Sonic Solutions introduced today MyDVD Version 3, the first application to provide home users with a complete solution for recording, editing and sharing personal video content on DVD recordable and CD-R/RW media.

MyDVD will begin shipping this month to Sonic's OEM partners who are bundling the application with DVD-recordable drives, personal computers, video capture cards and other solutions. Sonic MyDVD is initially available in OEM bundles from Adaptec, Hewlett-Packard and others. Sonic MyDVD will also be available in a retail version through Sonic's web store beginning in October, at a suggested U.S. list price of $149.00.

The first solution for recording directly to the DVD, MyDVD allows video from a camcorder or VCR to be written to DVD-recordable discs in a single step. In this mode, the user connects a camcorder or VCR to the PC and the application automatically converts the video and audio into DVD-compatible formats, creates menus and buttons for each video clip, and burns to the DVD-recorder.

In authoring mode, interactive DVDs can be created by dragging and dropping different types of multimedia elements into a DVD project -- video from camcorders, video files on hard disk in AVI, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats, audio and graphics data. MyDVD includes a built-in, faster-than-real-time transcoder that automatically converts all incoming video formats into those compatible with DVD players, freeing the user from the headaches of determining DVD file compatibility.

MyDVD includes a wide range of professionally designed styles -- menu backgrounds, buttons and other features that add polish to projects. Chapter points can be added to any video, automatically or manually on-the-fly as video is being recorded. This means that DVD titles created with MyDVD include all of the navigation, buttons and menus automatically, yielding professional quality results for the home user.

Sonic MyDVD is the first application that not only records DVDs in real-time, but also creates DVDs that can be re-edited right on disc. DVD Editing is an exciting new technology innovated by Sonic which allows discs to be changed after they are initially created, enabling an entirely new generation of DVD applications, such as video diaries, up-to-the-minute, customized sales presentations, compilations of family events, and more.