A U D I O   N E W S
Digidesign To Show ICON, VENUE, And Other New Products At NAMM 2005

Digidesign^®, the audio division of Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID), is participating once again as an exhibitor at the Winter NAMM convention in booth #6606, in Anaheim, California. Digidesign will show several new hardware and software products; with special emphasis on the ICON integrated studio console environment and new VENUE live sound reinforcement mixing and processing system.

ICON Integrated Console with D-Control
Digidesign ICON is the first truly integrated console solution of its kind. Featuring the new D-Control^TM tactile work surface, Pro Tools|HD^® Accel as its core DSP engine, and modular Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces for analog and digital I/O, ICON redefines audio production possibilities by enabling operators to accomplish every aspect of a project - recording, editing, mixing and processing, complete with integrated video and delivery - within a single, fully integrated system. Unlike typical digital consoles, ICON is a completely custom-configurable audio production environment. Options include expandable analog and digital I/O, integrated remote mic preamps, industry-leading Digidesign Development Partners^TM effects processing plug-ins and software options, seamless Avid^® picture support, and comprehensive synchronization and machine control options.

VENUE Live Sound System with D-Show
Digidesign VENUE is an innovative, state-of-the-art live sound reinforcement mixing and processing environment offering the quality and functionality of high-end live sound mixing systems at an affordable price. Purpose-built from the ground up, VENUE delivers studio-grade sound quality, maximum reliability, and unprecedented flexibility. VENUE consists of the D-Show^TM mixing console, FOH mix engine, a Stage Rack I/O unit with recallable, remote-controlled preamps, and a multichannel digital snake. The system is highly expandable, allowing up to 96 mic inputs to be mixed to 27 busses. The powerful mix engine provides built-in EQ and dynamics processing on every input channel, along with 24 assignable graphic EQs and full support for Pro Tools^® plug-ins. VENUE also features an integrated recording and playback option for industry-standard Digidesign Pro Tools systems.

DigiDelivery 2.0 Client
DigiDelivery^TM lets users exchange any kind of digital file of virtually any size with anyone in the world. Released in June, 2004, DigiDelivery has been adopted by top production facilities, including Disney, Fox, Warner Brothers, Technicolor, and Skywalker Sound. The DigiDelivery 2.0 client adds a great set of new features for all Windows XP and Mac OS X DigiDelivery users: You can create multiple deliveries at once, add them to a queue, prioritize them, even quit and re-launch - DigiDelivery will pick up exactly where you left off. In addition, you can name each delivery, add billing information, view a history of recent deliveries, and save login information for your frequently used accounts to a pull-down menu. Finally, the DigiDelivery 2.0 client has several enhancements under the hood to make it even faster and more reliable.

Pro Tools 6.7 Software
Whether working with MIDI, audio, or both, Pro Tools 6.7 software offers powerful and flexible features that will benefit anyone who is composing music in Pro Tools. The audio and MIDI feature set in Pro Tools 6.7 software has been greatly expanded to deliver tempo-dependent audio and automation, improved drawing and management of tempo curves and meter changes, MIDI step input, enhanced support for instrument plug-ins, and MIDI Detective and Beat Detective^TM for Pro Tools LE. Pro Tools 6.7 software also features important enhancements that make session transfers from Mac to Windows easier, and includes other features for near complete cross-platform parity.

Digidesign Synchronic
Digidesign's Synchronic^TM software instrument is an audio manipulation plug-in that provides musicians and sound designers with an intuitive, deep-featured means of developing truly distinctive sounds. Whether in a studio environment or onstage, Synchronic gives you the power to substantially modify audio on the fly and, in the process, define your signature sound. With a DJ rig - type crossfader as well full control of all your parameters Synchronic is capable of performing complex beat manipulations, effects, and cross-modulations. Synchronic's effects are not limited to being applied only to loops but also to individual beats within loops, enabling users to create complex soundscapes that remain tied to an underlying pulse from the Beat Clock.

Digidesign Smack! TDM & LE
Digidesign Smack^TM is a new professional compressor/limiter plug-in designed specifically for music applications, but capable of accommodating virtually any kind of audio material with equal success. Smack! features three compression modes, unique compression ratios, and harmonic distortion ideally suited for achieving a wide range of sonic variations and colorations. Additionally, the plug-in supports side-chain processing, multichannel track types, and the full range of Pro Tools sample rates and plug-in formats.

New Products from Digidesign Development Partners
Look for the latest product announcements from Digidesign Development Partners. Check out Sony Oxford's Oxford Restoration Tools, Bias SoundSoap 2, Serato and RANE's new line of VENUE-exclusive plug-ins, Synthogy Ivory Virtual Piano, Universal Audio, Massenburg, and Eventide TDM plug-ins on Windows XP, Way Out Ware TimewARP2600, Arturia ARP2600v, Eventide Anthology Bundle, and more. Also see the newest offerings from fxPansion, Native Instruments, and Spectrasonics, featuring support for multiple outputs with RTAS^® plug-ins.

Amp Farm 3.0
Amp Farm 3.0 introduces a dramatic new level of realism to Amp Farm-processed tracks using technology from Line 6's acclaimed PODxt hardware. Featuring the same great amplifier and cabinet models as found in previous versions of Amp Farm, Amp Farm 3.0 includes several new cabinet models to choose from, and allows you to choose one of four microphone models to use with the cabinets. Amp Farm 3.0 is compatible with Pro Tools 6.7 software on Digidesign Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems, and will support Digidesign's new VENUE live sound system.

Music Production Enhancement Suite
Every Digidesign Pro Tools system - from Mbox to Pro Tools|HD Accel - includes a host of excellent music production applications and plug-ins from top developers to get you started creating right out of the box. What's more, these free tools are about to get even better: Included will be Ableton's Live 4 Digidesign Edition, offering extensive MIDI and audio enhancements over the previous version and IK Multimedia's SampleTank 2 SE both free with every Pro Tools system. Both software updates will soon be made available free of charge for a limited time from the Ableton and IK Multimedia websites to registered owners of the versions currently bundled with Pro Tools.

Technology Sponsors
Music Mixing demonstrations as well as several pods at the Digidesign booth will feature Pro Tools systems running on Dell Precision hardware and based on Intel^® technology. These demonstrations and pods will showcase two Intel-powered Dell models recently qualified for use with Pro Tools: the Intel Xeon-based Dell Precision^® 670 workstation and the Pentium M^®-based M60 mobile workstation computers.