GenArts Releases Sapphire Plug-ins Version 2.05 for Avid

GENARTS RELEASES SAPPHIRE PLUG-INS VERSION 2.05 FOR AVID

-- Available immediately with Universal support for Mac Intel --

Cambridge, MA. March 30, 2007 - GenArts, Inc., a leading provider of visual effects plug-ins for the film, broadcast and video industries, today announced the immediate availability of Sapphire Plug-ins version 2.05 for Avid^® AVX^TM products. The new version is compatible with Avid systems running on the Intel-based Mac platform and includes various improvements for both Mac and Windows platforms.
The initial release of Sapphire 2 contained 46 new effects including FilmDamage, Cartoon and many unique temporal effects, as well as a number of improvements for users, such as single click application of effects to a title or key, background and mask inputs, and 2D moves built into the plug-ins. "We are pleased to offer our continued support for Avid's most recent improvements and make our latest plug-in package for their products available on Mac Intel," said Anish Dhanda, managing director of GenArts, Inc.
Adam Kranitz, product marketing manager at Avid Technology, Inc. said, "GenArts provides the Avid creative community with an indispensable collection of visual effects tools that seamlessly integrates with Avid editing systems and enriches our customers' experience. With this prompt release for Intel-based Macs in parallel with the release of Avid's applications for the platform, GenArts is clearly demonstrating its continued support and strong commitment to the Avid user community."
Key new features in Sapphire Plug-ins 2.05:

Support for Avid editing systems running on Intel-based Macs: Media Composer^® Adrenaline^TM v2.7, Media Composer v2.7 software, and Avid Xpress^® Pro 5.7
Universal support for Mac Intel and Mac PowerPC including new native x86 code to provide excellent performance on Mac Intel processors
Sequences and bins saved with previous versions of Sapphire 2.x on Windows or Mac PowerPC are fully conformable to version 2.05 on Windows, Mac PowerPC and Mac Intel
Summary of new features in Sapphire Plug-ins 2:

Over 190 total plug-ins including 46 new effects
New FilmDamage effect simulates aged film by adding scratches, dust, stains, grain, shake, flicker, etc.
Single click application of effects to a title or key
New crop and 2D transform parameters
Optional background and mask inputs
Support for AVX1 and AVX2, including the new AVX2 keyframe model
On-screen widgets for visual adjustment of many parameters
Plug-ins are grouped in 9 menus for easier access
Support for 16-bit images
Support for Avid DS Nitris^® v8.0 on Windows 64
Improved rendering speed

Availability and Pricing
The upgrade to v2.05 is free for existing v2 customers. Sapphire Plug-ins version 2 for Avid can be purchased directly from GenArts or through their worldwide channel of Avid Authorized resellers. Pricing for Sapphire 2 is: $1800 for Avid Xpress Pro; $2800 for Symphony Nitris, Media Composer^® Adrenaline, Newscutter^® and the Avid DS Assist Station^TM; and $4800 for Avid DS Nitris v8.0. Sapphire Plug-ins version 1 customers are eligible for special upgrade pricing of $600, $900 and $1600, respectively. A free trial of the software is available online at www.genarts.com.

About GenArts, Inc.
Founded in 1996 in Cambridge, Mass., GenArts, Inc. is the premier provider of digital visual effects plug-ins for the film, broadcast and video industries. Their product, Sapphire Plug-ins, equips digital artists with a collection of over 190 state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects such as: Glows, EdgeRays, LensFlare, Lightning, FilmEffect, Warps and Textures. The effects seamlessly integrate into a number of editing and compositing systems including: Adobe^® After Effects^® and Premiere^® Pro; Apple^® Final Cut Pro^® and Shake^®; Avid^® AVX Products; Autodesk^® Compositing & Editing Systems, and Combustion^®; Eyeon^® Fusion^®; Sony^® XPRI^®; and Quantel^® generationQ products.
Sapphire Plug-ins have become the industry standard for high-end visual effects creation by providing unrivaled image quality, a unique organic look, and ease of use. They have been used extensively in an array of television programs, music videos and feature films, including: Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, and 3, Superman Returns, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars - Episode I, II and III, Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3, Sin City, The Matrix trilogy, X-Men 1, 2 and 3, Titanic, Lost and CSI. Additional GenArts product information can be found at www.genarts.com.
About Avid Technology, Inc. Avid Technology, Inc. is the world leader in digital nonlinear media creation, management, and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation, games, and broadcast professionals to work more efficiently, productively, and creatively. For more information about the company's Oscar^®, Grammy^®, and Emmy^® award-winning products and services, please visit www.avid.com.

Contact:
Nicole Panas
GenArts, Inc.
1-617-492-2888
info@genarts.com

©2007 GenArts, Inc. All rights reserved. GenArts and Sapphire Plug-ins are registered trademarks of GenArts, Inc. Avid, Adrenaline, Assist Station, Avid Xpress, AVX, Media Composer, Newscutter, Nitris, and Symphony are either registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.