News

Sonic Solutions New Sonic Designer PS Version 2.1 Speeds Menu Creation for High-Definition Disc Formats (1/8/2007)

Sonic Solutions(r) (NASDAQ: SNIC) today introduced Scenarist(r) Designer PS Software Version 2.1, a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop that brings increased power, flexibility, and automation to the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc menu design process. Offering seamless integration with the title-creation workflow in Sonic's industry-leading Scenarist Workgroup authoring applications, Designer PS enables simultaneous format-compliant output of color-optimized menu graphics for both Blu-ray Disc (HDMV and BD-J) and HD DVD (HDi). New in version 2.1 is support for non-Scenarist-based authoring systems, which broadens the application's reach and effectiveness for graphics professionals joining the high-definition format evolution. Scenarist Designer PS 2 is available immediately through Sonic's resale channels worldwide.

"Sonic's Designer PS is a very important solution for us because it allows our graphic designers to create in the environment they know best - Photoshop - while ensuring single-click work output at the highest possible quality," said Jeff Huang, VP, DVD/New Media at Elektrofilm in Burbank, California. "The presets provide optimized, color-reduced results that look great and, if required, can be tweaked to perfection with Designer's very detailed, hands-on controls. Our customers really notice the difference in Designer's quality and we appreciate the time we save by simultaneously outputting all menus for multi-format releases that are verified for compliance with the specs of the target formats."

Available for both Macintosh and Windows platforms, Scenarist Designer PS 2.1 handles graphics for the advanced content modes of both high-definition formats (BD-J and HDi), and is the only tool available as a Photoshop plug-in that handles menu design for standard content Blu-ray Disc (HDMV). With Designer PS, the HD menu design process leverages familiar techniques such as grouping button-state elements with Photoshop layer sets, allowing designers to focus on visuals without worrying about format conversion details. The export of finished menu designs to one or more formats is fully automated, saving hours of authoring work for each project and yielding all the components required to reconstruct a menu in a Scenarist authoring workstation. Flexible controls, including custom dithering options for HDMV RGBA palettes, ensure the highest-quality images.

"There's really nothing else that offers designers the same combination of familiarity, flexibility, efficiency, and quality for high definition menu graphics," said Rolf Hartley, senior vice president and general manager of Sonic's Professional Products Group. "And now, with version 2.1, we're giving a broader range of designers the opportunity to take advantage of Designer PS's capabilities. While some will experience the full synergy of using Designer PS in a Scenarist-based workflow, others will simply appreciate the ease, speed, and reliability with which Designer is able to generate great-looking, worry-free menu graphics."

www.sonic.com

[more HD news]