Pinnacle Systems Demos Studio MP10 Support for Panasonic DVD-RAM Drives at PC Expo

NEW YORK -- Panasonic Industrial Company and Pinnacle Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:PCLE) announced that Studio MP10, an advanced MPEG CD authoring solution supports the Panasonic DVD-RAM drive.

Studio MP10 allows users to capture compressed MPEG-1 video, add audio and special effects, edit it, and output the finished movie to a rewritable DVD-RAM disc for playback. The final video can also be attached to an e-mail or added to a Web page. Panasonic and Pinnacle Systems will demonstrate this solution during PC Expo in the Panasonic Press Rooms 19/20.

With Studio MP10, users can capture high-quality stills and videos from a camcorder, VCR, or DVD player. Then, using simple drag and drop editing, scenes and effects can be arranged in any order. A built-in application based on Pinnacle Systems’ professional TypeDeko titling system can be used to superimpose titles or graphics over video scenes. Studio MP10 even provides automatic generation of soundtrack background music matched to the duration of the movie. Studio MP10 also comes bundled with Pinnacle Systems’ Studio video editing software, which is based on Microsoft’s DirectShow technology and is one of the first video editing applications to allow full-featured, frame-accurate IBP MPEG-1 editing including transitions, titles, narration music and sound effects.

By combining Studio MP10 with the Panasonic DVD-RAM drive, completed videos can be stored on 2.6GB (single-sided) or 5.2GB (double-sided) removable, rewritable discs at transfer rates of up to 10.5Mbps. The drive’s 2MB buffer ensures that movie frames won’t be dropped, even when other tasks are run in the background. A single disc can store 150 minutes of high-quality MPEG-1 video, or more than 8 hours of CD Quality MP2 audio; and, unlike tape, DVD titles won’t deteriorate over time. Widely available for about $.008/MB, DVD-RAM discs provide more than 100,000 write/rewrite cycles. Consumers and businesses that purchase the versatile Panasonic DVD-RAM drive for use with Pinnacle Systems’ Studio MP10 can also use the drive to read from discs currently accepted by CD-ROM, CD Audio, CD-R, CD-RW and video CD drives, as well as DVD video, DVD-ROM and DVD-R drives.

“Studio MP10 is amazingly easy to use,” said Jeff Saake, Group General Manager, Panasonic Industrial Co., Computer Technology Group. “With Studio MP10 and our rewritable DVD drive, consumers have an affordable solution for turning video from any source into an interactive video that can be edited and shared.”

“The combination of Panasonic and Pinnacle Systems products allows users to create interactive video on DVD-RAM,” said William Chien, senior product manager at Pinnacle Systems. “This is a new and exciting development which finally allows us to offer an end-to-end DVD solution for users,” Chien added.

Designed for fast, easy installation, Studio MP10 requires only ten minutes to setup the hardware. Since it is an external parallel port device, there are no boards to install. A diagnostic application is included that checks the hardware and software configuration. It will also detect if the PC’s parallel port is properly configured and if the cables are properly connected. To further ensure user satisfaction with Studio MP10, Pinnacle Systems also includes a multimedia tutorial, pop-up tool-tip help and on line help.

Pricing, Availability

The Panasonic LF-D101 DVD-RAM drive is available as an internal drive with a SCSI-2 interface. OEMs can purchase the drive from Panasonic Industrial Company. Panasonic Document Imaging Company (PDIC) will also display the Panasonic branded product on the show floor in Booth 3380. The Panasonic LF-D103U DVD-RAM drive has an MSRP of $699. DVD-RAM media, which is marketed under the Panasonic brand name, is also available from several other leading manufacturers. The removable double-sided 5.2GB disc has an MSRP of $39.95. The 2.6GB single-sided media has an MSRP of $24.95 and is sold with a removable cartridge for playback on the latest Panasonic 5X and 6X DVD-ROM drives.

Pinnacle Systems’ Studio MP10 is compatible with Pentium PCs running Windows 95 and Windows 98, and is available now with a suggested retail price of $269.

Corporate Profiles

Pinnacle Systems’ broadcast, desktop, and consumer products provide video professionals and consumers the cutting-edge tools needed to create dazzling video programs faster and more affordably than ever before. Pinnacle Systems can be reached at 650/526-1600 or on the World Wide Web at www.pinnaclesys.com.

For more information on the Panasonic OEM DVD-RAM drive and media, contact Panasonic Industrial Company, 1600 McCandless Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035; 408/945-5600, FAX 408/262-4214, E-mail berzind@panasonic.com. Or, visit the company’s Web site at www.panasonic.com/oemdvd-ram.

For Panasonic-Branded DVD-RAM drives and media, contact Panasonic Document Imaging Company, Two Panasonic Way 7D-9, Secaucus, NJ 07030 201/271-3454, E-mail feldnerd@panasonic.com.

Pinnacle Systems is not a part or in any way legally affiliated with Panasonic Industrial Company. Panasonic Industrial Company assumes no responsibility for the performance of or customer satisfaction with Pinnacle Systems products. All company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.