MADISON, WI — Sony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio editing software applications, announced today that it will provide sales and support for the UMD™ Composer toolkit for the authoring of video content on UMD™ (Universal Media Disc). The UMD Composer is the only authoring suite of its kind, allowing film studios and production houses the necessary tools to format video-based UMDs, which is the primary media format for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s PSP™ (PlayStation^®Portable) handheld entertainment system.

"The immense and growing popularity of PSP has created demand for movie titles on UMD. Studios around the country are coming to us to find a solution for re-releasing their movie catalogs on UMD. With hundreds of titles now available commercially and new titles appearing regularly, we needed a solution that could help us with this challenge," said Rob Seidel, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Deluxe Digital Studios, Inc.

"Sony Creative Software's UMD Composer provides all of the tools we need for the UMD authoring process and has allowed us to help bring this new and exciting format to market," continued Seidel.

"The UMD Composer provides a powerful and comprehensive suite of tools that simplify and streamline the video authoring process for UMD video production," said Dave Chaimson, vice president of marketing, Sony Creative Software. "Sony Creative Software looks forward to working closely with media service partners in the entertainment industry to help them launch films for UMD. This toolkit provides all of the production essentials for in-house development and post-sale support."

The UMD Composer's toolkit provides each of the applications necessary for high-quality stream encoding, playlist composition, previewing, compiling, image generation, image checking, samples, and documentation. UMD Composer components include:

• Stream Composer — audio/video/subtitle encoder, multiplexer, clip info composer, with support for multi-pass encoding and bit reallocation
• Stream Viewer — used to preview encoded stream file
• Playlist Composer — generates playlist file
• Script Compiler — converts UMD Video Script into faster-executing UMD virtual machine instructions
• UMD Video Resource Compiler — creates a binary data resource file from XML, UMD virtual machine instructions and placeholder PNG files
• UMD Video Interactive System Viewer — using resource files, provides a way to test and validate the Video Interactive System ("menus") within a PC environment
• PSMF Composer/AT3 Tool — creates images and sounds for display on the Xcross Media Bar of PSP's menu screen
• UMD Image Generator — compiles all created files into a UMD image
• UMD Image Checker — will verify compliance of created UMD image

A hardware emulator is available as a separate purchase from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

UMD is an optical disc which is only 60mm in diameter, which can store up to 1.8GB of digital data. The latest copy-protection technology will be applied to offer content developers and publishers a safe and copy-protected environment.

Additional information on the UMD Composer is available by emailing Sony Creative Software at umdsales@sonyconnect.com or calling 1-866-727-2578. For queries outside North America, please call 1-608-204-7709.

About Sony Creative Software

Sony Creative Software inspires artistic expression with its award-winning line of products for digital video, audio, and music production, as well as industry-leading technology for DVD production and Blu-ray Disc™ authoring. Sound Forge™ Pro, ACID™ Pro, and Vegas™ Pro software have defined digital content creation for a generation of creative professionals. These signature product lines continue to advance media production by providing powerful, accessible tools. Today, there is a Sony Creative Software application for every level of expertise, including a full line of consumer software based on the company's professional applications. In addition, Sony Creative Software produces the extensive Sony^® Sound Series collection of royalty-free loops and samples, Sony Pictures Sound Effects Series exclusive sound effects, and Vision Series video creation assets. Further, the company provides the industry-leading tools for enterprise-level Blu-ray Disc™ authoring: Blu-code™ encoder, Blu-print^® software, and on-Q Create^® for Blu-ray Java. The company’s customers span the globe and include professionals in the film, television, video game, and recording industries, as well as students, educators, and hobbyists.