Sonic Announces First Application to Enable Industry-Approved DVD-on-Demand
Roxio Venue is amedia application that lets consumers burn entertainment purchased online onto recordable DVDs that play on standard DVD players as well as PCs.
Roxio Venue is built on Sonic's AuthorScript(R) DVD on Demand(TM) engine, the first technology to support the managed recording of entertainment using the Content Scramble System (CSS) -- the copy protection found on commercially released DVDs. Roxio Venue is available now to online entertainment service providers for evaluation and will be released later this year through Sonic's direct, retail, and OEM channels. The CSS feature of Roxio Venue will be activated after final approval of recordable CSS.
"With almost 40 million broadband-connected U.S. households, many consumers are using online entertainment services to obtain movies and programming," said Mark Ely, executive vice president of corporate strategy, Sonic Solutions. "By incorporating studio-approved copy protection, including key technology for the recently announced recordable CSS format, Roxio Venue will pave the way for more high-quality entertainment to be distributed electronically and for consumers to have the ability to enjoy that content in the comfort of their living room."
In addition to enabling the secure download and burning of premium content, Roxio Venue includes high-quality internet video and DVD playback as well as a media manager for quickly organizing and retrieving entertainment. Venue's flexible design and component architecture make it easy for Internet video service providers to uniquely configure the application to meet the specific needs of their customers as recordable CSS and other new copy protection systems are approved.
Roxio Venue and AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand are key elements of Sonic's comprehensive initiatives to provide the infrastructure, applications, and technologies for new models of entertainment distribution and consumption via the internet. The initiatives are designed to provide consumers convenient new ways to access and enjoy entertainment, while giving content owners the ability to generate additional revenue by unlocking their vast video libraries and electronically delivering them securely to new channels, platforms and devices.
"The recent change to allow the recording of CSS encryption to DVDs sets the stage and signals a fundamental shift in the way entertainment is distributed," said, Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst, Enderle Group. "Sonic was not only instrumental in orchestrating this shift, but has the established relationships, expertise, and technologies to help ensure convenient electronic distribution becomes widely available to consumers."
About Sonic AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand
Sonic AuthorScript(R) DVD-on-Demand(TM), provides an end-to-end solution for digital distribution, including a DRM gateway for secure export of content from approved download systems, precision video codecs that simultaneously convert Internet-delivered video into MPEG-2 video for DVD during the download process, automated DVD formatting tools for converting video into interactive DVDs, and an Extensible Media Protection Architecture (XMPA) that allows a wide variety of studio-approved copy protection mechanisms, including recordable CSS, to be applied to DVDs as they are being burned. Sonic DVD-on-Demand is also capable of delivering the special features, additional language tracks and bonus material that are traditionally included in retail packaged DVDs in addition to printable DVD labels and cover art for collectible-quality packaging. AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand is being incorporated into a variety of solutions in a range of markets including on-demand manufacturing systems, Internet video-on-demand services, set-top devices, retail kiosks, and third-party PC software applications.
"With almost 40 million broadband-connected U.S. households, many consumers are using online entertainment services to obtain movies and programming," said Mark Ely, executive vice president of corporate strategy, Sonic Solutions. "By incorporating studio-approved copy protection, including key technology for the recently announced recordable CSS format, Roxio Venue will pave the way for more high-quality entertainment to be distributed electronically and for consumers to have the ability to enjoy that content in the comfort of their living room."
In addition to enabling the secure download and burning of premium content, Roxio Venue includes high-quality internet video and DVD playback as well as a media manager for quickly organizing and retrieving entertainment. Venue's flexible design and component architecture make it easy for Internet video service providers to uniquely configure the application to meet the specific needs of their customers as recordable CSS and other new copy protection systems are approved.
Roxio Venue and AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand are key elements of Sonic's comprehensive initiatives to provide the infrastructure, applications, and technologies for new models of entertainment distribution and consumption via the internet. The initiatives are designed to provide consumers convenient new ways to access and enjoy entertainment, while giving content owners the ability to generate additional revenue by unlocking their vast video libraries and electronically delivering them securely to new channels, platforms and devices.
"The recent change to allow the recording of CSS encryption to DVDs sets the stage and signals a fundamental shift in the way entertainment is distributed," said, Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst, Enderle Group. "Sonic was not only instrumental in orchestrating this shift, but has the established relationships, expertise, and technologies to help ensure convenient electronic distribution becomes widely available to consumers."
About Sonic AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand
Sonic AuthorScript(R) DVD-on-Demand(TM), provides an end-to-end solution for digital distribution, including a DRM gateway for secure export of content from approved download systems, precision video codecs that simultaneously convert Internet-delivered video into MPEG-2 video for DVD during the download process, automated DVD formatting tools for converting video into interactive DVDs, and an Extensible Media Protection Architecture (XMPA) that allows a wide variety of studio-approved copy protection mechanisms, including recordable CSS, to be applied to DVDs as they are being burned. Sonic DVD-on-Demand is also capable of delivering the special features, additional language tracks and bonus material that are traditionally included in retail packaged DVDs in addition to printable DVD labels and cover art for collectible-quality packaging. AuthorScript DVD-on-Demand is being incorporated into a variety of solutions in a range of markets including on-demand manufacturing systems, Internet video-on-demand services, set-top devices, retail kiosks, and third-party PC software applications.
