As the PC transforms into an entertainment platform, Creative's audio solutions are at the heart of the sound evolution, providing entertainment enthusiasts with the ultimate in digital audio. This new line of Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 sound cards delivers true Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound to consumers, allowing them to experience total sound immersion - just like at the movie theater. A superior audio experience is now available to meet varying budgets and entertainment needs, thanks to Creative's full range of Dolby approved sound card solutions. Users seeking a high-end choice for digital audio creation and playback, Internet music and power gaming will find that the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 sound card offers a full-feature set of the most innovative applications and utilities available today. The Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1 addresses specific gaming, music and digital entertainment needs, making 5.1 performance available to all budgets.

"We are constantly striving to provide our customers with the richest audio experience available. The incorporation of Dolby Digital 5.1 support in our new line of sound cards ensures that audio enthusiasts will continue to receive the most innovative solutions from Creative," said George Thorn, director of audio development for Creative Labs, Inc.

"The same Dolby Digital 5.1 sound that has thrilled movie-goers all over the world is now available on the PC via Creative's new line of Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 sound cards. Creative demonstrates its commitment to provide its users with high-end audio solutions by supporting the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound format," said Dennis Staats, director of computer & games technology marketing for Dolby Laboratories. "We are very excited to approve this new line of sound cards allowing PC users to experience movie-quality sound on the desktop with Dolby Digital technology."

Key Features of the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 and Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1:

• Dolby Digital 5.1 and Analog Surround Sound : Experience full 5.1 surround sound in either digital or analog output. The Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 series provides surround sound on your PC, with built in support for two-, four-, or six-speaker configurations. You will get superior Dolby Digital 5.1 sound quality by connecting to speaker solutions such as the upcoming Cambridge SoundWorks® DeskTop Theater™ 5.1 DTT3500 Digital or the DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 (both expected to ship in October) or any Dolby Digital equipped home theater system. Dolby Digital content ensures the best audio support for next generation interactive DVD titles.

  The Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 is an affordable 5.1 home theater solution designed to be used in conjunction with Creative's Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 sound cards. With high quality and value, the DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2200 speaker system provides the ideal choice for transforming the PC into a home theater system to experience DVD movies and games.

  With digital connectivity to Creative's Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 sound cards, the Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital - a powerful Dolby Digital home theater speaker solution - provides a high-end 5.1 surround sound environment and delivers the ultimate entertainment experience. The DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital provides a complete home theater speaker solution when listening to music, watching movies or playing games.

• Quality Digital Signal Processor : The revolutionary EMU10K1™ Digital Signal Processor gives you all the power you need to create crystal-clear audio files. Since processing and playback remain entirely digital, your files maintain the highest level of audio quality with settings optimized for headphones, two, four, or 5.1 speakers and home stereo systems. The Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 series provides hardware acceleration for EAX™ audio technology, Microsoft® DirectSound® 3D and DirectSound® gaming, providing up to 32 3D hardware-accelerated channels, up to 64 hardware-accelerated channels, or up to 1024 voices. With support for real-time digital effects like reverb, chorus, echo, flanger, pitch shifting, vocal morpher, ring modulator, auto-wah or distortion, the power provides an overwhelming experience.
• EAX™ : Developed by Creative's world class audio scientists and built into groundbreaking Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) Solutions, EAX is changing the way audio is experienced. EAX adds interactive, high-definition audio to the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 series with 3D audio technology and 5.1 analog and digital sound, for a premium audio experience in music, movies, and games.
• Complete Internet Entertainment Solution : Creative PlayCenter™ 2 provides a full 320kbps encoder with up to 9X digital audio acceleration to allow you to create high quality, compact digital audio files. It allows you to rip and organize your entire music CD collection into either MP3 or WMA formats, transforming your PC into a massive digital music jukebox.
• Live!Ware™ : The Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 line is fully supported by the Live!Ware upgrade program. This program is a direct vehicle to future product features and enhancements. Simply visit www.soundblaster.com and download the latest Live!Ware software upgrade to continuously enhance your audio experience.

The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1
The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 offers the ultimate audio solution delivering a high-quality feature set. Setting itself apart from the pack, the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1, comes equipped with the innovative Live!™ Drive IR which allows for simultaneous connection to both digital and analog devices such as MIDI instruments, MiniDisc players, external digital audio devices, and headphones - each from the front of your PC instead of the back. The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 also comes with an easy to use wireless remote control for simple navigation of audio and video playback.

The Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1
The Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1 is the ultimate digital audio entertainment solution for Digital Music, DS3D (DirectSound 3D) Gaming and Internet Entertainment. Designed with digital entertainment in mind, the Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1 makes it easy to create, customize and listen to Internet audio files in full Dolby certified 5.1 surround sound. The Innovative Creative Multi-Speaker Surround (CMSS) technology upmixes existing stereo audio formats into compelling 5.1 channels for a more immersive experience of all your MIDI, MP3 (WAVE) and CD-audio sources.

Software Bundle
The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1and Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1 come bundled with the following software :

• The new Creative PlayCenter 2.0
• New Surround Mixer that support 5.1 speaker
• Sonic Foundry® Sound Forge® XP 4.5
• Techland's FutureBeat 3D
• PixAround.com®'s PixMaker and PixScreen (Creative Edition),
• Vorton Technologies' Kool Karaoke
• Mindmaker's Prody Parrot and Game Commander SE.
• Interplay®'s MDK2™, Eidos® Interactive's Deus EX™ and Eidos Interactive's Thief II: The Metal Age™
• Steinberg's Cubasis VST, WaveLab Lite and ReCycle Lite (for Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 only)
• A special edition of 5.1 digital music mixes in .AC3 format

Pricing and Availability
The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 is now available through Creative's extensive network of distributors and resellers worldwide at a suggested retail price of US$199.99. The Sound Blaster Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1 is now available in Asia only at a suggested retail price of US$89.99.

About Creative
Creative Technology Ltd., a global leader in PC entertainment products, expands the power of the personal computer with Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) Solutions, comprising desktop products, Internet appliances and Internet applications and services. Leveraging in-house technology, partnerships and value-added investments, Creative markets its solutions to consumers and system integrators, with worldwide distribution through traditional marketing channels, OEMs and the Internet. Creative's mission is to expand upon its leadership role in PDE, utilizing innovative technology, broadband and leading edge designs for technically progressive consumers and entertainment enthusiasts. Explore PDE at www.creative.com.

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This announcement relates to products launched in Asia. The product names, contents, prices and availability are subject to change and may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.