Ulead Releases HD DVD Software Development Kit; PureHD™ SDK Sets 'Gold Standard' for High-Definition Video Authoring & Playback Solutions

Business Wire, Oct 3, 2005

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Ulead Systems, Inc., a 16-year industry leader in video, image and DVD software, today announced the release of Ulead(R) PureHD(TM) software development kit (SDK) for HD DVD high-definition video production and playback systems.

Ulead PureHD offers developers robust core engine technology, enabling content editing and authoring systems to incorporate both Standard and Advanced Content in the creation of HD DVD titles. The SDK also includes playback engines for Standard and Advanced HD DVD content.

PureHD incorporates Ulead's HD DVD muxing engine technology that has been endorsed by Toshiba Corp. and licensed by Memory-Tech Corp., one of Japan's largest independent DVD equipment manufacturers and disc replicators. Members of the DVD Forum and founders of the HD DVD Promotion Group, Toshiba and Memory-Tech played key roles in the definition of the HD DVD Test Disc specification. The companies prepare, author and manufacture HD DVD Test Discs for HD DVD Verification. Test Discs will be used by hardware and software manufactures to ensure their playback system are fully compatible with the HD DVD standard.

The PureHD SDK also includes layers for generating motion menus and subtitles, adding HD DVD Advanced Content authoring support and converting video and audio streams to compliant formats including H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 and DTS-HD, DD and MLP.

"The muxer is where the rubber meets the road," said Eldon C.M. Liu, president of Ulead. "It where the video, audio, subtitles, graphics, markup and ECMAScript of an HD DVD project are encoded into the HD DVD format. As our muxing technology has been adopted by leading members of the DVD Forum for the creation of their reference systems, Ulead PureHD is clearly the best choice for anyone who wants to ensure full compatibility with the HD DVD standard."

About Ulead Systems

Ulead Systems, Inc. (TSE:2487), is a leading developer of innovative video, imaging and DVD authoring software for desktop, server, mobile and Internet platforms. As more people use digital technologies at home, school and the workplace, Ulead software empowers users of all levels with the tools to easily and affordably personalize, manage and share digital content. Ulead is a principal member of the DVD Forum, participates in DVD Forum Working Groups and is a general member of the HD DVD promotion group. For more information on the company, its products and services, please visit Ulead's Web site at www.ulead.com.