Pinnacle Impression DVD-Pro Adds Direct DVD Burning

May 7, 2002 - Pinnacle Systems, Inc. announced today Impression DVD-Pro 2.2, the latest version of its highly acclaimed professional DVD authoring software. In addition to offering more high-end features than any other authoring solution in its category, Impression DVD-Pro 2.2 now provides direct output to 4.7GB DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs, as well as hard drives, DLT and CDs. Import options have also been expanded to include DV AVI files, which can be quickly converted to MPEG-1 or -2 files for DVD or CD publishing. Some of the features that differentiate Pinnacle Impression DVD-Pro from other timeline-based professional DVD authoring solutions include:

• Unlimited Menus - any number of menus or sub-menus can be assigned for navigation
• Motion Menus - for Hollywood-style menus
• Multiple Video Angles - allows viewers to switch back and forth between different camera angles.
• Multiple Audio Track Support - up to 8 audio tracks can be used for additional languages, different audio formats, or commentary sound tracks.
• Multiple Subtitle Support - up to 32 separate subtitle tracks can be added, the maximum allowed by the DVD specification
• Dolby Digital Support - for DVD titles with up to 6 channels of AC-3 audio.

With Impression DVD-Pro, users also have the tools to create corporate video templates similar to a Power Point template, and the ability to insert web and document links in motionCD videos.

"The extensive list of features and capabilities is what really sets Impression DVD apart from the competition.," said Brian Lane, Senior Product Manager for the Personal Web Video Division at Pinnacle Systems. "The ability to drag and drop video clips in the timeline, set chapter points and link the video and chapters to buttons is a natural workflow for DVD authoring and makes it easy for those transitioning from video editing to authoring. Impression's ease-of-use and high-end feature set will appeal to those new to DVD authoring as well as seasoned professionals."

"We compared the authoring features of Impression DVD-Pro and DVDit! PE," said Alexei Gerulatis, President of DV411.com. "When we looked at the basic authoring tools, we found that Impression DVD-Pro supports motion menus, 32 subtitle streams, 2 camera angles, and 8 audio streams. DVDit! PE doesn't support motion menus or subtitle streams, and it limits users to one camera angle and one audio stream. These are the tools content developers want because they help them produce truly compelling videos," he explained. "Some of the other features included with Impression but not with DVDit! are support for slide shows with audio, Photoshop layer import, and Adobe Premiere chapter import."

Pricing and Availability
Fully compatible with Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millenium, Windows 2000 and XP systems, Impression DVD-Pro 2.2 is available worldwide through select resellers at $599. A free upgrade is available to customers who own Impression DVD-Pro 2.1. Impression DVD SE and CD-Pro customers can upgrade to the new Impression DVD-Pro for $399.

Pinnacle Systems may be reached at (650) 526-1600 or at www.pinnaclesys.com.