Sonic Solutions AuthorScript Engine Powers Disc Burning in New MusicNet on AOL

America Online’s version of the MusicNet music subscription and download service, which launched today on AOL’s subscribers-only network, uses the AuthorScript SDK and AuthorScript Burn Engine by Sonic Solutions to power its CD burning features.

Support for CD burning in MusicNet on AOL allows members who browse and purchase music tracks from the vast MusicNet on AOL catalog to burn them safely and legally, directly to CD.

“We chose Sonic’s technology for our CD and DVD burn engine to enable CD burning in our new MusicNet on AOL service because they offer a proven solution that supports a range of recording and playback devices,” says Kevin Conroy, senior vice president and general manager, AOL Entertainment.

AuthorScript is the technology underlying Sonic’s media authoring applications, which have become the Hollywood standard for commercial title production. The AuthorScript API (Application Programming Interface) is a collection of C++ libraries that takes care of all of the low-level processes for converting video, audio, pictures, and graphics into a CD, DVD, Video CD, or Super Video CD disc.

The AuthorScript Burn Engine is an API (Application Programming Interface) that allows developers to quickly and easily add CD and DVD burning to most any software application. AuthorScript handles all of the low-level processes for converting and writing to CD and DVD media; this frees developers from having to tackle the complexities of device control and support and reduces the time to market.

Sonic recently added CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and audio mastering capabilities to AuthorScript via the award-winning Primo SDK technology that Sonic acquired from VERITAS in December 2002. AuthorScript, coupled with the newly-integrated VERITAS technology, offers the most complete set of data, media, and audio formatting and burning modules of any engine on the market. AuthorScript licensees include Adobe, Easy Systems Japan, Microsoft and Sony.

“With the explosive growth of CD and DVD recording, consumers have an almost insatiable appetite for burning their own audio and data discs,” said Mary Sauer, Senior VP of Business Development at Sonic. “AOL is the world’s premier online media company, and with Sonic’s AuthorScript SDK, AOL has the ability to integrate and deliver the most robust CD and DVD burning capabilities, as they have with the new MusicNet on AOL music subscription service.”

AuthorScript Burn Engine Features

  • ability to record Redbook audio CDs, single-session and appendable data CDs and DVDs, Video CDs, Enhanced and Mixed-mode CDs, and writing to and from disc image files
  • extensive drive format support including CD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD-RAM
  • full functionality on double-byte and single-byte character set operating systems, including Windows 98SE/ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP

Sonic Solutions Web Site

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