LaCie Ships External Blu-ray Solution For Professionals on Mac and Windows

(CREATIVE COW – PORTLAND, OR — January 2007) LaCie today announced it is first to ship worldwide a professional external Blu-ray burning solution for Mac OS® and Windows® called the LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive. The drive records, rewrites and reads 25GB or 50GB BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable), as well as DVD±RW DL and CD±RW. LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drives come fully equipped with Roxio burning software and dual FireWire/USB interfaces. The external solution is housed in LaCie’s trusted and durable d2 case made of sturdy aluminum alloy.

• Burn 50GB of data on a single Blu-ray disc
• Store and view up to 4 hours of HD video
• Fully equipped burning software for Mac/Windows
• Durable metal d2 design

LaCie Product Manager Anne Bordet said, “LaCie’s d2 Blu-ray Drive is a necessity for video editors who need to distribute HD content while retaining quality of picture and sound. Business users can safely archive large amounts of data or regularly back up individual workstations with the included, easy-to-use software. Roxio’s experience in developing professional software combined with our sturdy and exclusive d2 casing means LaCie can again deliver the best hardware/software combo for creative mastering and high capacity storage.”

LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drives come with user-friendly and full-featured Roxio software including Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8 for Windows, and Toast® 7 Titanium for Mac—both with new support for Blu-ray. Software enables BD image-to-disc recording, disc-to-disc copy, and data transfer for file backup. All users can treat BD-RE like a removable storage device with drag-and-drop capabilities, while Mac users have the ability to mount burned BD on the desktop.

Stan Wong, general manager, Roxio division of Sonic Solutions said, “Roxio has always delivered cutting-edge disc-burning features to Mac and PC users alike, and we’re pleased to again partner with LaCie to bring a complete Blu-ray external solution to both platforms.”

50GB BD offers 10x more capacity than a single layer DVD, which gives professionals the freedom to choose a much higher bit rate when mastering content thereby greatly improving sound and picture quality. BD employs a hard topcoat and new material making discs more resistant to scratches and light.

In a partnership with Panasonic Media, the LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive comes bundled with a 50GB BD. Laurent Abadie, Managing Director of Panasonic France said, “Precursor on Blu-ray technology media, Panasonic developed 25GB and double sided 50GB discs. Panasonic was the first brand in 2006 to allow storage of up to 50GB on a single disc including BD-R and BD-RE. In the future, Panasonic will continue to upgrade capacity and transfer speeds of Blu-ray discs and is proud to today align with LaCie and encourage people toward adopting large storage BD.”

To learn more about Blu-ray technology, read LaCie’s whitepaper at http://www.lacie.com.

Availability
LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drives are available immediately online and widely available via LaCie’s specialized dealer network later this month at the suggested retail price of $1149. In addition to Roxio burning software, drives ship with CinePlayer 3.4 for HD playback on Windows. For more product information, visit http://www.lacie.com.

About LaCie
LaCie creates external storage solutions and color monitors that help professionals and everyday users easily manage their digital lives. Powerful technology combined with unique designs by the internationally acclaimed Philippe Starck, Neil Poulton, Porsche Design GmbH, Ora-Ïto and Karim Rashid make LaCie the world leader in storage innovation. Established in France in 1989, LaCie is now headquartered in North America, Europe and Asia and listed on the Paris Nouveau Marché (code 5431). For more information, visit http://www.lacie.com.

About Roxio
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions, develops and markets the best-selling digital media software in the world. Roxio offers award-winning software products for CD/DVD burning, photo editing and video editing and has an installed base of over 150 million users. Roxio distributes its products globally through strategic partnerships with major hardware manufacturers, through leading retailers, through Internet partnerships and through direct sales at http://www.roxio.com.

Roxio’s parent company, Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC www.sonic.com) is the leader in digital media software and provides a broad range of software tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users and technology partners. Sonic’s products range from professional DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies that are used to produce the majority of Hollywood movies released on DVD, to the award-winning Roxio- and Sonic-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup applications that have become the premier solutions for consumers and business users worldwide. Sonic’s AuthorScript® is the de facto standard for CD and DVD burning and formatting and has been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Broadcom, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.

About Panasonic

Best known by its Panasonic brand name, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of US$76.02 billion for the year ended March 31, 2006. The company’s shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE:MC) stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company’s website at: http://panasonic.net.