Media Contact:
John Harrington (800-701-8496, jharrington(at)netblender.com)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 6, 2007

NetBlender Introduces DoStudio - the First GUI Tool for HDi & BD-J

DoStudio is the first Graphical User Interface Tool for Creating Advanced Content for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc

Manhattan Beach, CA - NetBlender unveiled DoStudio, the first GUI tool for creating advanced content for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, at the Media Experience ’07 conference hosted by META. The new product, which was demonstrated to a gathering of veteran industry professionals, drew praise for its ability to streamline the production of next generation advanced content.

What is advanced content? It depends who you ask. For consumers, it’s a bevy of interactive special features found on the new high definition disc formats. In addition to their high definition video quality, HD DVD and Blu-ray each feature an interactive layer – HDi for HD DVD and BD-J for Blu-ray – that enable next generation functionality such as seamless menus, picture-in-picture video commentaries, Internet-delivered video and audio, and other game-like interaction previously available only when DVDs were played on PCs.

But for DVD developers, advanced content is a headache.

“Among the challenges faced by DVD developers who are tasked with creating HD titles is that building the interactive layers is cumbersome, requires proficiency in multiple programming languages, and is not a part of their established production workflow,” said John Harrington, NetBlender CEO. “DoStudio is designed to address these challenges.”

Featuring a graphical user interface that handles many development tasks visually, DoStudio frees the developer from hand-writing hundreds of lines of code. And when code-tweaking is required, the developer uses an easy-to-learn adaptation of XML called DoML, or DVD One Markup Language. When the Advanced Content is ready for viewing, the DVD One compiler writes the final code in any next generation format. The compiler currently supports HDi and netBlender for DVD-Rom. BD-J support will be released later in 2007.

DoStudio’s interface includes a visual layout editor that allows developers to arrange graphic elements with drag and drop ease, a keyfame animation editor, automatic remote control button assignment, an image list manager and more. For special features that require getting down and dirty with DoML code, DoStudio’s interface features code assist, so the developer doesn’t need to memorize the entire API.

“DoStudio is a powerful addition to the DVD One toolset,” said Denny Breitenfeld, NetBlender CTO. “We estimate that the time it takes to build HD special features can be cut by as much as 50% in many instances. But more importantly, DoStudio is built on a robust architecture that maximizes performance and compatibility with set top and software players.”

Compatibility and performance are issues that loom large in the DVD development community. Developers who grew comfortable with the simpler task of creating standard DVDs are now facing memory leaks, unhandled exceptions, and other challenges previously reserved for software developers. DoStudio is built on a proven architecture that prevents these problems.

DoStudio is the latest component added to DVD One™, NetBlender’s first-of-kind solution for creating interactive layers for HD DVD, Blu-ray, and DVDs. DVD One allows DVD developers to produce highly interactive applications for all three DVD formats from a single authoring environment. It is the first open solution to integrate with DVD On-Demand and DVD-based gaming applications.

Features of DoStudio include: adding picture-in-picture of streaming video over the primary DVD video stream for live commentary, creating translucent pop-up menus that can be navigated without interruption of video playback, adding web connectivity to DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray titles, and more. And DVD One can apply the same interactive features to standard DVDs through NetBlender’s Blended DVD solution.

DoStudio will be available for download through the DVD One Community Network website (http://www.dvd1one.net) on February 16, 2007. A DoStudio license costs $99/month.

For information, please contact John Harrington at 800-701-8496 or jharrington(at)netblender.com.

ABOUT NETBLENDER:

NetBlender (www.netblender.com) was founded by a team of veteran producers of interactive media. The company creates platforms for the seamless blending of static and real time content in which each device performs its optimal role, resulting in the most enriching viewer experience. NetBlender strives to provide technical and practical leadership in the emerging new media universe.

The company’s core technology, netBlender™, provides the seamless “blending” of DVDs and real-time Internet media. netBlender™ provides studios and distributors with an opportunity to generate multiple revenue streams from DVD products and it provides advertisers with a new avenue into the home and thus a new vehicle for maintaining an ongoing relationship with viewers. No special software installation is required for the home viewer’s PC, Media Center or Xbox 360 and, importantly, netBlender™ can be applied to DVDs that are already in the consumers’ libraries – the software does not have to be published on the disc!

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