Pinnacle Systems Announces New Video Editing Contest for Studio v12 Montage Feature

Press Contact: Andy Marken, Marken Communications, Phone: (408) 986-0100, [email protected]

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., September 30, 2008—Pinnacle Systems, Inc., a part of Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID), announced today a new online video editing contest, “Montage Your Way to Las Vegas.” Pinnacle Montage, which is included in all three versions of Pinnacle Studio™ version 12, is an innovative, theme-based feature that makes editing movies with up to 181 video tracks amazingly easy. The contest begins on October 1, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. PST, when the www.pinnaclesys.com/share website goes live; and ends on November 30, 2008 at 11:59:59 p.m. PST, when video submissions and voting will no longer be accepted.

The contest is open to all legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are age 18 and over as of the contest entry date. To enter the contest, participants click on the contest website, submit a 100-word description of their positive experience with the Pinnacle Montage feature and a sample video that is no more than 2 minutes in length and 10MB in size. Submissions will be posted as they are received, in accordance with contest rules. Visitors to the contest website can read about Pinnacle Montage users’ experiences, view the submitted videos and vote for their favorites.

Winners of the contest will be determined by the video that receives the highest average weighting between the number of votes and highest rating through the Pinnacle System’s website during the contest period. The first-place winner will receive airfare for two and hotel lodging at Las Vegas during the Computer Electronics Show (CES) January 08, 2009 – January 11, 2009, an approximate retail value of US$2,500. For second place, the winner will receive a Nintendo® Wii®, an approximate retail value of US$250. The third-place winner will receive a Pinnacle Montage Winter Pack, a new add-on pack that includes new creative pre-sets themed as Winter, Fall, Back To School, Harvest, Halloween, Christmas, New Years, Valentines— an approximate retail value of US$79. Pinnacle staff members will also select their favorite video and highlight it on the website for everyone to enjoy.

Contest winners will be announced early in December. A list of the winners can be obtained by accessing the contest website.

About Pinnacle Studio Version 12 Software and the Pinnacle Montage Feature
Pinnacle Studio, the #1 consumer video editing software in the U.S. and major European countries 2, is setting the standard for making the latest technologies exceptionally easy to use. Pinnacle Studio is also the recent recipient of the coveted “European HD Video Editing 2008-2009” Award. To meet the needs of consumers with various budgets and levels of experience, the Pinnacle Studio line includes Pinnacle Studio, as well as Pinnacle Studio Plus and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate with full HD support and more advanced audio/video tools.

In addition to supporting HD DVD creation, Pinnacle Studio Plus and Ultimate now allow users to natively author and burn Blu-ray format (BD-MV) discs with full motion menus. Support for the AVCHD format is also included to enable users to capture video from the new AVCHD camcorders and edit their content directly–without having to expend time making format conversions. With the advanced, built-in disc burning capabilities included in Studio Plus and Studio Ultimate, users can archive their videos on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs or make AVCHD format discs on standard DVDs that will play on Blu-ray players and many older players.

Videos created with Studio version 12 can be directly uploaded directly to web-sharing sites like YouTube® or loaded into Sony® PSP™, Apple® iPod®, DivX®- certified players and 3GP cell phones.

With the new Pinnacle Montage feature, which is exclusive to Pinnacle Studio version 12, first-time video editors and people who don’t have time to experiment can mix video, photo and audio files to create entertaining, multi-track videos in just minutes. Users simply select one of the 11 themes with more than 80 professionally designed templates. With Pinnacle Montage, up to 18 tracks can be overlayed and enhanced with titles, sounds, music, transitions and other effects to make videos come alive.

Pinnacle Studio 12 Family Pricing and Availability
Designed for Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista™ systems, the Pinnacle Studio version 12 family includes Pinnacle Studio, as well as Pinnacle Studio Plus and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate with full HD support. SRPs are US$49.99, $99.99 and $129.99, respectively. The Pinnacle Studio version 12 family is available now at e-tail and retail stores and the Pinnacle Systems e-store. Upgrades from all of the previous Pinnacle Studio versions to version 12 are also be available from the Pinnacle Systems website for a fee.

For more information on the “Montage Your Way to Las Vegas” contest, visit the contest website at www.pinnaclesys.com/share.

For tips, tricks and techniques on all Pinnacle Systems’ solutions go to Pinnacle Life.

About Pinnacle Systems, Inc.
Pinnacle Systems, Inc., a part of Avid Technology, Inc., is an industry leader in providing a complete set of home video editing and TV viewing tools for the consumer market. The company’s product lines including Pinnacle PCTV™, Dazzle®, Pinnacle ShowCenter®, and its flagship Pinnacle Studio™ line, cover the needs and requirements of any level of video storytellers or consumers who simply want to enjoy TV from their computer. Pinnacle Systems has received nine prestigious Emmy® Awards for its technical innovations and carries the commitment to help consumers enhance, preserve and share their memories with ease. For more information, visit www.pinnaclesys.com.

About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals – as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid®, Digidesign®, M-Audio®, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius®, Softimage® and Sundance Digital®. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid’s products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. 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. For more information about the company’s Oscar, Grammy® and Emmy award-winning products and services, visit www.avid.com.
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© 2008 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Promotions and discounts are subject to availability and change without notice. All prices are MSRP for U.S. only and are subject to change without notice. Contact your local reseller for prices outside the U.S. Avid, Digidesign, Film Composer, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage, Sundance Digital, the Pinnacle Pinwheel logo, Pinnacle PCTV, Dazzle, Pinnacle ShowCenter, Pinnacle MobileMedia, MovieBox and Pinnacle Studio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. 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.

1. Available only in Studio Plus version 12 and Studio Ultimate version 12
2. Sources:
The NPD Group/Retail Tracking/Consumer Video Editing (Annual 2007) – US.
Based on consumer sales for 4 European countries (DE, FR, IT and GB cumulated) annual 2007 in the GFK Retail-Market.
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Andy Marken
Marken Communications
(408) 986-0100 – Office
(408) 390-0002 – Cell
[email protected]