Sonic delivers Phase 2 production tools to HD Authoring Alliance

Sonic Solutions has announced the release of significant enhancements to its production toolset in preparation for the new high-definition video disc formats.
The releases mark the successful completion of Phase 2 of Sonic’s development of encoding and authoring solutions that allow members of the High Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA), a Sonic-sponsored association of the world’s top disc authoring facilities, to prepare now for the upcoming rollouts of both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD).
Covering the entire spectrum of components required for full-service HD disc creation, the tools, released from mid-August through to September, were on show at the Sonic stand at IBC.
Sonic's Phase 2 feature enhancements include: video and audio encoding with additional codec support and StreamData for integration with Sonic HD authoring applications; HD DVD Standard Content authoring includes Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD audio stream types; and BD authoring - Blu-ray Creator supports High Definition Movie Mode (HDMV), additional stream types including MPEG-2 HD and LPCM, subtitle creation, support for pop-up menus and overlay controls, and disc image formatting.
Phase 2 enhancements also features advanced HD DVD advanced interactivity code compilations support advanced subtitles, synchronized content storyboards and scripts for example, and the world’s first Advanced Content in-stream multiplexing solution, as well as iHD emulation; BD-J advanced interactivity code compilations allow buttons to be overlaid on video for seamless, contextually-integrated menus.
Sonic say that the availability of pre-release tools gives HDAA members more time to master the challenges of working with the new formats.
Sonic will work closely with HDAA members, incorporating their feedback into go-forward software designs as the components evolve into full commercial products.
Sonic Solutions, www.sonic.com
(SP)