Yamaha to Provide SMAF Sound Decorator as Free Download; New SMAF Tool Allows High Quality and Creative Data Production of Ring Tone Melodies with Simple Conversion from SMF

Business Wire, Dec 22, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

HAMAMATSU CITY, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 2003

Yamaha Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments and a leader in digital audio, announced today that SMAF Sound Decorator will be provided free of charge from tomorrow, December 23. SMAF Sound Decorator enables users to create a vast array of new ring tone melodies in SMAF (Yamaha's Synthetic music Mobile Application Format) with simple data conversion from SMF (Standard MIDI Files).

The SMAF Sound Decorator is a tool for producing SMAF music data that can be played on mobile phones equipped with Yamaha's MA-3 (40-note polyphony) or MA-5 (64-note polyphony) synthesizer chips. The software will be available for downloading free to PCs through the SMAF Global website (http://smaf-yamaha.com) from tomorrow, December 23.

Yamaha developed SMAF as a multimedia data format that offers greater expressive capabilities as an electronic musical instrument data transmission format than conventional music data formats like SMF.

Yamaha's SMAF Sound Decorator is a tool that allows anyone with a PC to easily produce high quality SMAF music data from SMF. It also has an advanced function to create dynamic contents combining music and graphics.

"Yamaha previously supplied software called SSC-MA3 that converted music data from SMF to SMAF, but the new SMAF Sound Decorator has greatly improved the functions," says Kazunari Fukaya, Marketing Division Manager of Yamaha's Semiconductor Division. "We expect this tool to allow production of a great variety of high quality contents that will give enjoyment to the owners of the more than 200 million mobile phones equipped with Yamaha's synthesizer chips throughout the world."

The advantage of the SMAF Sound Decorator conversion tool available for downloading from tomorrow is that converting SMF to SMAF music data is simple and requires no special knowledge.

For example, using the volume adjustment function and the five categories of tones provided as standard -- 'Standard', 'Bright' (upbeat), 'Bitter' (refined), 'Reflect' (echoing) and 'Cyber' (electronic) -- SMAF data creators can easily enjoy making musical arrangements with the most appropriate SMAF music data, simply by replacing the tones.

Content produced using the SMAF Sound Decorator is currently compatible with mobile phone handsets incorporating Yamaha's synthesizer chip MA-3 (capable of playing 40 notes simultaneously) and MA-5 (64-note polyphony capability). Later, the tool will also be compatible with handsets equipped with the MA-2 chip, which plays 16 notes simultaneously.

By providing the SMAF conversion tool free, Yamaha aims to popularize new and unique SMAF content worldwide so that phone users can have even more interesting and enjoyable experiences.

Details of software being supplied

     Tool name:       SMAF Sound Decorator
                      Recommended PC system
                         OS: Windows 2000, XP
                         CPU: Intel, Celeron or compatible processor
                         running at 800MHz or faster
                         Memory: 128MB or greater,
                         HDD: 40MB available disk space

     Website:         http://smaf-yamaha.com/tools/ssd.html
                      Explanation provided in English, Chinese,
                      Korean and Japanese

     Launch:          Tuesday, December 23, 2003

     Target models:   40- and 64-tone polyphonic mobile phone handsets
                      equipped with YAMAHA synthesizer chips.
                      (16-tone polyphonic models to be supported
                      later)

For more information about SMAF, please log on to:

http://smaf-yamaha.com/support/contact.html

About Yamaha Corporation

Yamaha Corporation, headquartered in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is the world's largest musical instrument manufacturer. Employing over 22,277 staff worldwide, Yamaha recorded consolidated net sales of 524.76 billion yen during its business year ended March 2003. Shuji Ito is company president and CEO. For more information about Yamaha, please visit Yamaha's website at http://www.global.yamaha.com/

Note: All product and company names mentioned are registered trademarks.