Sonic Foundry Announces Sneak-Preview Version of Vegas[TM] Pro

Sonic Foundry (Nasdaq: SOFO), a leading developer and marketer of media authoring tools and digital audio software for Windows[R], announced today the release of a beta version of Vegas Pro, its highly anticipated, technologically advanced non-linear multitrack media editing system for Windows-based PCs. Beginning June 11th, Sonic Foundry started offering a sneak-preview version of Sonic Foundry Vegas Pro in a beta release. The software will be available as a downloadable install at the Sonic Foundry Web site. Vegas Pro uniquely combines unparalleled efficiency with truly superior processing performance to provide the ultimate audio/media production and Internet authoring environment.

Vegas Pro features a unique, multi-threaded architecture designed to squeeze over-the-top, real-time performance from a standard Windows PC. With Vegas Pro, users can perform non-destructive edits during playback and run multiple plug-in effects, all in real-time. Moreover, Vegas Pro's complete flexibility and enhanced media handling allow the mixing of file properties, bit depths, and sampling rates. A highly scalable solution, Vegas Pro will utilize multiple processors and extra RAM to achieve a level of performance that is unmatched by software-only multitracks. Edits and processes work lightning fast with impeccable precision, allowing users to enhance Vegas Pro's performance by increasing their computer's processing power.

"Vegas Pro represents the culmination of years of R&D efforts, as it effectively builds upon the proven technology of our existing products to provide a significantly more efficient audio/media production environment," said Sonic Foundry's Chairman and CEO, Rimas Buinevicius. "In addition to being an ideal solution for professional audio/media production, Vegas Pro is also fully capable of meeting the production needs of Internet content creators and broadcast media professionals worldwide."

Vegas Pro also features 24-bit/96 kHz class performance to ensure precise audio definition, accommodates unlimited tracks, and includes DirectX Plug-In support for easy expandability. In addition, it supports the seamless creation of streaming media content for both Windows Media Technologies 4.0 and RealNetworks RealSystem G2 file formats, and it also supports .mp3 files, a popular and widely used format for audio compression. Vegas Pro utilizes an intuitive interface for all editing and mixing including the ability to scrub forward or backward easily in audio or media production projects. Other noteworthy features include the ability to incorporate timeline metadata (markers/captions) for advanced Internet content authoring.

Minimum system requirements for Vegas Pro include Microsoft Windows 9x/NT 4.0, a 200MHz Pentium processor (400 MHz recommended), 32 MB of RAM (128 MB recommended), 20 MB of available hard-disk space, a VGA display (24-bit color recommended), a CD-ROM drive, and a Windows-compatible sound card.