Sonic Solutions Launches DVD Authoring System

Sonic Solutions, a leader in digital media software, has launched Scenarist Publisher, a revolutionary DVD authoring system for the creation of full-featured DVD-Video titles from a simple, yet powerful, wizard-driven interface.
Built upon Sonic's world-standard Scenarist authoring engine, Scenarist Publisher automates the authoring workflow,allowing multiple titles with different content to be generated from a single Scenarist DVD project with virtually no additional authoring.
By leveraging authoring time across multiple titles, Scenarist Publisher drastically reduces QC requirements while vastly increasing productivity, giving authoring facilities the option to redeploy their skilled authors to work on new high-definition titles. Scenarist Publisher is also the platform upon which Sonic is building an efficient and cost-effective system for Hollywood studios and other content owners to quickly prepare premium catalogue video entertainment for on-demand electronic distribution.
Scenarist Publisher-created titles are based on full-featured projects authored in Sonic's powerful Scenarist DVD, used in the production of billions of DVDs worldwide. Scenarist Publisher analyses the structure and features of a Scenarist DVD project and creates a 'form' for building similar titles. With a simple user interface that allows the video, audio, and graphics for the title's movies and menus to be specified in minutes by semi-skilled staff, these Publisher 'forms' can save days of re-authoring and QC work per title. Completed forms are processed into disc images either individually or in batches by Scenarist Publisher's network-integrated multiplexing management system.
Individual projects can also be reopened in Scenarist DVD for additional customisation.
Additionally, Scenarist Publisher is being developed to help authoring studios serve content owners that wish to prepare video entertainment for DVD-on-demand distribution. Introduced earlier this year, Sonic DVD On Demand is a comprehensive technology platform for the electronic sell-through of digital entertainment that can be burned to DVD.
For Hollywood studios and other content owners, on-demand distribution opens new low-cost channels to sell products directly to customers. With physical costs such as manufacturing, distribution and inventory management all but eliminated, Sonic DVD On Demand makes otherwise cost-prohibitive distribution of special interest or catalogue content possible for the first time. Scenarist Publisher will become an important addition to Sonic's systems for electronic distribution, creating an end-to-end solution from content preparation through delivery.
Scenarist Publisher for DVD production is available now, and is being demonstrated by Sonic in its private meeting room at the Renaissance Hotel (Copa Conference Suite A and B) during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 8th to the 12th, Las Vegas, NV.
(DS)