Wexler Video Invests $2.5M in Avid Postproduction Solutions; Investment significantly expands Wexler's fleet of Avid editing and shared-storage systemsTEWKSBURY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2006--Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that Wexler Video - a leading equipment and services provider to the Hollywood production and postproduction community - has purchased $2.5 million in Avid nonlinear editing and shared-storage solutions. The investment, which includes 50 seats of Avid^® Media Composer^® software, 11 Avid Unity^™ MediaNetwork and Avid Unity ISIS^™ solutions, 25 Avid Mojo^® SDI systems, and 3 Symphony^™ Nitris^® systems, will enable the company and its local systems integrator - HomeRun Media - to meet increased demand for Mac-based Media Composer editing solutions and Avid collaborative production environments in the Hollywood rental market.

"Avid has broken tremendous ground with the introduction of its software-only Media Composer, putting the legendary editing toolset within reach of virtually any professional," said Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Wexler Video. "The Hollywood post community has been looking forward to the arrival of full Mac HD support on Media Composer, and by adding software-only systems to our arsenal of Adrenaline^™ workstations and Avid Unity shared-storage systems, we'll offer the most comprehensive and scalable workflows for our television and film clients. We're also impressed with the advancements to the Avid Unity family, which now scales up to 192 TB and is open to any Mac or Windows third-party product. Rental requests for Avid Unity are on the rise, and because this system is now open, everyone in the business can take advantage of Avid's innovative approach to collaborative production - regardless of the content-creation system they use. This is a huge breakthrough for the industry."

"Wexler Video understands the needs of the Hollywood production community and the technologies that allow film and television professionals to run efficient, profitable businesses," said Adam Taylor, vice president of Worldwide Sales and Customer Service for Avid. "Wexler and Avid share a common vision for implementing creative workflows that address unique needs for any production environment. Our new Media Composer and Avid Unity systems deliver unmatched flexibility and price-performance, and we're looking forward to working with Wexler to get these tools into the hands of Hollywood professionals who continue to produce the most compelling film and television content in the world."

Avid unveiled the new software-only Media Composer system - and enhanced versions of its Avid Unity product family - last week at NAB. Available for both desktops and laptops, Media Composer software delivers comprehensive HD support, including real-time HD multicam for both the PC and Mac and leveraging the latest in Multi-Core CPU and GPU power available to both platforms. The software also supports full-screen DVI output of SD and HD material, ideal for any software-only client in a distributed workflow. Using Media Composer, Mac professionals now have the flexibility to transfer HD projects seamlessly between Windows systems and Mac systems, on desktops or laptops, and will enjoy the same editing experience and functionality, regardless of platform. Users can also augment Media Composer software systems with the new Avid Mojo SDI Digital Nonlinear Accelerator^™, which offers uncompressed SD capture and output for real-time monitoring, as well as FireWire connectivity for DV, HDV, and DVCPRO HD projects.

The Avid Unity ISIS system now offers an unprecedented 192 TB of storage headroom, with Avid Unity MediaNetwork systems offering up to 40 TB of capacity. In addition, Avid's Open Storage Initiative enables virtually any Mac OSX or Windows XP content creation system, including nonlinear editing, compositing, 3D animation, and script writing tools - from Avid or other vendors - to connect to Avid Unity shared-storage systems. With the ability to run these third-party products on Avid storage systems, professionals can use the tools they prefer with the most open storage solutions for media production and collaboration on the market.

For more information, please visit www.avid.com.

About Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid Technology, Inc. is the world leader in digital nonlinear media creation, management, and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation, games, and broadcast professionals to work more efficiently, productively, and creatively. For more information about the company's Oscar^®, Grammy^®, and Emmy^® award-winning products and services, please visit: www.avid.com.

^© 2006 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, Film Composer, Digidesign, Pro Tools, Media Composer, Adrenaline, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, Avid Mojo, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Nitris, and Symphony are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer^® system for motion picture editing. Digidesign, Avid's audio division, received an Oscar statuette representing the 2003 Scientific and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of its Pro Tools^® digital audio workstation. Academy Award and Oscar are trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emmy is a registered trademark of ATAS/NATAS. Grammy is a trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Avid Technology, Inc. DoShik Wood, 978-640-5261 doshik_wood@avid.com

SOURCE: Avid Technology, Inc.