FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOFTWARE ARCHITECTS, INC. RELEASES “DRAG & DROP” DVD-R MASTERING SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS AND MAC OPERATING SYSTEMS; AND PROVIDES UNIFIED ARCHITECTURE FOR MULTIPLE TYPES OF RECORDABLE DVD DISCS.

Bothell Wash.—24 August 2001

Software Architects, Inc., the world’s first and leading supplier of disk drive utility software that uses the Universal Disk Format (UDF), announced the commercial release in September of WriteDVD!™ Pro v3.0 for MS Windows and Apple systems.

Version 3.0 now supports “drag & drop” mastering to DVD-R disks in addition to supporting standard DVD-RAM drives and media, Using the world’s first integrated UDF file system and driver architecture that supports both block addressable DVD-RAM and sequential recording DVD-R media, the software simplifies the operation of the new Panasonic DVD-RAM/R combination drives and the running of separate DVD-R and DVD-RAM drives on the same computer system.

When using different software programs to run DVD-R, DVD-RAM and CD-RW on the same computer system, driver conflicts and file system queuing problems commonly occur. SAI’s integrated UDF architecture provides a single, easy-to-use, “drag and drop” interface that prevent these and reliably operates regardless of the type of disk inserted into the drive.

The software’s UDF file system and drivers can mount and write to DVD-R and DVD-RAM as well as read DVD-R, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD-RAM discs in Panasonic and other “multi-read” disk drives made by a wide variety of manufacturers.

“Our integrated UDF architecture takes the confusion out of supporting various optical formats”, said Robert Zollo, president of SAI. “Users have a simple, drive letter interface that they can drag & drop files to, from a single software program to use for both DVD-R mastering and writing to DVD-RAM discs. This eliminates the problems related to using different software products for overlapping usage.”

Version 3.0 also adds support for advanced “Real Time Recording” functions used in the new Hitachi DVD-RAM disk based video camcorders and the Panasonic DVD-RAM disk based video recorders. Real time recording optimizes reads and writes of video files to disk by emulating sequential recording on the random access, block addressable DVD-RAM media. This minimizes the optical head movement during playback, resulting in faster and smoother video reads from the disk.

Key Features:

• “Drag & Drop” interface integrated with Windows Explorer™ and Apple Finder™ makes it easy to use
• Copy, arrange and remove files from DVD-R volume prior to finishing the disk
• Advanced, “multi-threaded” architecture allows user to run other applications while DVD-R disk is being mastered in the background.
• Formats in all versions of UDF to ensure disk interchange with all desktop operating systems: UDF v1.0.2, v1.5, v2.0, v2.0.1
• Reads and writes DVD video files in the real time recording format
• Supports DVD-RAM media recorded in new DVD video recorders and DVD camcorders
• Tests media for defective sectors
• Write protects DVD-RAM disks for archival
• Read compatible with MS Windows UDF readers for disk interchange
• Supports all brands and models of DVD-RAM drives, including Panasonic combination DVD-RAM/R models.
• Supports all popular desktop operating systems

Key Benefits:

• Easy to use: nothing to learn by the user
• Fast: drag & drop files to disc. Finishes DVD-R mastering in background.
• Reliable Disk Interchange with other Mac OS and Windows systems
• Versatile: use for standard data storage applications and video mastering and recording in one simple utility

Systems Support:
Supports computer systems running MS Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000; Apple Mac OS 8, 9. 128 MBytes RAM and 5 GBytes of hard disk space are recomended for use with DVD-R media. Support for MS Windows XP is scheduled for Q4 release.

Compliant with Industry Standards
WriteDVD! Pro™ v3.0 is compliant with DVD Forum specifications for Real Time Recording Files (VRO video files), UDF file system and UDF format. The software also complies with the OSTA (Optical Storage Technology Association) implementation guidelines for UDF.

For further information, please contact:
Robert Zollo, Software Architects, Inc., tel. 425/487-0122,
email: bobz@softarch.com

Software Architects, Inc.
Software Architects, Inc. (“SAI”), is the world leader in UDF file systems, format and device driver technology for personal computers. The company applies its file system, device driver, and image enhancement technology to address the reliable integration and ease of use of input and storage devices with personal computers. Founded in 1987, the company has fourteen years of experience licensing its technology to OEM manufacturers, systems integrators and resellers in world markets. As a member of the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) and the DVD Forum, SAI plays a leading role in the application of the Universal Disk Format and technology for a variety of computer and consumer applications.