Support for Linux operating system and new features enhance openness and productivity of industry-leading newsroom management system

Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced the immediate availability of version 2.0 of the Avid^® iNEWS^™ system - the industry-leading newsroom management solution that provides journalists with all the tools necessary to create, organize, and deliver news broadcasts. The iNEWS 2.0 system offers several new production features, as well as support for the Linux operating system, which provides a wider choice of operating platforms for customers and allows for tighter integration with Avid end-to-end news production environments and third-party news systems.

"Offering support for the iNEWS system on the Linux platform brings a new level of reliability to a critical part of the newsroom," said David Schleifer, director of Avid Broadcast and Workgroups. "With this evolution of iNEWS, we have focused on enhancing the system's scalability and accessibility as well as making the rich feature set more customizable for users. These advances have dramatically improved journalistic productivity in the newsroom, making Avid iNEWS a cornerstone system that enables broadcasters to deliver more timely, accurate, and high-quality newscasts."

New features of the iNEWS 2.0 system include:

• Data Receiver - Makes gathering news more flexible and immediate from any location by allowing the iNEWS system to ingest information from diverse sources such as traditional subscription wire services or e-mails from reporters in the field.



• Rundown Mirroring - Enables both disaster recovery and easy accessibility across stations by automatically copying rundowns to another location within the same iNEWS system, to another iNEWS system, or to a shared network.



• MOS Drag-and-Drop to Rundown - Delivers an accurate and simple integration with third-party devices by allowing users to drag and drop MOS events directly onto the rundown.

In addition to these features and Linux support, the iNEWS 2.0 system offers options including MOS, iNEWS ControlAir^™ device drivers, or FTP to communicate with third-party devices and applications, making this the most compatible and open newsroom solution for third-party systems. The iNEWS 2.0 system is also designed to interoperate with a range of Avid video solutions, such as Avid NewsCutter^®, Media Browse^™, and AirSPACE^™ systems.

"There's a reason why more than 80,000 journalists worldwide have chosen Avid iNEWS as their newsroom computer system," added Schleifer. "It offers the flexibility, power, and third-party compatibility they demand, plus a host of features designed to enhance productivity, access, and accuracy. Newsrooms, large and small, will now have the most integrated newsroom computer system on the market."

Pricing & Availability

Available today, a standard 20-seat iNEWS system starts at $36,000 USMSRP.

Avid will be showcasing the latest version of iNEWS 2.0 at NAB, April 19-22 in Las Vegas in Avid's booth #SL4761.

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 news 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.

^© 2004 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. All prices are USMSRP for the U.S. and Canada only and are subject to change without notice. Contact your local Avid office or reseller for prices outside the U.S. and Canada. Avid, Digidesign, Film Composer, Pro Tools, AirSPACE, and NewsCutter are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC 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. Oscar is a trademark and service mark 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.

SOURCE: Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid Technology, Inc.
Amy Paladino, 978-640-3051
amy_paladino@avid.com