MARIN COUNTY, CA - Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com) has opened a new facility in Burbank in response to the growing demand for its DVD technology. Located close to major motion picture studios and high-end DVD production facilities, the Hollywood office will allow Sonic to provide customers, channel partners, and the InterActual developer community with a convenient location where they can experience the latest in DVD technology from the company.
InterActual Technologies is a subsidiary of Sonic Solutions and provides software and services that enable DVD interactivity in computers and next-generation home entertainment platforms. Its advanced Web and bonus feature products are designed for commercial DVD releases.
"High-definition formats for next-generation DVD production are being developed at a rapid pace, and Sonic's Hollywood operations will allow us to collaborate even more closely with key industry and technology partners as we deploy new solutions for the professional authoring market," says Rolf Hartley, senior VP and general manager of Sonic's professional products division. "In addition, the new facilities will provide InterActual's expanding developer community with even closer ties to engineering and the first-of-kind ROM technology required for today's cutting-edge DVD releases."
The new Sonic facility will serve as the InterActual business office under the direction of industry veteran Dick Sowa, who will manage business development, marketing services and research, as well as programming projects for InterActual's developer community and producers. Sowa joined InterActual in April 2000, focusing on strategic business initiatives within the home entertainment and consumer electronics industry. From 1994 to 1999, he was executive VP of Divx Entertainment, where he negotiated and managed all long-term license agreements with major motion picture studios and coordinated the business relationships with consumer electronic licensees.