CORPORATE PROFILES
     

    Avid Technology - www.avid.com
     

    Avid Technology, Inc. is an international, industry-leading provider of digital audio and video tools for information and entertainment applications. The company's products are used by a variety of customers worldwide including film, television and interactive content producers, TV news broadcasters, corporate communicators, and consumers.

    Historical Overview - More Than Ten Years of Innovation in Digital Media Technology
    In 1989, Avid introduced the industry to digital nonlinear editing with Media Composer, the company's flagship editing system. Media Composer revolutionized the post-production process by providing editors with a faster, more intuitive and more creative way to work than was possible with traditional analog linear methods ? paving the way for the digital revolution within the film, video and broadcast industries.

    In 1994, Avid merged with Digidesign, Inc., a pioneering developer of digital audio production software and also acquired BASYS Automation Systems (news division) and SofTECH Systems, Inc., the world's leading providers of newsroom computer systems for broadcasters. During this same year, Avid introduced the Open Media Framework (OMF) Interchange, an industry-standard file format for the exchange of digital media among different platforms and applications that is widely recognized as a key enabling technology for all-digital post-production. In 1995, Avid acquired Parallax Software and Elastic Reality, Inc., leading developers of paint, compositing, effects and image manipulation software.

    In August, 1998, Avid acquired Softimage, Inc. from Microsoft Corp. to accelerate its television finishing and 3-D product offerings. Softimage is a Montreal-based developer of high-end software for all areas of professional visual content production. Softimage produces tools for 3-D and 2-D animation, as well as for creating, editing, and finishing graphics and effects-centric video programs. As part of the transaction, Microsoft became an approximate 9% owner in Avid shares outstanding.

    In September 1998, Avid and Tektronix, Inc. announced a strategic alliance to accelerate the broadcast news industry's migration to digital production. The alliance comprises three key initiatives: a joint venture, a technology partnership, and a distribution agreement.

    Today, Avid offers a broad range of products and solutions to multiple markets that vary dramatically in terms of user requirements, applications and budgets. All of Avid's products stem from the company's core philosophy: Provide customers with innovative, computer-based content creation tools that will allow them to work faster, more productively and with greater creative freedom - and, in many cases, do things that simply weren't possible before.


     

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