Avid 2004 Annual Report Download - page 17

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3
In January 2004, we acquired Munich, Germany-based NXN Software GmbH, a leading provider of asset and
production management systems targeted for the entertainment and computer graphics industries. We believe that the
addition of NXN will enhance our film and video postproduction, broadcast news, and 3D product lines by enriching them
with a feature set that facilitates media creation and management. NXN has been integrated into our Video segment.
DIGITAL MEDIA CONTENT MARKETS
Digital formats and tools have largely displaced analog processes in many markets, such as word processing,
spreadsheets, publishing, graphics, and electronic and mechanical design. Markets that use film, video and audio media are
also migrating to digital formats. Technical advances in digital media content-creation tools have made this migration
easier, allowing users to create and manipulate more complex content incorporating several elements of digital media. For
example, many video games now include live-action video, detailed 3D graphics, and high quality audio, all created,
manipulated, and played back in digital form. Feature films, such as “Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Van
Helsing,” and “Motorcycle Diaries,” to name a few, integrate sophisticated computer-generated special effects into
traditional live action shots.
We currently sell our products and services in two principal markets: video and film editing and effects, and audio.
Both of these markets are transitioning from well-established analog content-creation processes to digital content-creation
tools.
Our video and film editing and effects market consists of professional users, over-the-air broadcast and cable
companies, and corporate, government, and educational users. Professional users include independent production and post-
production companies that produce video and film material, such as feature films, commercials, entertainment and
documentary programming, industrial videos, and music videos; professional character animators and video game
developers; and television facilities, film studios, and certain large corporations that perform digital media production and
post-production in-house. Our customers also include a wide variety of companies that originate news programming,
including national and international broadcasters, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, the National Broadcasting
Company, TV Azteca of Mexico, and France Television, as well as network affiliates, local independent television stations,
web news providers and local and regional cable operators that produce news programming. Finally, users in corporations
and various other institutional settings employ digital media tools to create and distribute information enriched by the
addition of digital media content to their customers and employees.
Our audio market is comprised of professional music studios, project studios, film and television production and
post-production facilities, television and radio broadcasters, DVD, web and other “new media” production studios,
corporate, government, and educational facilities, as well as home-hobbyists and enthusiasts. These users range from
individuals to large multi-national corporations. Our audio products are employed in a wide variety of applications,
including recording, editing, mixing, processing and mastering.
STRATEGY
Our mission is to serve the industries that Make, Manage and Move Media. Our strategy consists of four key
elements:
Continue to Deliver Best-of-Breed Products to Professional Content Creators in Video and Audio Markets.
We continue to focus on markets where digital media content creation already takes place, and we believe we enjoy
a leadership position in each of these primary markets. These include the professional video and film editing and effects
market (film and television studios, independent production and post-production firms, and broadcast, including hard news,
long form news, and promotion), and the audio market (music, audio production, and post-production). We plan to
strengthen our positions in these markets by continuing to enhance our existing products and by introducing new products
that satisfy a broader range of customer needs that are developed internally, jointly with third parties or through
acquisitions. In 2004 we acquired NXN Software GmbH, a leading provider of asset and production management systems
targeted for the entertainment and computer graphics industries. We also acquired M-Audio, a leading provider of digital
audio and MIDI solutions for musicians and audio professionals.
Deliver Seamlessly Integrated Workflow for Customers that Work with Multiple Systems or Multiple Media Disciplines.
We continue to invest significant resources in enhancing the interoperability of our broad array of products that
Make, Manage and Move Media. To satisfy the demands of the post-production and broadcast markets, we are committed to