Sonic deal brings digital media networking to the home

Sonic Solutions has announced partnerships with DivXNetworks, Digital 5, and TiVo to bring comprehensive support for digital content networking to the home.
Working with the leading technology providers in this space, Sonic will enable its line of digital media applications to transparently access and distribute PC-based audio, video and photo content throughout the home, where the PC has become the primary place for consumers to create, collect and manage digital content.
“To date home networks have been primarily used to share broadband Internet connections and peripherals, such as printers,” said Mark Ely, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning at Sonic Solutions. “The sharing of digital content throughout the home has been limited as a result of poor compatibility, configuration complexity and lack of standardisation. Working with industry leaders and the Digital Living Network Alliance, Sonic has assembled a comprehensive portfolio of technologies to make it possible for consumers to easily capture, manage and share their digital media content throughout the home, unlocking the potential of their home network.”
Sonic’s digital media applications are designed to work with a variety of networking standards, including UPnP (universal plug and play) which is the basis for the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) guidelines, Rendezvous which enables TiVo users to transfer their TV programs to their PC for viewing or archiving, and the DivX Connected program which enables consumers to enjoy digital media content from their PC on a DivX Certified Connected device.
Sonic has entered into an agreement with DivX Networks to add the DivX Connected Media Server to Sonic’s line of digital media applications. Under the agreement, Sonic will enable its applications to manage and serve audio, video and interactive content to DivX Certified Connected hardware devices such as DVD players, digital media adaptors and set-top boxes.
Sonic has also entered into an agreement with Digital 5 to promote compatibility between Digital 5’s audio and video streaming technologies and Sonic’s UPnP-enhanced digital media applications.
Sonic and TiVo, Inc. announced that Sonic has launched MyDVD Studio 6.1, the world’s first TiVo-enabled media creation solution for the PC. By adding support for the Rendezvous networking standard, Sonic will enable TiVo users to transfer their 'Now Playing' programmes from their TiVo unit over to their PC for viewing or recording on to DVD.
Sonic’s Roxio and Sonic brand lines of Digital Media applications will incorporate home networking technology beginning in the first quarter of 2005.
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