Sonic ships world's first OpenDVD-compliant DVD player

Sonic Solutions today announced the release of Sonic CinePlayer 1.5, the world's first OpenDVD-compliant DVD software player. The newest member of Sonic's complete line of DVD creation and playback applications, Sonic CinePlayer 1.5 delivers exceptionally-high-quality DVD video and audio playback while incorporating support for OpenDVD, enabling OpenDVD-compliant DVDs to be opened, edited and re-burned using OpenDVD applications.

"Sonic CinePlayer 1.5 is a major step forward for software DVD players," said Takumi Kigoshi, Product Manager, Computer Peripherals and Applied Digital Products for TDK Electronics Europe GmbH. "Not only does Sonic CinePlayer provide us with a stable and compatible DVD playback engine with great performance, but it is the first step toward linking the DVD playback and DVD creation experiences. We are very excited about this new, innovative, DVD player for the Windows platform."

Sonic CinePlayer 1.5 features include:

- OpenDVD Support – Sonic CinePlayer automatically recognizes all OpenDVD-compliant discs. With the click of an on-screen button, OpenDVD titles are opened and readied for further editing using an OpenDVD-compliant authoring application.

- High-performance Architecture – In partnership with Microsoft, Sonic CinePlayer integrates the Microsoft DirectShow multimedia framework, maximizing the very latest capabilities of Microsoft DirectX and Windows XP.

- Enhanced User Interface – Incorporating feedback from user focus groups and human interface researchers, Sonic CinePlayer's user interface is highly intuitive, making it exceptionally easy to use for consumers and professionals as they view their DVD and Video CD titles.

- Auto-Detection – Sonic CinePlayer 1.5 automatically determines the optimum VGA settings for the user's PC, ensuring the best possible experience for users.

"With the advent of OpenDVD, personal DVDs have become a dynamic medium that can change over time, and the new Sonic CinePlayer 1.5 takes advantage of this technology to provide a tightly-integrated experience," said Mark Ely, Vice President and General Manager – Desktop Products Group at Sonic Solutions. "Sonic CinePlayer also incorporates advanced technology for high-performance playback with exceptional video quality, delivering a truly cinematic viewing experience."