Macworld San Francisco 2003

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2003--Discreet, a division of Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), today announced it is shipping the update to version 2.1 of combustion software, its award-winning, unified paint, animation and 3D compositing software. Discreet is re-pricing combustion to US $995 to provide desktop professionals the most affordable access to its powerful visual effects solutions based upon, and complimentary to, Discreet's same Academy Award(R) winning technology(1) used to produce visual effects in blockbuster films such as Star Trek Nemesis, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

For more than a decade, Discreet has provided artists and creative professionals with the powerful tools they need to realize their creative vision for high-end visual effects. With this update of combustion 2.1 software, and the new price point, Discreet is reaching out to the growing desktop visual effects community and is executing its vision to empower ingenuity -- for all creative environments and budgets.

"As a boutique shop it is crucial to have powerful effects capabilities on the desktop and combustion has been our successful solution with major films including S1m0ne and Minority Report," stated Ricardo Torres, digital artist, Black Box Digital. "Now, with the new price point, boutique shops and desktop artists will have a competitive advantage to complete sophisticated color corrections, keys and visual effects based more on raw talent than budget."

Praised for its intuitive, artist-inspired interface and comprehensive toolsets -- including tracking and keying technologies, color correction, particles and rotoscoping tools, combustion has received stellar industry recognition. Among its many awards, combustion won a 4 1/2 mouse rating from Macworld, a five-star rating from AV Video/Multimedia Producer, the Freakin' Awesome award from MacAddict and a must buy rating from Creative Mac.com.

"Discreet is committed to extending our heritage of industry leading visual effects technology to creative professionals across multiple platforms," says Paul Lypaczewski, general manager of Discreet and executive vice president, Autodesk, Inc. "With the new pricing of combustion 2.1 software, Discreet makes the legacy of its flame and inferno systems more accessible to the broadening desktop market."

Pricing and Availability

Discreet combustion 2.1 for Apple Macintosh or Microsoft Windows is available in North America at the SRP of US $995. Version 2.1 is offered as a free update for combustion 2 customers at http://estore.discreet.com/combustion. combustion 2.1 software is available for purchase on the Discreet e-store at http://estore.discreet.com/ or through a Discreet authorized Value Added Reseller (VAR) For more information about purchasing Discreet combustion 2.1, or to find a reseller, call 866/317-1011 or visit www.discreet.com.

For purchases outside of the US please contact your Discreet regional distributor.

About Discreet

Discreet empowers moving media professionals to realize the visual experience, transforming their most evocative and ambitious visions into reality. Its range of award-winning systems and software is developed for digital media creation, management and delivery -- across all disciplines from visual effects and editing to animation, game development, web/interactive design, and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division of Autodesk, Inc., the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. Product and corporate information is located on the Internet at www.discreet.com.

(1)In 1999, Discreet's inferno and flame visual effects systems were each recognized with an Academy Award -- Scientific and Engineering Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. Discreet, combustion, inferno and flame are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. /Autodesk Canada Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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