Press Release
- 2003
ATI Technologies and DivXNetworks Form Strategic Relationship to Advance Digital Video Performance and Quality
Optimizations in ATI's Radeon 9500 & Radeon 9700 Product Families and Cutting-Edge DivX ™ Video Player Dramatically Increases Playback Speed and Quality
Thursday, January 9, 2003
San Diego, CA and Markham,
Ontario - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX: ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT) and
DivXNetworks, Inc. today announced a strategic development and
marketing agreement to combine ATI's innovative FullStream technology
with widely popular DivX video compression technology for an
enhanced digital video experience.
In the first collaboration between the two companies, ATI's
new Visual Processing Units (GPU) will integrate DivX video
compression technology and offer optimized playback of high-quality
DivX video files. Thanks to hardware and software optimizations
performed by ATI and DivXNetworks, Radeon 9500 & 9700-based
products significantly increases video performance (up to 50%
using post-processing) and reduce CPU usage when decoding DivX
video. DivX video compression technology is a hugely popular
video encoder / decoder thanks to the great reduction in encoded
video file size with hardly any loss of picture quality. DivX
technology has become a standard for high-quality IP video,
with over 75 million downloads and an average of over 3 million
downloads per month.
"DivXNetworks is a pioneer in enabling the delivery of
DVD-quality digital video over the Internet, and we're excited
to combine our cutting-edge video graphics card technology with
their leading video compression technology," said Rick
Bergman, Senior Vice President, Marketing and General Manager,
Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. "The synergy in harnessing
the power of hardware and software will create higher visual
quality, significantly faster playback time and a truly amazing
digital video experience for consumers."
"As a recognized leader in the video graphics industry,
ATI represents a valuable strategic development partner for
DivXNetworks," said Jordan Greenhall, co-founder and CEO
of DivXNetworks (www.divxnetworks.com). "By
uniting the power of DivX with ATI's innovative advanced graphics
technology, we can take the PC video experience to
an entirely new level, significantly improving playback performance
and visual quality."
"ATI is an excellent partner to help DivX video achieve
cutting-edge performance with the leading series of graphics
chip technology," said Tay Nguyen, vice president of operations
at DivXNetworks. "Products based on ATI's Radeon 9500 & 9700
GPUs, with their extensible programming capabilities, are the
video cards of choice for serious multimedia applications.
Our joint development efforts will optimize DivX video to reach
the unparalleled speed and visual performance that DivX power
users demand."
Radeon 9500 & 9700 series GPUs feature fast 3D graphics
performance, sophisticated real-time visual effects, unsurpassed
image quality and cutting-edge video features. For more information,
visit www.ati.com.
The most recent DivX codec, called a "revolutionary product" by
Tom's Hardware Guide, currently ranks as the most downloaded
multimedia application on CNET's Download.com. For more information
on DivX technology, visit www.divx.com.
Copyright 2003 ATI
Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. ATI and ATI product and product
feature names are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other company
and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks
of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability
and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Company Background
About DivXNetworks
DivXNetworks is a leading technology company that enables
the rapid proliferation of video content over Internet Protocol
(IP) networks by combining the lightweight, ubiquitous access
of the Internet with DVD-quality video performance. The company's
approach is built upon the success of the DivX™ codec,
a leading standard for MPEG-4 compatible video distribution
with over 75 million users worldwide, and the DivX Open Video
System™, a next-generation content delivery system that
provides unsurpassed aggregation, promotion, and distribution
of video content for mass markets. DivXNetworks is headquartered
in San Diego, California, with a satellite office in Los Angeles.
For more information about DivXNetworks, visit http://www.divxnetworks.com.
About ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the design and
manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon
solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world's
foremost visual processor unit (GPU) provider and is dedicated
to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for the full
range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation,
set-top and digital television, game console and handheld
markets. With 2001 revenues in excess of US $1 billion, ATI
has more than 1,900 employees in the Americas, Europe and
Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto
Stock Exchange (ATY).
Contact Information
For media or industry analyst support, visit our Web site
at http://www.ati.com .
Other ATI Contacts:
Tenille Cuthbertson, Counsellor, BenchMark Porter Novelli,
at (416) 422-7163 or tcuthbertson@bmporternovelli.com
For Information:
Patti Mikula, Public Relations Manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies
Inc., at (905) 882-2600 Ext. 8809 or pmikula@ati.com
For DivXNetworks:
Tom Huntington, Corporate Communications Manager, at (858)
909-5358 or thuntington@divxnetworks.com
For investor relations support, please contact:
Janet Craig, Director, Investor Relations, ATI Technologies
Inc., at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 2631 or jcraig@ati.com
