Sonic Solutions

Sonic Solutions was created by former Lucasfilm employees Robert Doris, Mary Sauer and scientist Andy Moorer who developed the SoundDroid digital audio editing system as part of the Droid Works project at the Lucasfilm Computer Division. (Another notable spinoff of the division is Pixar.)

Sonic developed and marketed The Sonic System, a professional non-linear digital audio workstation for music editing, restoration and CD preparation.

Sonic received an Emmy Award for technical achievement in 1996.{{cite news

| date = 1996-10-02

| publisher = Business Wire

| title = Sonic Solutions NoNOISE Honored with Emmy Award; Recognized for Groundbreaking Digital Sound Restoration Product.

| url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sonic+Solutions+NoNOISE+Honored+with+Emmy+Award%3B+Recognized+for+...-a018722139

| access-date = 2009-12-27

| archive-date = 2016-03-05

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305025036/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sonic+Solutions+NoNOISE+Honored+with+Emmy+Award;+Recognized+for+...-a018722139

| url-status = dead

}} In the same year the company worked with numerous Hollywood studios and consumer electronic manufactures to introduce the first commercial DVD production system. Sonic extended its business to enterprise software areas with its DVD authoring systems for professional use (Sonic Scenarist and Sonic DVD Producer) as well as retail and PC OEM DVD software applications for home use (DVDit, MyDVD, and RecordNow).

In 2002, Sonic spun off their entire audio division as Sonic Studio, LLC, to concentrate solely on the DVD marketplace, enterprise software and licensing of IP and source code. Notable customers included Microsoft, Apple, Google, Adobe and Avid. Its middleware and embedded chip included deals with Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Scientific Atlanta/Cisco, Marvell, and Intel.

Sonic expanded to the consumer software business (photo, audio and video editing) in 2000, shipping roughly 50 million copies per year through direct web sales and over 15,000 retail store fronts including Apple Store, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Target, Dixon's and MediaMarkt. It grew to command a 64% market share in its category.

Since the company filed for an initial public offering (IPO) and went public in 1994,https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/916235/000119312505195084/dex991.htm the company has generated over $1.5 billion in revenue in the digital media category and has been named one of Forbes, Fortune and BusinessWeek's fastest growing companies on multiple occasions.

In 2005, Sonic began moving its consumer software business to a SAAS model.

By 2010, Sonic was one of the largest providers of premium movies via the web and CE devices, in partnership with major movie studios. Sonic held the rights to the movies and provided cloud delivery as a white label provider.

Sonic's major acquisitions include the Desktop and Mobile Division (DMD) of VERITAS Software Corporation in 2002,{{cite news| title= DVD software maker buys Veritas unit| author=Becker, Becker| work= CNET News| url=http://news.cnet.com/DVD-software-maker-buys-Veritas-unit/2100-1041_3-965747.html | date=November 13, 2002 }} Roxio in 2003 (consumer applications for Windows and Mac OS),{{cite news| url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/20/sonic_acquires_roxio/|work=The Register|date=December 20, 2004| title= Sonic buys Roxio software biz (But not Napster, which goes it alone) | author=Haines, Lester }} and Simple Star (online slideshow creation){{cite news|work=VentureBeat|url= https://venturebeat.com/2008/04/29/sonic-acquires-simple-star-to-expand-multimedia-sharing-for-roxio/|date=April 29, 2008| author=Takahashi, Dean | title= Sonic acquires Simple Star to expand multimedia sharing for Roxio |access-date= April 28, 2017}} and CinemaNow in 2008 (digital movie delivery).{{cite news|title= Sonic Solutions acquires CinemaNow| date= November 19, 2008 | work=Los Angeles Times |url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2008/11/sonic-solutions.html| author = C. Chmielewski, Dawn }} In October 2010, the company acquired DivX Inc. in a $326 million stock and cash deal as the digital-media provider moves to enhance online video offerings.

{{cite news

| title=Sonic Acquires DivX For About $326 Million

| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703561604575282812506317640.html | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Jodi | last=Xu | date=2010-06-02}}

{{cite web

| url = http://www.roxio.com/enu/company/press/releases/2010/sonic_completes_divx_acquisition.html

| title = Sonic Completes DivX Acquisition

| author = Sonic Solutions

| publisher = roxio.com

| date = 2010-10-17

| accessdate = 2010-10-17

| archive-date = 2011-01-04

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110104212618/http://www.roxio.com/enu/company/press/releases/2010/sonic_completes_divx_acquisition.html

| url-status = dead

}}

On December 23, 2010, Rovi Corporation announced its intention to acquire the company.{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20026481-17.html |title=Rovi to buy Sonic for $720 million |publisher=CNET.com |date=2010-12-23 |accessdate=2010-12-23 |archive-date=2014-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305193416/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20026481-17.html |url-status=dead }} The sale was a cash stock deal for just under $1 billion. According to a February 2011 article in Business Insider, Sonic yielded the highest return of any publicly traded company on the NYSE or NASDAQ markets.

{{cite news

| title=Here's Our Feature On Stocks That Surged Over 1000% That Was Just Analyzed On CNBC

| url = http://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-surged-over-1000-percent-2011-2

| author = Mamta Badkar

| work = Business Insider

| date = 2011-02-11

| accessdate = 2017-04-28

}}

Both stocks rose on the deal announcement, creating a 66% premium above market. The acquisition was completed early the next year. In January 2012, Rovi announced that it would be selling the Roxio division and product line to Corel.{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/corelr-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-roxior-business-from-rovi-corporation-2012-01-12?reflink=MW_news_stmp|title=Corel(R) Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Roxio(R) Business from Rovi Corporation|publisher=MarketWatch|date=January 12, 2012|access-date=2012-01-17|archive-date=2012-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225153211/http://www.marketwatch.com/story/corelr-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-roxior-business-from-rovi-corporation-2012-01-12?reflink=MW_news_stmp|url-status=dead}}

{{prose|date=October 2024}}

• CinemaNow
• CinePlayer
• Creator (originally released as Easy Media Creator, and later renamed Roxio Creator)
• DivX
• Easy VHS to DVDhttp://www.roxio.com/enu/products/easy-vhs-to-dvd/standard/overview.html
• MyDVDhttp://www.roxio.com/enu/products/mydvd/premier/overview.html
• PhotoShowhttp://www.photoshow.com
• Toast

• BD PowerStation{{cite news| work=Blu-ray.com| title = Sonic Launches BD PowerStation Production Suite| date= September 4, 2009 |author= Calonge, Juan|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3368}}
• CineVision{{cite news|work=Audio Intervisual Design|url=http://www.aidinc.com/news/090724_bdpowerstation.asp|title=Finally, Professional Blu-ray Production That's Affordable: under $2499!|accessdate=5 December 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140607061904/http://www.aidinc.com/news/090724_bdpowerstation.asp|archivedate=7 June 2014}}
• MainConcept Reference{{cite web|website=Free-codecs.com| url= http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MainConcept_DV_Codec.htm| date=May 5, 2005| title=MainConcept DV Codec 2.4.16}}
• Scenarist{{cite news| work=Bloomberg| author=Business Wire | title=Sonic Scenarist World's First Authoring System to Support Warner Bros Total Hi Def Disc, Industry's Leading High Definition Authoring System to Streamline THD Disc Creation| location=Novato, CA | date= January 17, 2007 }}

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Category:Companies based in Marin County, California

Category:Software companies established in 1987

Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Novato, California

Category:2010 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Defunct software companies of the United States