Bias Acquires Deck from Macromedia

Audio Engineering Society Expo - Booth #122 - San Francisco - September 26, 1998 - Berkley Integrated Audio Software, Inc. (BIAS) - manufacturer of the award-winning audio software products Peak, Peak LE, and SFX Machine - is pleased to announce its acquisition of Deck from Macromedia, Inc. The acquisition is effective immediately. BIAS, a company with a proven track record of developing high-quality audio tools, is a natural home for Deck, an established, award-winning audio product with enormous development potential.

The BIAS Family Now Includes an Award-Winning Multitrack Audio Workstation

With the acquisition of Deck, BIAS now offers a complete family of solutions for audio engineers, music producers, audio-for-picture and video editors, radio and television broadcasters, as well as multimedia and Web developers.

Deck is a dedicated multitrack audio workstation for the Macintosh, with a range of features unparalleled by any other multitrack software. The most current version, Deck 2.6, works in conjunction with third-party audio cards or in "native mode" - where it can be used with almost any recent Macintosh (including all PowerPC and G3 CPUs, even PowerBooks) with no additional audio hardware. Deck 2.6 also offers up to 999 virtual tracks; playback of up to 64 simultaneous tracks; real-time DSP features for every channel; OMS-compatibility; support for Adobe Premiere Plug-Ins; QuickTime digital video playback and sync; and much more.

Deck joins BIAS' line of acclaimed software products, including Peak and Peak LE - which offer dedicated stereo editing, mastering, streaming audio encoding for the Web, and audio CD recording - and SFX Machine, a creative signal processing tool that offers a multitude of unique effects. Together, they form a complementary line of production tools that can take any audio project from multitrack recording through editing, from mastering to final delivery - on CD-R, CD-ROM, via the Web, or any other delivery format.

There are tens of thousands of Deck users, and BIAS is pleased to offer them a firm commitment to the product's continued development. "Under Macromedia, Deck has matured into a highly capable and cost-effective multitrack audio workstation," said Steve Berkley, president and CEO of BIAS. "Now that Deck is part of the BIAS family, it's a perfect multitrack companion to Peak. And we're sure that in 1999, Deck 3.0 will further strengthen the product's significant market share." "As Macromedia focuses on delivering breakthrough tools and technologies for the Web, we worked with BIAS to ensue a smooth transition for our Deck II sound customers," said David Mendels, vice president and co-general manager of Macromedia's Web Publishing division. "We're confident that with BIAS' expertise in audio, the product will continue to evolve to meet the needs of its users."

Development of BIAS Deck 3.0 Announced - With Free Upgrades for New Deck 2.6 Owners

BIAS is also announcing that active development has commenced on Deck 3.0 (ship date TBA). This forthcoming version will support the ASIO industry standard, giving users a wide choice of audio hardware and interface options. Deck 3.0 will also offer support for VST plug-ins, expanding its already existing repertoire of real-time DSP options. Furthermore, BIAS plans to integrate many other new, useful features and enhancements.

Upgrades to Deck 3.0 will be free for anyone who purchases a new copy of BIAS Deck 2.6 on or after October 31, 1998. For owners of older versions of Deck, BIAS will announce other upgrade programs as the release of Deck 3.0 draws closer.

BIAS Deck 2.6 Ships October 31 - Now Bundled With Free Copy of Peak LE

Deck 2.6 will be re-released as a BIAS product on October 31, 1998. BIAS Deck 2.6 will be available for purchase either through BIAS' domestic and international dealer channel - or directly from the BIAS Website (www.bias-inc.com). BIAS Deck 2.6 will also include a free copy of BIAS Peak LE, the "lite" version of BIAS' award-winning Peak software.

BIAS Deck 2.6 has a suggested retail price of US$399 - and all new purchases made on or after October 31, 1998 are eligible for a free upgrade to Deck 3.0. Upgrades from Deck 1.x to 2.6 are US$299; upgrades from Deck 2.0 to 2.6 are US$99; and upgrades from Deck 2.5 to 2.6 are free, and will be available for download from the BIAS Website starting October 31, 1998.