MADISON, Wis., and REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 17, 1999 — Sonic Foundry Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced they will provide the first music jukebox software based exclusively on Microsoft® Windows Media TM Audio (WMA). Now available as a beta for download at http://www.sonicfoundry.com/ , Sonic Foundry Siren TM is an innovative music jukebox that takes full advantage of the superior digital audio compression capabilities offered by Microsoft WMA technology.
Siren is a comprehensive digital music management system that allows PC users to locate and download digital music from the Internet, record music from their personal CD collection to their PC hard drive, and manage the music in multiple playlist arrangements on their PC. In addition, Siren provides seamless transfer to portable digital players and traditional CD players. Built on the powerful code base of Sonic Foundry’s audio CD recording product, CD Architect TM , Siren features integrated audio CD recording, allowing users to create custom compilations of their favorite hits and
“burn”
them to CDs from within the application.
“We are excited to be working closely with Microsoft to bring this solution to market, positioning us to be key players in driving digital music into the mainstream,”
said Curtis Palmer, chief technology officer of Sonic Foundry.
“Siren is a powerful yet easy-to-use digital music solution that allows the consumer to record music in a highly compressed format for use with a wide variety of peripheral playback devices. By utilizing the recent technology advances offered with WMA, Siren provides superior audio quality and faster compression than alternative technologies.”
Will Poole, general manager, Marketing and Business Development, Streaming Media Division of Microsoft said,
“Sonic Foundry is an established developer of professional-quality music software. The fact that its new jukebox, Siren, supports WMA attests to the high quality and functionality of the format.”
Siren further helps establish WMA as the format of choice for Sonic Foundry’s broad base of professional and consumer users.
“
Microsoft Windows Media Audio is part of Windows Media Technologies 4.0, the umbrella name for the products, components and services from Microsoft designed to make
the Windows® operating system a powerful platform for developing and deploying rich multimedia. WMA offers exceptional audio quality and features files that are half the size of standard MP3 tracks and that download twice as fast.
More information about Siren is available from Sonic Foundry, by phone at (800) 57SONIC (577-6642) or (608) 256-3133, via fax at (608) 256-7300, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the company’s Web site at http://sonicfoundry.com/ .
About Sonic Foundry
Founded in 1991, Madison, Wis.-based Sonic Foundry (AMEX
“SFO”
) is a leading developer and marketer of comprehensive, professional-quality media authoring software products for the Windows-based PC platform. Sonic Foundry’s award-winning product line is used worldwide for multimedia and Web applications, music and audio post-production, broadcast production, and digital content creation. Built on the principle of
“Create, Edit, and Deliver,”
Sonic Foundry’s products offer any user of a Windows-based PC the ability to capture and create media, edit the content, and deliver the information via fixed media or electronic distribution.
About Windows Media Technologies
Windows Media Technologies is the leading digital media platform, providing consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations with unmatched audio and video quality. Windows Media Technologies 4.0, which includes Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and Windows Media Audio SDK, is available for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ (connect-time charges may apply). Over 40 million copies – growing by more than one every second – of the free Windows Media Player have been downloaded to date.
WindowsMedia.com ( http://windowsmedia.com/ ), part of the MSN TM network of Internet services, is the fastest-growing major audio and video guide on the Internet. WindowsMedia.com provides access to localized audio and video content users worldwide, including over 600 radio stations and major music and video events from more than 1,000 content providers.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows Media, Windows and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Sonic Foundry Siren and CD Architect are registered trademarks of Sonic Foundry Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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