Sonic Solutions (Nasdaq:SNIC) announced today at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention its plans to offer support for the final version of the new DVD-Audio specification, Version 1.2. Using the new capabilities defined by the expanded specification and incorporated in Sonic DVD Creator AV, DVD-Audio producers will now be able to include copy protection and content watermarking in their DVD-Audio titles.

Version 1.2 of the specification defines a new copy protection method called CPPM (Copy Protection for Prerecorded Media) , developed by 4CEntity, LLC. The CPPM specification defines a renewable cryptographic method for protecting entertainment content when recorded on physical media.

Sonic will also integrate Verance watermarking technology as an option with SonicStudio HD for secure content delivery in DVD media. Watermarking DVD-Audio content will allow content providers to invisibly mark, and later identify their content.

Sonic DVD Creator AV is the only commercial product providing support for DVD-Audio, which includes the ability to create DVD-Audio and DVD-Video menus, audio sampling rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz, and support for both linear PCM and MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) audio formats.

‘Copy protection was the last missing component before DVD-Audio titles could become a commercial reality,’ said Mark Waldrep, President and CEO of AIX Media Group. ‘Sonic’s integration of CPPM and watermarking will allow DVD-Audio content to be handled in a secure fashion, which in turn will encourage recording artists to create releases of their titles in the new audio format.’

The new release of DVD Creator AV which supports CPPM and watermarking is scheduled to ship at the end of October. The CPPM technology will be a standard feature within DVD Creator AV, and the Verance watermarking will be available as an option.

About DVD-Audio

DVD-Audio is a new audio format that builds on the success of the hugely popular DVD-Video format. More than two years in the making, DVD-Audio is the result of close collaboration among major recording companies, consumer electronics manufacturers and technology suppliers. The format incorporates extremely accurate audio reproduction by supporting sampling rates of 96kHz and 192kHz with up to 24 bits of information per sample (compared to the CD standard of 44.1kHz and 16 bits per sample). With DVD-Audio, full-resolution audio can be presented in stereo or in any channel combination up to six-channel surround. Audio programs can be accessed interactively and presented along with visual material including menus, slides, and text. Because of the enormous bandwidths involved in high-resolution audio, DVD-Audio incorporates an innovative coding scheme developed by Meridian Audio, called Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP). With MLP it is possible to use full-resolution, 24-bit, 96kHz audio on all six channels of a surround presentation even though the overall bandwidth of the original master tracks would exceed the bandwidth available in a standard DVD disc.