Ulead Systems announced that Ulead® DVD Workshop™, Ulead's advanced DVD authoring software, will soon support Dolby® AC-3 audio files so that viewers can enjoy the quality of Dolby Surround Sound when watching a DVD created with DVD Workshop. The software will also include DVD AutoPlay, an auto-run player, so viewers can watch a DVD without the hassle of first installing DVD playback software on their computer.

DVD Workshop users can now import 5.1 Surround Sound AC-3 audio files and create Stereo AC-3 files within DVD Workshop. This high-quality, audio file format, also known as Dolby Digital in theatres, ensures audio playback compatibility, a higher compression rate for producing small audio files, and the ability to offer Dolby 5.1 surround sound on DVD Workshop authored discs. The software also includes Ulead AutoPlay, an auto-run DVD playback software that can be burned to DVD or VideoCD discs.

DVD Workshop is one of the first DVD authoring software products in the prosumer category to provide users with professional and flexible menu authoring features at a cost-effective price. The software has won Videomaker's Best Intermediate DVD Authoring Software Product for 2002 award, LAPTOP and eMedia Magazine's Editor's Choice and Animation Magazine's Seal of Excellence award.

Availability and Price

DVD Workshop AC-3, the full version of DVD Workshop with AC-3 support, will be available for USD495. For existing DVD Workshop users, the AC-3 PowerPack can be downloaded for USD199.