Media 100 Announces The Early Release Of Media 100 Version 5

Media 100 Inc. Announces The Early Release Of Media 100 Version 5.0

Company's First Products Integrating Real-Time DV

Marlboro, MASS, - Media 100 Inc. (NASDAQ: MDEA), today announces the accelerated release of Version 5.0 for the Company's flagship Media 100 product line. Media 100 Version 5.0 provides a multitude of new features and raises the bar for broadcast standards compliance. In addition, the Company is announcing the release of real-time DV integration, in the form of the DV Option^TM, which will be available for Media 100 models le, lx, xe, xs and xr. Version 5.0 and the DV Option will be shipping later this month.

All new Media 100 Version 5.0 systems include support for ITU-R BT.601, making Media 100 programs compliant with current broadcast standards, and new hardware that enables connection to the DV Option. The DV Option is the Company's first product to offer digital signal I/O for all Media 100 models, so users will be able to import and export DV via IEEE 1394 into and out of their Media 100 systems in real-time. The next generation hardware also paves the way for future implementation of standards, such as SDI.

Media 100's unique DV integration provides customers with the ability to mix analog and digital signals in the same program and then master the program out to an analog deck via Composite, S-Video, or Component, or to a DV device. It also provides users with the ability to select the compression levels best suited for their project, and uses a digital to digital transfer so DV footage never leaves the digital domain. The DV Option, coupled with the new hardware, overcomes the inherent post-production limitations of DV when it is used for compositing, titling and other post-production effects. The DV Option avoids these limitations by upsampling 4:1:1 DV media to a 4:2:2 M-JPEG file in real-time while preserving the original image quality so users can apply multiple effects to DV media.

"We previously announced the software release of Version 5.0 for winter availability. But, because of our doubling of R&D expenditures this year, we have succeeded in not only delivering Version 5.0 software well ahead of schedule, but also in adding next generation hardware to this release," said Bob Feingold, president and COO. "And, Version 5.0 represents the most robust new feature set of any Media 100 product in the Company's history."

New Version 5.0 Features
Version 5.0 delivers unmatched productivity, performance, improved third-party integration and a more creative feature set than ever before. All of these features are available across the entire PCI-based product line, from Media 100 le through Media 100 xr.

Some of the new features in Version 5.0 include:

16:9 frame aspect ratio support for widescreen television. Media 100 systems with Version 5.0 can digitize footage that has been captured in widescreen format and display the picture in the subsampler in 16:9 format. Effects and titles will also display in 16:9 without distortion.
Media 100 codec sharing for improved integration with QuickTime-based products like Adobe After Effects, Puffin's Commotion, Videonic's Effetto Pronto and others. The sharing of the codec means users can leave Media 100 running in the background while using any of their favorite QuickTime based applications, which translates into huge time savings.
Significant CG enhancements for creating and displaying anti-aliased fonts and graphics in professional video environments. This includes support for multiple moving objects within the CG, improved kerning for subpixel resolution, additional keyboard commands, the ability to use QuickTime movies as a background for text and slabs, and enhanced text line leading.
Cross-platform compatibility of bins, programs, projects, and media with Media 100's new Finish for Windows NT product line via a File Conversion Utility.
More time-saving editing features with 150 levels of undo and redo, the ability to replace media for a clip in the timeline while maintaining effects and edits applied to the original clip, and intra-clip user marks and sync points for more accurate placement and efficiency.
Improved effects with access to a multitude of QuickTime 3 effects, such as blur, sharpen, and hue, saturation and lightness (HSL) balance, from within the Media 100 application. Version 5.0 will also allow 1000 ColorFX^TM in a program to provide more correction effects than ever.
Project management enhancements allow users to drag and drop files and folders directly onto a bin, change Bin and Program names within the Project window, or quickly open a Media 100 project file without re-opening bins and programs.
Custom Nominal reference that give users more flexibility in audio settings by allowing them to enter a dBFS value from 0 to n96.
Navigation services support brings a new level of usability to Media 100 systems. Integrating this Mac O/S extension provides movable modal dialogs so users can switch into another application while in the middle of a file operation, resize the dialog box to see more or fewer files, have multiple file selection, and more.
Increased performance with real-time playback of all FastFX^TM with select Media 100 models. Media 100 xr users get real-time online quality and Media 100 xs users receive real-time preview quality. Also, new support for more graphic formats in WipeDesigner makes it easier to achieve an unlimited number of wipes.
Expansion chassis certification of the Magma PCI-7-DX-400V and SBS Bit 3's ME21 and ME22 for use with Apple Macintosh G3 and the Company's Version 5.0 release provide new hardware options by adding more PCI slots for use with Media 100 systems.

"There are many things that make a big difference in this new release. For instance, being able to drag a folder directly from the Mac Finder into Media 100 and having it open instantly as a bin. Or easily replacing a shot while preserving any audio levels or color effects that were already in place. These features really make desktop editing both productive and easy," said Rob Birnholz, Absolute Motion Graphics, Inc., Maitland, Florida.

"The productivity and interface improvements in Version 5.0 are what users have been asking for. The Replace Clip function is awesome because it allows me to simply drag updated clips over the originals then print back to a new master, leaving all of the transitions and effects exactly like the original, or not, depending on what I want. There's new 'big' stuff too - the new CG blew me away, but the biggest new feature for me is the new QuickTime 3 plug-ins. Now Media 100 users can color correct and filter right inside Media 100 without additional plug-ins. And, you can't overlook the addition of the 133 new SMPTE transitions to the Media 100 interface n very impressive," said Philip Hodgetts, Charisma Digital Editor and Author, Sydney, Australia.

Pricing & Availability
Media 100 Version 5.0 is available for immediate purchase and will be shipped later this month. Media 100 models, le, lx, xe, xs and xr, are priced at $5,995, $9,995, $12,995, $14,995 and $19,995 respectively. The cost of the DV Option is $2,995 and is available for Version 5.0 Media 100 le through xr systems. A Media 100 user can update to Version 5.0 software for $1,295. All current Media 100 customers with Platinum^TM Software Updates will receive Version 5.0 software at no charge. For more product information, contact Media 100 Inc. at 800.773.1770 or visit the Company's web site at www.media100.com.