, audio, graphics, still picture and subpicture elements along with advanced navigation programming specifying interactivity (i.e., the response an authored disc will provide based on user manipulation of a player front panel or remote control buttons).

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Emulation – Our professional users require the ability to preview the results of their work before the time consuming step of producing a final output disc image. This is provided by a system that emulates the behavior of the finished disc in a player using the original or encoded video, audio, picture and text elements stored on a computer’s hard disk.

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Formatting and Writing – Our tools take the output of an authoring session and then combine the navigation instructions together with the audio, video, text, graphic, and advanced interactivity programming elements in the particular sequence required by the specification for each Format. This process, sometimes referred to as “multiplexing,” produces a finished disc image that can then be recorded to a recordable disc format such as DVD-R/RE or BD-R/RE, or to a particular tape format or file-set that can be read by the mastering systems at the replication plant that actually “cut” the disc glass-master using high-powered lasers.

Professional DVD Production

Our tools enable professional customers to prepare DVD-Video titles. The tools we sell support some or all of the following processes:

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