ATI Technologies Announces VIDEO-IT and VIDEO BASIC Low-Cost Video Capture Boards New Boards Simplify Video Capture and Offer Unprecedented Value =============================================================== Editor's Summary: ----------------- ATI Technologies today announced VIDEO BASIC and VIDEO-IT!, low cost, easy to use video capture cards. Features include: * High-quality motion video capture (NTSC and PAL); Indeo video provides 24-bit equivalent color * Easy to install and use, no connectors, jumpers or interrupts * Live video at any graphics resolution * Full-color still image capture * Includes complete software bundle; MEDIAMERGE, ACTION! and more Prices for the VIDEO BASIC are $249US*, and for the VIDEO-IT! $499US*. Shipments begin May 30/94. ========================================================================== Thornhill, Ontario, May 2, 1994 - ATI Technologies Inc. (Toronto Stock Exchange: ATY) today announced VIDEO BASIC and VIDEO-IT! , two video capture boards that simplify capture of high-quality, full-motion video for Windows applications. Two distinct solutions of unprecedented value, VIDEO BASIC provides users with affordable full-motion video and still image capture, and VIDEO-IT! offers a complete full-motion video and editing solution for video and multimedia production. These low-cost boards are designed for both the novice and experienced user, with the goal of making desktop video widely accessible. "ATI is building on our expertise in graphics acceleration to make motion video capture an inexpensive and easy proposition for the general PC user," said Henry Quan, ATI’s vice president of marketing. "We want to encourage motion video on the desktop whether it be a video-enhanced sales presentation or a complete multimedia presentation. With VIDEO BASIC and VIDEO-IT!, ATI is delivering high-quality video capture tools to satisfy both professionals and beginners, while ensuring that cost and ease-of-use are not barriers to video use." VIDEO BASIC - Affordable Motion Video and Still Capture ======================================================= VIDEO BASIC is an affordable motion video capture board designed for full-motion and still-image capture. Its easy-to-use design allows users to capture video segments and still images to enhance Windows-based applications at a price substantially lower than competing products. Users can plug any video source device, such as a VCR, television, laser disc or video camera into VIDEO BASIC and record motion video to their hard drives using a two-step (capture and post-compression) process. A variety of video compression technologies, including Indeo , Video1 , RLE and Cinepak allow users to choose their preferred format. VIDEO BASIC also comes with MEDIACAPTURE , video capture and editing software which supports a variety of functions including video and audio capture, adjustment of compression and video quality - all of which can be executed with a click of a mouse. VIDEO BASIC captures high quality video at up to 30 fps (frames per second) to memory (less when capturing to disk), depending on system capabilities. It also can capture still images at true color (16.7 million) for high realism. Users have the option of previewing live video-in-a-window at any graphics resolution and any color depth, eliminating the 640x480 256 color constraint that many video capture boards impose. ATI designed VIDEO BASIC to be universally compatible to allow for easy installation and broad usage. It can display video images using any graphics board - without special connectors or jumpers. The board also works with a wide range of memory configurations, including systems with 16MB (or more) of memory and does not use any system interrupts. VIDEO-IT! - A One-Step Video and Multimedia Solution ==================================================== VIDEO-IT! builds on the capabilities of VIDEO BASIC by providing a complete full-motion video capture and editing solution for Windows applications. VIDEO-IT! simplifies the video capture process, executing real-time video capture, and compression in a single step. The real-time compression process saves time and disk space, allowing for longer and higher resolution video segments to be captured. Using Indeo video implemented in hardware (82750PD Video Processor), VIDEO-IT! records full-motion video to disk at the following rates: o 160x120 at 30 fps; o 240x180 at 24 fps; and o 320x240 at 15 fps. An Unprecedented Value ====================== VIDEO-IT! also features MEDIAMERGE , ATI’s Windows-based digital video editing software and Macromedia ACTION!, a multimedia presentation package. The bundled software - a more than $500 value - allows users to create sophisticated video and multimedia productions. With MEDIAMERGE and ACTION!, users can create, edit and combine animations, video clips, graphics images and audio to make action-packed presentations. MEDIAMERGE also includes MEDIAMONTAGE, a CD-ROM of edit-ready source material, such as animations, video clips, still images and sound clips. This complete multimedia and video tool set is all provided free of charge in VIDEO-IT! Shared Frame Buffer Interconnect ================================ Both VIDEO BASIC and VIDEO-IT! are based on components compatible with the joint ATI/Intel Shared Frame Buffer Interconnect (SFBI) architecture. SFBI defines a low-cost, high-performance way of connecting multimedia components on a single board, improving video throughput and reducing the memory requirements typically required for recording desktop video. Pricing and Availability ======================== VIDEO BASIC and VIDEO-IT! offer capture solutions priced to encourage usage in a variety of markets, whether it be educational, presentation graphics or general business. Suggested retail pricing for VIDEO BASIC is $249US* and $499US* for VIDEO-IT! Both VIDEO BASIC and VIDEO-IT! support ISA bus configurations and will be generally available by the end of May 1994. Corporate Information ===================== Founded in 1985, ATI Technologies Inc. is the leading manufacturer of graphics and multimedia video enhancement products and components for personal computers. ATI holds the largest graphics board market share as determined by market analysts International Data Corp. (Framingham, Mass.) and Dataquest (San Jose, Calif.). Employing over 550 people, ATI has a product line that is sold worldwide through an extensive network of computer manufacturers and leading computer distributors. ATI is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. # # # All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. *Suggested Retail Prices in Canada VIDEO BASIC - $329, VIDEO-IT! - $649