Microsoft Licenses Reverb Technology From Waves Ltd.

Microsoft to Integrate Waves' TrueVerb Technology Into New DirectMusic Application Programming Interface

LOS ANGELES - Jan. 28, 1999 - Today at the International Music Market (NAMM) show, Microsoft Corp. and Waves Ltd. announced that Microsoft has licensed elements of Waves' TrueVerb™ technology for incorporation into future versions of its operating systems. TrueVerb will be integrated into Microsoft^® DirectMusic™, a new application programming interface (API) that enables software developers to deliver high-quality interactive music in applications written for the Windows^® operating system.

TrueVerb is an artificial reverberation process for creating the illusion of distance and space in an audio stream. While maintaining relatively low computational costs, TrueVerb can convey an accurate simulation of rooms, halls and other acoustic spaces, making it seem as if the sound is being heard in the simulated space. TrueVerb has previously been delivered in a number of consumer products, such as home theater multimedia products and sound cards, games, and musical instruments. Using TrueVerb, DirectMusic scores will sound larger than life, seeming to be performed in concert halls, small chambers or vast stadiums.

The DirectMusic API is based on the DirectX^® API, a group of Windows technologies that enable application developers to take advantage of the rich multimedia capabilities of modern personal computers, such as full-color graphics, video, 3-D animation, interactive music and surround sound. The Waves technology has been delivered as part of the DirectMusic software synthesizer, a component of the Windows operating system that enables consistent playback of music soundtracks, regardless of the audio hardware installed in a user's personal computer, when used in conjunction with applications designed to take advantage of DirectMusic.

"Waves' TrueVerb will help us take music on the Windows platform to a new level by greatly improving users' listening experience," said Trudy Culbreth Brassell, program manager for DirectMusic at Microsoft. "By adding extremely efficient, high-quality reverb capabilities to DirectMusic, we are enabling composers and developers to deliver incredible soundtracks for applications and Web sites that sound consistently great across a wide range of Windows-equipped PCs."

"We are pleased to offer TrueVerb technology to Microsoft," said Gilad Keren, president and CEO at Waves. "As consumers become more sophisticated about audio, software platform providers and audio hardware manufacturers will need to differentiate themselves not only on cost, but on sound quality and performance as well."

Availability

DirectMusic, including Waves' reverb technology, is scheduled to be available on Feb. 1 as part of the DirectX 6.1 Software Development Kit (SDK). More information about DirectX, including instructions on how to receive the DirectX SDK, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/.

About Waves

Founded in 1988, Waves is a privately held company. Waves has established itself as one of the world's leading software suppliers of signal processing and user interfaces for the Windows and Macintosh professional audio and multimedia markets. The company has developed 20 different algorithms for enhancing audio and sound perception. Waves maintains its R&D in Israel and sales and marketing in the United States and Great Britain.

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