Sonic Solutions
Encyclopedia
Sonic Solutions, acquired by Rovi Corporation in 2010, was a computer software company headquartered in Novato, California
. In addition to having a number of offices in the U.S., the company also maintained offices in Europe
and Asia
.
employees who developed the SoundDroid
digital audio editing system as part of the Droidworks project. (Another notable spinoff of the project is Pixar
.)
Sonic developed and marketed The Sonic System, a professional non-linear digital audio workstation
for music editing, restoration and CD preparation.
Sonic received an Emmy Award
for technical achievement in 1996. In the same year the company worked with numerous Hollywood studios and consumer electronic manufactures to introduce the first commercial DVD production system. Sonic extended its business to enterprise software
areas with its DVD authoring
systems for professional use (Sonic Scenarist and Sonic DVD Producer) as well as retail and PC OEM
DVD software applications for home use (DVDit, MyDVD, and RecordNow).
In 2002, Sonic spun off their entire audio division as Sonic Studio
, LLC, to concentrate solely on the DVD marketplace, enterprise software and licensing of IP and source code. Notable customers included Microsoft, Apple, Google, Adobe and Avid. Its middleware and embedded chip included deals with Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Scientific Atlanta/Cisco, Marvell, and Intel.
Sonic expanded to the consumer software business (photo, audio and video editing) in 2000, shipping roughly 50 million copies per year through direct web sales and over 15,000 retail store fronts including Apple Store, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Target, Dixon's and MediaMart. It grew to command a 64% market share in its category.
Since its IPO, the company has generated over $1.5 billion in revenue in the digital media category and has been named one of Forbes, Fortune and BusinessWeek's fastest growing companies on multiple occasions.
In 2005 Sonic began moving its consumer software business to a SAAS model.
By 2010 Sonic was one of the largest providers of premium movies via the Web and CE devices, in partnership with major movie studios. Sonic held the rights to the movies and provided cloud delivery as a white label provider.
Corporation in 2002, Roxio
in 2003 (consumer applications for Windows and Mac OS), and Simple Star (online slideshow creation) and CinemaNow in 2008 (digital movie delivery).
In October 2010, the Company acquired DivX Inc.
in a $326 million stock and cash deal as the digital-media provider moves to enhance online video offerings.
Novato, California
Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...
. In addition to having a number of offices in the U.S., the company also maintained offices in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
History
Sonic Solutions was created by former LucasfilmLucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
employees who developed the SoundDroid
SoundDroid
The SoundDroid is an early digital audio workstation designed by a team of engineers led by James A. Moorer at Lucasfilm between the 1980 and 1987. It was a hard-disk–based, nonlinear audio editor developed on the Audio Signal Processor , a large-scale digital signal processor for real–time,...
digital audio editing system as part of the Droidworks project. (Another notable spinoff of the project is Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
.)
Sonic developed and marketed The Sonic System, a professional non-linear digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
for music editing, restoration and CD preparation.
Sonic received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for technical achievement in 1996. In the same year the company worked with numerous Hollywood studios and consumer electronic manufactures to introduce the first commercial DVD production system. Sonic extended its business to enterprise software
Enterprise software
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software , is software used in organizations, such as in a business or government, contrary to software chosen by individuals...
areas with its DVD authoring
DVD authoring
DVD authoring is the process of creating a DVD video capable of playing on a DVD player. DVD authoring software must conform to the specifications set by the DVD Forum group in 1995...
systems for professional use (Sonic Scenarist and Sonic DVD Producer) as well as retail and PC OEM
OEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...
DVD software applications for home use (DVDit, MyDVD, and RecordNow).
In 2002, Sonic spun off their entire audio division as Sonic Studio
Sonic Studio
Sonic Studio is an American company manufacturing digital audio production tools for engineering professionals. The company was created when Sonic Solutions divested itself of its audio product lines in order to concentrate on DVD and multimedia–oriented products.- Overview :Under the auspices of...
, LLC, to concentrate solely on the DVD marketplace, enterprise software and licensing of IP and source code. Notable customers included Microsoft, Apple, Google, Adobe and Avid. Its middleware and embedded chip included deals with Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Scientific Atlanta/Cisco, Marvell, and Intel.
Sonic expanded to the consumer software business (photo, audio and video editing) in 2000, shipping roughly 50 million copies per year through direct web sales and over 15,000 retail store fronts including Apple Store, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Target, Dixon's and MediaMart. It grew to command a 64% market share in its category.
Since its IPO, the company has generated over $1.5 billion in revenue in the digital media category and has been named one of Forbes, Fortune and BusinessWeek's fastest growing companies on multiple occasions.
In 2005 Sonic began moving its consumer software business to a SAAS model.
By 2010 Sonic was one of the largest providers of premium movies via the Web and CE devices, in partnership with major movie studios. Sonic held the rights to the movies and provided cloud delivery as a white label provider.
Acquisitions
Sonic’s major acquisitions include the Desktop and Mobile Division (DMD) of VERITAS SoftwareVERITAS Software
Veritas Software Corp. was an international software company that was founded in 1983 as Tolerant Systems, renamed Veritas Software Corp. in 1989, and merged with Symantec in 2005. It was headquartered in Mountain View, California...
Corporation in 2002, Roxio
Roxio
Roxio is a division and brand of Sonic Solutions . Roxio branded products are sold online, through over 15,000 retail outlets, to organizations through volume license agreements and pre-loaded onto OEM PC's and devices...
in 2003 (consumer applications for Windows and Mac OS), and Simple Star (online slideshow creation) and CinemaNow in 2008 (digital movie delivery).
In October 2010, the Company acquired DivX Inc.
DivX, Inc.
DivX, Inc. , based in San Diego, California, now part of Sonic Solutions, a division of Rovi, was the corporation behind the MPEG-4 Part 2-based codec, DivX. The company's codec has been downloaded over 240 million times since January 2003...
in a $326 million stock and cash deal as the digital-media provider moves to enhance online video offerings.
Sale
On December 23, 2010, Rovi Corporation announced its intention to acquire the company. The sale was a cash stock deal for just under $1 billion. According to a February 2011 article in Business Insider, Sonic yielded the highest return of any publicly traded company on the NYSE or NASDAQ markets. Both stocks rose on the deal announcement, creating a 66% premium above market. The acquisition was completed early the next year.Consumer
Professional
- Scenarist
- CineVision
- BD PowerStation
- MainConcept Reference