"The new version of Macromedia Director makes this powerful application even more important to businesses that need to deliver maximum interactive experiences on fixed-media such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, as well as on the Internet," said Norm Meyrowitz, president of products, Macromedia. "Director has been solving real-world business problems for more than a decade, and its flexibility enables it to tackle entirely new solutions to deliver true business results."

Macromedia Director MX is expected to ship in December. Its many new features include seamless, comprehensive integration with the Macromedia Flash MX product family, adoption of the streamlined Macromedia MX user interface, Mac OS X support (see separate release), major new workflow efficiencies, and the ability to create accessible content so that rich Director presentations can be enjoyed by people with disabilities (see separate release). For more information, go to www.macromedia.com/go/director/.

Macromedia Director MX enables users to author content once and deliver it anywhere, whether it is online or offline. Director MX supports most major video, audio, bitmap, 3D, and vector formats to give developers the broadest content palette from which to deliver sophisticated, compelling user experiences. Extensive video capabilities within Director MX allow developers to stream video files that are minutes or hours in length and natively supported with QuickTime, RealVideo, and AVI. New users will benefit from the ability to create content using drag-and-drop behaviors, while experienced users can use Lingo, the powerful, object-oriented scripting language in Director. Lingo syntax is easy to learn for programmers who are familiar with languages such as ActionScript, JavaScript, or Visual Basic.

The performance, media handling, and extensibility of Director MX are designed to handle data deployed to fixed media, as it quickly loads and unloads data into system memory for optimal playback of large CD/DVD-ROM or kiosk-based files. Director developers deploying to the web are ensured a wide addressable audience, since more than 335 million web users already have Macromedia Shockwave Player installed. Macromedia Shockwave Player will not be updated for this release, allowing millions of users to enjoy Director MX content with their existing players.

"In Times Square, Macromedia Director MX helps Show & Tell Productions create high-impact experiences for clients like Toys "R" Us and ABC," said Dennis Flood, technology director, Show & Tell Productions, Inc. "Using Macromedia ColdFusion MX and Director MX, we have developed a scalable, multimedia content management and playback system that synchronizes huge LED signs, video monitors, lights, and scrolling signs that are seen by millions of visitors every day. Director was the only way we could have brought these systems online in time and under budget, and still provide our clients the features that they wanted."

Macromedia Director MX is the latest addition to Macromedia MX, an integrated family of client, tool, and server technologies that provide more intuitive, responsive, and effective user experiences across platforms and devices. The enhanced integration with Macromedia Flash MX and consistency with other products in the Macromedia MX family is a substantial benefit for Director developers, most of whom are already using other MX products.

"Making development workflow more efficient through the use of consistent user interfaces and cross-product integration is a key factor in a time of tighter budgets and higher expectations," said Rikki Kirzner, research director, IDC. "Thinking beyond point solutions and delivering integrated products that are even stronger when used together is definitely a key strategy for software vendors."

Director MX enables users to launch and edit Macromedia Flash from within Director to make quick content changes, and also gives developers direct control over Macromedia Flash MX content through Lingo. Director MX is integrated with Macromedia Flash server technologies including Macromedia Flash Remoting to enable a secure, high performance connection between Macromedia ColdFusion MX and Shockwave Player, and Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX for multi-user games, streaming Macromedia Flash video, and real-time collaboration. Director MX will ship with a copy of Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX, Personal Edition.

"Macromedia Director MX enables Macromedia Flash users to intuitively create sophisticated experiences that combine the best of Macromedia Flash and the best of Director," said interactive media pioneer Joe Sparks of joesparks.com. "Macromedia Flash and Director bring different strengths to the table, which are even stronger when you combine them."

Developers will also benefit from new workflow efficiencies for multimedia application development in Macromedia Director MX. Director now includes advanced debugging features such as an Object Inspector with data browser functionality and color-coding of recently changed variables. A unified script and debugging window, split-pane message window, and script window buttons will dramatically reduce development time.

For more detailed information on new features in Director MX, go to www.macromedia.com/go/dirmxnew/.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Macromedia Director MX, expected to ship in December, is priced at $1,199 for new users, $399 for users upgrading from versions 8.0 or 8.5, with educational pricing at $499. Government and corporate volume licensing will also be available. Director MX, which is available for Mac OS X 10.1 or higher, and for Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, will be available online at the Macromedia Store and in the U.S. and Canada in December 2002. Localized versions for French, German, and Japanese will be available at a later date.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Macromedia (www.macromedia.com) empowers millions of designers and developers to create effective user experiences across the widest array of platforms and devices. Through an open, integrated family of client, tool, and server technologies, Macromedia is driving a new generation of rich Internet applications that radically improves the Internet experience.

DEVELOPERS PRAISE NEW FEATURES, INTEGRATION IN DIRECTOR MX

Black Hammer Productions
“We have been using Macromedia Flash and Director since their inception, and we have delivered many CD-ROM products with Director for the retail market. We have found that we can consistently offer high-quality products at a lower cost and on a shorter development cycle than the alternatives. Once released, our products have enjoyed a very low frequency of tech support calls. Our clients have demonstrated their appreciation by returning to us time and again. The new upgrades in the MX family again demonstrate for us Macromedia's commitment to improving their products and our efficiency.”
- Matthew Schlanger, president, Black Hammer Productions, Inc.

canDo Multimedia
"The new debugging features in Director MX shorten the script development for our interactive 3D demonstrations, allowing us to spend more time on non-technical issues such as the look and feel of the user experience"
- Mal Duffin, chief technology officer, canDo Multimedia

Del Padre Visual Productions
“Director MX is a must-have for any professional media developer. Creating unique, high impact, interactive experiences for our diverse range of clients has become more streamlined with Director MX. As a developer who uses both Macromedia Flash and Director, I was blown away by the expanded integration between Director MX and Macromedia Flash MX and the greater degree of Lingo and ActionScript control. Director now has the familiar MX user interface, and the ability to launch and edit Macromedia Flash from within Director saves a ton of precious development time. The new Macromedia Flash Communication Server and Macromedia Flash Remoting capabilities makes Director MX the most powerful content creation tool on the planet!”
- Nino Del Padre, president, Del Padre Visual Productions, Inc.

ESPN
"Since the first day the Director MX beta was available, I have been using it in production of ESPN's worldwide interactive CD-ROM presentations. From the first moment, I realized Director MX was a welcome improvement in user interface, functionality, and stability. The new interface is less cluttered and aids my productivity by removing the multiple window clicks to which I'd become accustomed. The text tools are also leaps and bounds better."
- Brett Stewart, senior digital designer, ESPN, Inc.

Nickelodeon Online
"The message window improvements are a dream come true for experienced Director developers, and the 3D workflow is clean and easy to use. I wish all 3D tools were this streamlined."
- Chris Romero, vice president, technical production, Nickelodeon Online

SetPixel
"Director MX provides developers with an extremely powerful tool for rapid development and deployment of multimedia applications. Because of the Xtra architecture of Director, limitations that other multimedia development tools have are eliminated. Whether developing games, installations, CD-ROMs, or even Pocket PC applications, Director MX allows developers a simple yet robust development platform."
- Charles Foreman, founder, SetPixel

skeletonmoon.com
"Macromedia has done developers and clients a huge favor by including Director within the Macromedia MX product line. The interface is streamlined, Mac OS X support added, and accessibility is addressed. Personally, between the addition of the Panel Sets Feature and the Object Inspector, I am sold. Panel Sets allow me to define custom views for the myriad of windows and palettes in Director, eliminating hours of dragging windows around. The Object Inspector is similar to the debugger, but much more powerful. I tend to work with a lot of object-oriented programming code, and the old debugger just never cut it for me. This tool allows me to efficiently debug complex code objects while my projects are running."
- Paul Catanese, founder, skeletonmoon.com