Sonic Solutions, the world leader in DVD authoring applications, announced at CeBIT today that Pioneer Europe, the leading manufacturer of recordable DVD drives, will bundle Sonic MyDVD(TM) authoring software with the new Pioneer DVR-A03 DVD/R/RW drives, the company's third-generation DVD recorder. Priced at less than (Euro) 1000, the Pioneer DVR-A03 breaks a significant price barrier and, when combined with MyDVD, is the first affordable DVD recording device for home users and small businesses who want to record and author their own videos in the popular DVD-Video format.

``With their strong leadership in DVD publishing software, Sonic was the natural choice as our DVD authoring partner,'' said Takumi Kigoshi, Product Planning manager for Pioneer Europe's Multimedia Division. ``Over the past five years, Sonic and Pioneer have worked closely together to introduce DVD recordable devices to the Hollywood and high-end professional markets. Now, with our collaboration on the A03, Pioneer and Sonic will greatly expand the possibilities for video publishing among home users and small businesses.''

The Pioneer DVR-A03 offers exceptional format flexibility, and finished video projects can be written to CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R and DVD-RW media. The DVD-RW discs are based on phase-change technology and can be re-recorded over 1,000 times. Projects written by MyDVD to DVD-R and DVD-RW media can be played back on both DVD set-top players or multimedia PCs, which together have an installed base of close to 100 million units.

``We're excited to be working with Pioneer to deliver a digital video publishing solution for home users,'' said Rolf Hartley, vice president of European Operations at Sonic. ``For the first time, consumers can add the great features of DVD -- interactivity, higher quality and fast access -- to their personal videos and then record their own DVD-Video discs. The Pioneer DVR-A03 with Sonic MyDVD is the breakthrough that makes personal video publishing possible.''

The Pioneer DVR-A03 will be available in late spring and, retailing at less than (Euro) 1000, breaks a significant price barrier. Pioneer has already received significant commitment from OEM partners -- including Compaq and Packard Bell -- which are including the A03 with their high-end multimedia PC offerings.