Macromedia, Inc. Monday unveiled Macromedia Director 8 Shockwave Studio, the latest version
of its solution for creating “magnetic” Internet destinations and powerful
multimedia.
Director 8 Shockwave Studio is scheduled to ship in March.
For new users, the product provides a simple way to create compact,
low-bandwidth Shockwave content, while streamlining production and
publishing for existing developers. Shockwave content, authored in Director,
continues to raise the bar on the Web’s most compelling, interactive
destinations, according to a statement issued by Macromedia (MACR).
Macromedia Director is targeted toward enterprises creating multimedia
presentations, e-merchandising applications, and interactive entertainment.
The program combines graphics, sound, animation, text, video, and multiuser
technology with interactivity to create content that can be deployed in a
Shockwave format for the Web, or as multimedia for CD-ROM or DVD.
The strategy behind Director 8 Shockwave Studio is to attract, engage,
and retain a loyal community of consumers. Hence, the concept of “magnetic
content.” One of the product’s key magnetic features is audio functionality,
which gives developers precision sound control over multiple audio streams,
loops points, mixing, pausing, seeking, and synchronization.
Director and Shockwave provide developers with complete control over
graphics generation capabilities, off-screen image compositing, on-screen
effects, transitions, and image manipulation.
The new version will also offer additional layout and animation controls,
the capability to launch and edit linked scripts in various text editors,
and a cast manager to quickly sort assets across large projects. Director
projects seamlessly incorporate more 40 media types, including Macromedia
Flash 4, streaming video with Apple QuickTime 4, and streaming audio with
MP3.
The Macromedia Director 8 Shockwave Studio, is available for both
Macintosh and Windows platforms. It includes Director 8 Shockwave Studio,
Shockwave Multiuser Server 2, Fireworks 3, and sound editors BIAS Peak LE
2.1 for Macintosh and Sonic Foundry Sound Forge XP 4.5 for Windows.
The Director 8 Shockwave Studio is priced at $999. Registered Director 7
users can upgrade to a single platform for $399. Registered users of
Director for both Macintosh and Windows, can upgrade both platforms to
Director 8 Shockwave Studio for $699. Registered Director 5, 6, and 6.5
users can upgrade to a single platform for $499.
More information about the product can be found on Macromedia’s site.
