Sonic drops HD DVD on authoring product

Focuses on Blu-ray, adds BD-Live features

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 1/30/2008

JAN. 30 | Sonic Solutions is ending sales of its Scenarist authoring product for HD DVD in order to streamline operations to emphasize Blu-ray Disc and digital distribution services.

Company management believes that by ramping up support of Blu-ray, including plans to dive more deeply into the format’s emerging Web-enabled BD-Live interactivity, it will get a bigger return on investment than by splitting its focus between high-definition formats. Additionally, Sonic wants more time and energy to advance its digital business, where it has been working to help studios prepare their content for electronic delivery.

Going forward, Scenarist will be offered only as a Blu-ray authoring product and is expected to be enhanced with new simplified BD-Live creation features.

Sonic is offering current Scenarist HD DVD customers the chance to exchange the product for the Scenarist Blu-ray system.

The company is not completely dropping support of HD DVD, as it continues to license manufacturing-on-demand technology that allows for burning onto both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.

Sonic’s consumer video-audio application Roxio also should continue to be compatible with either format.

However, Sonic’s exit of the professional HD DVD authoring business has to be seen as a set-back for the format, as it stands on shaky ground in the wake of Warner Bros. Entertainment recently announcing it will soon end HD DVD software production.

The company hopes to continue to improve its Web-enabled capabilities for BD-Live in time for the launch at retail this year of the first Blu-ray set-tops capable of playing such content.

“Extending Sonic’s long history of commitment and support for the professional sector, we are aligning our professional product portfolio to address the evolving needs of our high-end customers,” said Dave Habiger, president and CEO at Sonic. “Our Professional Products Group plays a significant role in supporting the development of high-definition formats, including the contribution of core IP to HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc joint portfolio licenses. Going forward, the group will direct its considerable format expertise on helping our professional customers fulfill the richly interactive promise of Blu-ray Disc, including BD-Live, and aligning with a broader company strategy to enable the secure and efficient digital distribution of video entertainment.”

Rolf Hartley, senior VP and general manager of Sonic’s Professional Products Group added, “Our professional authoring customers are actively engaged with expanding their services in advanced interactive and online content creation. With a focus on Blu-ray Disc, we’re able to meet this demand with new entertainment experiences that consumers not only want but have also come to expect from today’s connected-content platforms.”