Macromedia Introduces Director MX

Macromedia Introduces Director MX

Provides developers with comprehensive Macromedia Flash integration, accessibility features, streamlined workflow and Mac OS X support

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – 26 November 2002 – Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) announced Macromedia Director MX, the most powerful multimedia authoring environment for building high-end, rich, interactive content and applications deployed on CD/DVD-ROM, kiosks and the web via Macromedia Shockwave Player. Macromedia Director has led the industry for more than 14 years and with this major new version, Macromedia is delivering an authoring tool that incorporates a range of new capabilities to meet the evolving needs of today’s multimedia developer while retaining all the power of its core features.

"The new version of Macromedia Director makes this powerful application even more important to businesses that need to deliver maximum interactive experiences on fixed-media such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, as well as on the Internet," said Norm Meyrowitz, president of products, Macromedia. "Director has been solving real-world business problems for more than a decade, and its flexibility enables it to tackle entirely new solutions to deliver true business results."

Macromedia Director MX is expected to ship in December. Its many new features include seamless, comprehensive integration with the Macromedia Flash MX product family, adoption of the streamlined Macromedia MX user interface, Mac OS X support, major new workflow efficiencies, and the ability to create accessible content so that rich Director presentations can be enjoyed by people with disabilities. For more information, go to http://www.macromedia.com/go/director/.

Macromedia Director MX enables users to author content once and deliver it anywhere, whether it is online or offline. Director MX supports most major video, audio, bitmap, 3D, and vector formats to give developers the broadest content palette from which to deliver sophisticated, compelling user experiences. Extensive video capabilities within Director MX allow developers to stream video files that are minutes or hours in length and natively supported with QuickTime, RealVideo, and AVI. New users will benefit from the ability to create content using drag-and-drop behaviors, while experienced users can use Lingo, the powerful, object-oriented scripting language in Director. Lingo syntax is easy to learn for programmers who are familiar with languages such as ActionScript, JavaScript, or Visual Basic.

The performance, media handling, and extensibility of Director MX are designed to handle data deployed to fixed media, as it quickly loads and unloads data into system memory for optimal playback of large CD/DVD-ROM or kiosk-based files. Director developers deploying to the web are ensured a wide addressable audience, since more than 335 million web users already have Macromedia Shockwave Player installed. Macromedia Shockwave Player will not be updated for this release, allowing millions of users to enjoy Director MX content with their existing players.

"In Times Square, Macromedia Director MX helps Show & Tell Productions create high-impact experiences for clients like Toys "R" Us and ABC," said Dennis Flood, technology director, Show & Tell Productions, Inc. "Using Macromedia ColdFusion MX and Director MX, we have developed a scalable, multimedia content management and playback system that synchronises huge LED. signs, video monitors, lights, and scrolling signs that are seen by millions of visitors every day. Director was the only way we could have brought these systems online in time and under budget, and still provide our clients the features that they wanted."

Macromedia Director MX is the latest addition to Macromedia MX, an integrated family of client, tool, and server technologies that provide more intuitive, responsive, and effective user experiences across platforms and devices. The enhanced integration with Macromedia Flash MX and consistency with other products in the Macromedia MX family is a substantial benefit for Director developers, most of whom are already using other MX products.

"Making development workflow more efficient through the use of consistent user interfaces and cross-product integration is a key factor in a time of tighter budgets and higher expectations," said Rikki Kirzner, research director, IDC. "Thinking beyond point solutions and delivering integrated products that are even stronger when used together is definitely a key strategy for software vendors."

Director MX enables users to launch and edit Macromedia Flash from within Director to make quick content changes, and also gives developers direct control over Macromedia Flash MX content through Lingo. Director MX is integrated with Macromedia Flash server technologies including Macromedia Flash Remoting to enable a secure, high performance connection between Macromedia ColdFusion MX and Shockwave Player, and Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX for multi-user games, streaming Macromedia Flash video, and real-time collaboration. Director MX will ship with a copy of Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX, Personal Edition.

"Macromedia Director MX enables Macromedia Flash users to intuitively create sophisticated experiences that combine the best of Macromedia Flash and the best of Director," said interactive media pioneer Joe Sparks of joesparks.com. "Macromedia Flash and Director bring different strengths to the table, which are even stronger when you combine them."

Developers will also benefit from new workflow efficiencies for multimedia application development in Macromedia Director MX. Director now includes advanced debugging features such as an Object Inspector with data browser functionality and color-coding of recently changed variables. A unified script and debugging window, split-pane message window, and script window buttons will dramatically reduce development time.

For more detailed information on new features in Director MX, go to http://www.macromedia.com/go/dirmxnew/

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Macromedia Director MX, expected to ship in December, is priced at NZ$2885 (ERP inc GST) for new users, NZ$995, for users upgrading from versions 8.0 or 8.5, with educational pricing at NZ$1240. Government and corporate volume licensing will also be available. Director MX is available for Mac OS X 10.1 or higher, and for Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 or Windows XP will be available online at the Macromedia Store and in the U.S. and Canada in December 2002. Localised versions for French, German and Japanese will be available at a later date.

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