SmartDRIVE2 Offers an Unparalleled "Anti-Piracy" Feature Set Unlike Any Other CD-R Drive on the Market Today

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2000-- MediaFORM, the world's leader in CD-R Duplicators, has introduced SmartDRIVE2, the most advanced and innovative CD Drive on the market.

After twelve months of development and a six-figure investment, the end result is a CD-R Drive, which stands alone in quality, features and capabilities.

Describing the new system, MediaFORM's Christopher Bradlee, vice president of sales and marketing, said: "SmartDRIVE2 is the first 12X compatible CD-R drive made for professional duplication systems, but what really makes it unique is the array of newly developed features.

Features which address media handling, the protection of intellectual property and piracy issues in general -- which challenge today's software and audio CD developers as well as manufacturers."

Piracy continues to be a critical problem within the CD-R duplication industry. "With the tremendous growth in duplication and imaging over recent years," stated a prominent industry analyst "the piracy of intellectual property has become a serious concern among service providers, manufacturers and distributors. The problem is estimated to have cost legitimate companies well in the billions."

SmartDRIVE2 boasts features including Copy Protection; Watermarking; SmartSTAMP; SmartMEDIA; SmartRID; Frame Accurate Recording; and Mini-Disc & Business Card CD-R Compatibility.

Copy Protection - Protects content developers from pirating and revenue loss through illegal copying of CD-R and intellectual property. No other CD-R drive on the market offers copy protection of any sort. On MediaFORM stand-alone systems copy protection is pre-defined for a single area of the disc.

MediaFORM NT-based systems allow greater flexibility for copy protection through mobile protection schemes.

Watermarking - The electronic watermarking on audio and data discs is an effective "fingerprint" on every CD-R produced by SmartDRIVE2 equipped MediaFORM products. SmartDRIVE2 watermarking can, for instance, imprint the date, time and specific drive burning the CD. Watermarking on SmartDRIVE2 is compliant with all the industry standards including Red Book, Orange Book and Yellow Book.

SmartSTAMP - This feature is similar to watermarking but only useable on data-oriented CD's. SmartSTAMP allows optional activation-the user can turn it on or turn it off in various production scenarios.

SmartMEDIA - Allows corporations to outsource software production with the knowledge and confidence that intellectual property is being protected, while being duplicated to their specifications. With the SmartMEDIA feature you can lock in specific proprietary media, assuring that only that media will be used in production situations. SmartMEDIA also may limit CD-R usage on premises.

It regulates internal production, assists in the prevention of employee piracy and offers an effective method of monitoring cost-per-copy for outsourcing facilities.

SmartRID - This feature assures organizations of compliance and compatibility with audio industry standards and regulatory requirements. With SmartDRIVE2 you have the advantage of activating or de-activating RID which allows provision of both Red Book and Orange Book compliance.

Frame Accurate Recording - This audio feature, in effect, raises the production quality level to that of CD-R replication assuring an exact copy of each master, virtually eliminating the possibility of drop-out, click or inaccurate duplication. It also offers the ability to verify all formats including CDDA, CDE, CDI, as well as standard data discs.

Compatibility with Mini-Disc and Business Card CD-R - SmartDRIVE2 effectively handles smaller CD formats. Unlike the 30% to 40% fall-out experienced with standard drives, SmartDRIVE2 offers high quality, minimal fall-out performance on all reputable CD-R brands.

The SmartDRIVE2 is priced at $495 MSRP. For additional information contact Christopher Bradlee, MediaFORM vice president sales, telephone 610/458-9200, e-mail [email protected], or fax 610/458-9554.

MediaFORM is based in Exton, Pa. The company's website can be reached at www.mediaform.com.