For Immediate Release
MACROMEDIA AND INTEL TEAM TO BREAK WEB BANDWIDTH BARRIER FOR
INTERACTIVE MEDIA WITH NEW DIRECTOR 7 STUDIO
Intel Software Adds New Visual Animated Effects to Shockwave 7
Content while Minimizing Web Download Times
San Francisco, Calif. January 19, 1999 Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:
MACR) and Intel Corporation today announced they are teaming to
deliver low-bandwidth Shockwave(TM) animations and effects via the
Web, keeping download times to a minimum. As part of the effort,
Macromedia is including Intel(R) Web Design Effects software in its
newly-shipping Director(R) 7 Shockwave Internet Studio(TM), a major
upgrade to the companys flagship authoring software. Web Design
Effects software, included in every copy of the Director 7 authoring
tool for Windows 95/98 and NT, lets Web page developers apply
realistic moving effects that users can view without the need to
download large GIF files. Processing takes place on the consumers
machine, taking advantage of todays fast processors and speeding
download times.
With software from the Intel Architecture Lab (IAL), Director 7
developers can easily create distortion effects, such as ripples in a
pond, a rolling ocean, or a waving flag; or naturalistic effects such
as rain, snow, fire, smoke, and clouds. Macromedia Director 7 studio
is a major new release of the established leader for creating and
delivering powerful multimedia. The new version has been
re-architected for the Web, allowing developers to create rich
multimedia Web experiences that engage, entertain, and educate, even
over low bandwidth connection.
IAL is committed to delivering innovative solutions for users and
our work with Macromedia furthers this goal by improving the Web
experience and minimizing the wait for millions of online consumers,
said Carol Barrett, manager of the Internet Media Initiative for the
Intel Architecture Lab. By incorporating Intel Web Design Effects
software, Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio goes a long way toward
diminishing connection barriers by using the power of the Pentium(R)
II processor to bring rich, interactive Internet multimedia to a
broad audience.
Macromedia is focused on shattering the bandwidth barriers for
interactive multimedia on the Internet, said Diane Rogers, vice
president of product management for Macromedias Web Publishing
group. We incorporated Intel Web Design Effects software in Director
7 Shockwave Internet Studio to help make immersive, interactive media
on the Web a more immediate experience.
The IAL software works by applying mathematical operations to a
single image altering individual pixels to create realistic
animations. Processing shifts to viewers systems, taking advantage
of todays fast processor speeds and bypassing connection
bottlenecks. Consistent with the power and flexibility developers
expect of Director, the properties of these effects can be controlled
through Lingo, Directors powerful object oriented scripting
language. For more information on Intel Web Design Effects visit
www.developer.intel.com\ial\wde.
About Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio
The Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio is the de facto standard for
creating and delivering powerful multimedia for the Internet. The
studio features a major new release of Director, which has been
re-architected for the Web. Director 7 brings Internet-native design
and delivery as well as sophisticated effects for immersive content
creation, enabling developers to create compelling experiences that
marry the production values and visceral appeal of television with
the immediacy of the Internet. The studio also delivers Shockwave 7,
a brand new version of the popular player that allows consumers to
view Director content over the Internet. With more than 30 million
successful downloads to date, Shockwave is the de facto standard for
interactive Web multimedia. Inclusion of the player in Microsoft
Windows 98, MacOS 8.5, and AOL 4 gives Shockwave the greatest reach
of any interactive multimedia playback technology.
In addition to Director 7 and Shockwave 7, the studio includes
Macromedia Fireworks 1, an award-winning tool for creating and
producing Web graphics, as well as Sonic Foundry’s Sound Forge XP4
(Windows 95, 98, and NT) or BIAS Peak LE (Macintosh PPC) for
professional quality sound editing. Customers also receive a
multi-user server for creating distributed Shockwave 7 experiences
such as multi-player games and online chat rooms.
Pricing and Availability
The Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio is now available for an
estimated street price of US $999 on Windows and Macintosh platforms.
Registered users of previous versions of Director can upgrade to the
Director 7 studio for US $499, or to the standalone version of
Director 7 for US $449 (U.S. and Canada). For more information about
Director 7, visit www.macromedia.com/software/director. The new
Shockwave 7 player is now available at no charge from
www.macromedia.com/shockwave.
About Macromedia
Macromedia’s mission is to add life to the Web. By providing its
award-winning Web Publishing, Web Traffic, and Web Learning solutions
to Web designers, consumers, and the enterprise, Macromedia is
delivering a completely new generation of Internet tools and
technologies designed to transform the Web experience. Headquartered
in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 500
employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at
www.macromedia.com. Macromedia also hosts one of the most engaging
entertainment sites on the Web at www.shockrave.com.
About Intel
Intel, the worlds largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer
of computer, networking and communications products. Additional
information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
For more information contact:
Macromedia Intel Corporation
Andrea Coffey Tami Casey
andrea@macromedia.com tami.casey@intel.com
(415) 252-2000 (408) 765-8203