Pinnacle Systems to Acquire Truevision
mth...@my-dejanews.com
Wednesday December 16, 5:28 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1998--Pinnacle Systems, Inc.
(NASDAQ:PCLE - news) today announced that it has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire Truevision, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRUV - news) , a supplier of
digital video products, in a transaction designed to extend Pinnacle Systems'
leadership in the desktop digital video capture and editing market.
Under the terms of the agreement, Truevision shareholders will receive 0.0313
shares of Pinnacle Common stock for each share of Truevision common stock.
The transaction is expected to close during the first calendar quarter of
1999, subject to various conditions including customary closing conditions
including receipt of required regulatory approvals and approval by the
shareholders of Truevision. Pinnacle Systems expects to issues approximately
400,000 new shares of Pinnacle common stock and to assume outstanding
Truevision stock options and warrants. Based on yesterday's closing price of
Pinnacle Systems stock, the consideration paid plus estimated transaction
costs is approximately $14.5 million. The transaction will be accounted for
as a purchase and will be taxable to the stockholders of Truevision. During
the quarter in which the transaction closes, the Company expects to take an
in-process research and development charge and to incur certain non-recurring
expenses related to integrating the two businesses.
``We are very excited about merging these two companies,'' said Mark Sanders,
president and chief executive officer of Pinnacle Systems. ``We believe this
transaction will strengthen Pinnacle's position as the leading supplier of
digital video capture and editing products. Truevision's product lines
complement Pinnacle's well, and together we will serve a far wider array of
customers and applications in the digital video editing market. Importantly,
Truevision enjoys strategic relationships with a number of key industry
partners, which is also complementary. In addition, we believe there are
potential efficiencies to be gained, particularly in the areas of distribution
and manufacturing.''
``Most important, Truevision has invested heavily in its next generation
architecture for video editing, particularly in new custom chip technology
that is scaleable for high definition television (HDTV) applications. We
believe that combining this technology with parallel chip developments
underway at Pinnacle will afford Pinnacle competitive advantages in
next-generation capture card and video editing platforms,'' Sanders
continued.
At the completion of the transaction, the Company expects to maintain
Truevision's engineering and customer support operation in Indianapolis,
Indiana and to merge Truevision's Santa Clara engineering, sales and logistics
operations into Pinnacle Systems' Mountain View, California headquarters.
Sanders added, ``by combining the two California facilities into Pinnacle's
Mountain View location, we have the potential to recognize significant
operational cost savings.''
About Pinnacle Systems, Inc.
Pinnacle Systems' broadcast, desktop, and consumer products provide video
professionals and consumers the sophisticated tools needed to create dazzling
video programs faster and more affordably than ever before. Pinnacle Systems
may be reached at (650) 526-1600 or on the World Wide Web at
www.pinnaclesys.com
About Truevision, Inc.
Truevision is a leader in desktop video for business and offers a full range
of videographics products for personal computers, including Microsoft Windows
platforms and ApplePower Macintosh.
Certain of the statements in this press release, including the statements
relating to each Company's expectations are forward-looking statements that
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be
materially different than expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, risks associated with acquisition transactions and
the related integration of operations. Investors are advised to read each
Company's annual and quarterly reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission for a fuller discussion of such risks and
uncertainties.
All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective
owners and are used for identification or reference purposes only, with no
intent to infringe on copyrights.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Pinnacle Systems Inc., Mountain View
Media Contact: Blake Roberts, 650/237-1851
p...@pinnaclesys.com
or
Sales: 888/484-3366
or
Investor Relations: i...@pinnaclesys.com
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
pandaman
and product support in the industry is acquiring the company with the oldest
track record in the digital video field. There goes Truevision.
FAST products are looking better all the time. Ditto Matrox and Radius.
--
Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions
David & Jan Winter
DW
NOSPAM....@mci2000.com
hopefully this will allow them to keep their professional line of
cards going.
Pinnacle Systems DCDV
I'd like to know if you have had any specific instances where our Customer
Service has failed you. Please post.
In article <759rgq$1rs$1...@winter.news.rcn.net>, "pandaman"
<panda...@erols.com> wrote:
--
rgds,
---M3 Sweatt
Pinnacle Systems www.pinnaclesys.com
RDavis101
instances where tech support has failed.
Roger
Gary Bettan
>I wonder if you're brave enough to ask the whole newsgroup about specific
>instances where tech support has failed.
>
>Roger
>
Hey, the guy is out here trying. He posted this message on the
newsgroup, so obviously he is brave enough.
We have seen a marked improvement in Pinnacle tech support for DCxx
products. They have greatly expanded the on line FAQs and the tech
support form on their website has sped up email responses
dramatically.
Instead of just bashing M3 and Pinnacle, give him some useful
feedback. He's asking because he is dedicated to making Pinnacle the
best supplier in the industry for under $1000 products.
We don't need to rehash old war stories from the pre-Pinnacle miro
days, but I think any current issues with currrent products are
welcome.
Gary
BTW, we think the Pinnacle/Truevision aquisition is very exciting news
and we can't wait to see what new goodies the combined engineering of
these two technology leaders produces.
The Electronic Mailbox http://www.videoguys.com
The Desk Top Video Editing & Production Experts
800 323-2325
All DTV purchases include our 30 day customer assuranc program
and FREE tech support
BuleriaChk
>We don't need to rehash old war stories from the pre-Pinnacle miro
>days, but I think any current issues with currrent products are
>welcome.
The hell you say.......... (A Miro Pre-Pinnacle DC30 owner). History has to
be recounted until its wrongs are finally corrected. We're still
waiting........
Chuck Keyser
http://members.aol.com/BuleriaChk/private/flamenco.html
Chuck M
some basic pre-sales
questions. They did not have the courtesy of replying. In the meantime, I
did discover your company and
was extremely pleased by the advice given by your guys, and, from what I
have heard, you provide
really excellent support to your customers. In fact, I placed an order - and
it was not for a DC30+, which
what I had originally been leaning towards.
The ultimate consumer weapon is to exercise choice. I chose you as a dealer,
but chose not to buy a Pinnacle product.
Would it not seem logical that the manufacturers you represent be as
commited to customer support as your company is?
I guess this will be a tough one to respond to, - regardless, have a great
holiday, and thanks to your staff, especially Richard, for the courtesy
extended to me.
Gary Bettan
>
>Would it not seem logical that the manufacturers you represent be as
>commited to customer support as your company is?
>
This is the goal. And we do put TONS of pressure on our vendors to do
the right thing. Many guys on the newsgroups and email lists will
attest that I've stuck my neck out quite a few times and gotten on my
vendors when I think they've dropped the ball.
I think that better customer service is an industry goal across the
board. Some companies already do a great job, Canopus and Radius jump
to the top of the list. Pinnacle takes a lot of heat out here. I think
they have improved greatly, but they still have a way to go. They are
working on it.
The big point in your psot that I stress all the time is that who you
buy your card from is as important as what card you decide to buy.
Make sure you buy from a company that offers you pre-sales advice,
free tech support and a 30 day satisfaction guarantee.
Gary
Ron Halverson
Bettan) wrote:
> BTW, we think the Pinnacle/Truevision aquisition is very exciting news
> and we can't wait to see what new goodies the combined engineering of
> these two technology leaders produces.
Hi Gary, do you have any idea when you will have the Truevision DV2000
Pro-Pack and plugins for Adobe Premiere 5.1 that provide better control
under Premiere? I'm ready to place my order.
!^NavFont02F017C0007RGHHH7D8192
!N3
Provid
>I wonder if you're brave enough to ask the whole newsgroup about specific
>instances where tech support has failed.
>
>Roger
>
>
Yeah,, I hope he does ask.
I will tell him about when I called their tech support THREE TIMES in TWO DAYS
and got help each time within 10 minutes.
Wow,,, really crappy support!!!
Uhhhh, wait a minute,,,, that should qualify for good support wouldn't it??
comte jim 'wakey wakey' moriarty
> Yeah,, I hope he does ask.
>
> I will tell him about when I called their tech support THREE TIMES in TWO DAYS
> and got help each time within 10 minutes.
>
> Wow,,, really crappy support!!!
>
> Uhhhh, wait a minute,,,, that should qualify for good support wouldn't it??
it's good to know proctologists will never have to worry about
unemployment...
--
time for another owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
RDavis101
>In article <19981220063451...@ng-ch1.aol.com>, rdav...@aol.com
>(RDavis101) wrote:
>>I wonder if you're brave enough to ask the whole newsgroup about specific
>>instances where tech support has failed.
>>
>>Roger
>>
>>
>
RDavis101
reputation...then how about some PROACTIVE support... In other words, how about
some support people actively asking for members of this newsgroup to post
problems they can help solve?
Mike Iampeto (sp?) did a great job for the Studio 400 product...and that's a
Pinnacle product, so they know how to do "tech support meets the public." But
do you think you'll ever see that for the Miro line? I'd hope so, but I
certainly doubt it. Best to sweep that under the rug.
When posters begin to appear that praise Pinnacle the way they praise Radius
and Canopus, then Pinnacle will have crawled back out of its tech support black
hole.
Until then, I give them praise for starting an effort...but newsgroups have a
short memory, and folks looking in this group for advice on what to buy need to
know what to expect until Pinnacle can meet the standard of Radius and Canopus.
I would argue they have a right to. Not everyone knows how to search DejaNews
for information on Pinnacle or one of its products. So the users have to keep
reporting their experiences here, both good and bad. I would vote for not
forgetting about the Miro past quite so soon.
Otherwise, its caveat emptor.
>rdav...@aol.com (RDavis101) wrote:
>
>>I wonder if you're brave enough to ask the whole newsgroup about specific
>>instances where tech support has failed.
>>
>>Roger
>>
>
>Hey, the guy is out here trying. He posted this message on the
>newsgroup, so obviously he is brave enough.
>
>We have seen a marked improvement in Pinnacle tech support for DCxx
>products. They have greatly expanded the on line FAQs and the tech
>support form on their website has sped up email responses
>dramatically.
>
>Instead of just bashing M3 and Pinnacle, give him some useful
>feedback. He's asking because he is dedicated to making Pinnacle the
>best supplier in the industry for under $1000 products.
>
>We don't need to rehash old war stories from the pre-Pinnacle miro
>days, but I think any current issues with currrent products are
>welcome.
>
>Gary
>
>BTW, we think the Pinnacle/Truevision aquisition is very exciting news
>and we can't wait to see what new goodies the combined engineering of
>these two technology leaders produces.
>
>
Pinnacle Systems DCDV
Just a quick point which I mentioned elsewhere on the boards, I did not
see any e-mail from you in our current IN e-mail box, and would have
surely replied within a day or so if I had.
I recommend to you and others to contact Pinnacle Sales for any and all
pre-sales questions, by calling 888-484-3366 (which is answered
immediately), or e-mailing us at
mailto:sa...@pinnaclesys.com
We'll work to make this more clear on our web site.
rgds,
---M3 Sweatt
M3 Sweatt
Desktop Group Business Manager
Pinnacle Systems, Inc.
URL: http://www.pinnaclesys.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck M [mailto:ch...@rhodenet.com]
Posted At: Monday, December 21, 1998 4:33 PM
Posted To: desktop
Conversation: Pinnacle Systems to Acquire Truevision
Subject: Attn: Gary Bettan re Pinnacle Support
Gary, In a previous posting, I mentioned that I had emailed Pinnacle
with
some basic pre-sales
questions. They did not have the courtesy of replying. In the meantime,
I
did discover your company and
was extremely pleased by the advice given by your guys, and, from what I
have heard, you provide
really excellent support to your customers. In fact, I placed an order -
and
it was not for a DC30+, which
what I had originally been leaning towards.
The ultimate consumer weapon is to exercise choice. I chose you as a
dealer,
but chose not to buy a Pinnacle product.
Would it not seem logical that the manufacturers you represent be as
commited to customer support as your company is?
I guess this will be a tough one to respond to, - regardless, have a
Pinnacle Systems DCDV
brave has nothing to do with it.
We've spent a great deal of time, money and personal effort to increase
our customer service and tech support across the board. On our new
on-line (web) Technical Support site, we've included a new form page for
submitting e-mail to our team over the web. The new "Online EMail
Support Request Form" is available on-line at the following address to
help us assist you quicker.
http://secure.pinnaclesys.com/support/TSWizard.asp
Also, for immediate assistance, please check the troubleshooting
documents on our web site at:
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/support/mirofaq
There are over 40 documents on our site that cover the vast majority of
problems that our customers have encountered. We are constantly adding
new documents to our database to assist our customers, therefore it
might be a good idea to keep a bookmark to the site in your Internet
browser.
rgds,
---M3 Sweatt
M3 Sweatt
Desktop Group Business Manager
Pinnacle Systems, Inc.
URL: http://www.pinnaclesys.com
-----Original Message-----
From: rdav...@aol.com (RDavis101) [mailto:rdav...@aol.com]
Posted At: Sunday, December 20, 1998 3:35 AM
Posted To: desktop
Conversation: Pinnacle Systems to Acquire Truevision
Subject: Re: Pinnacle Systems to Acquire Truevision
I wonder if you're brave enough to ask the whole newsgroup about
specific
instances where tech support has failed.
Roger
RDavis101
great. Keep up the good work! :)
Roger
Ron Halverson
<dcdvpr...@pinnaclesys.com> wrote:
> We've spent a great deal of time, money and personal effort to
> increase our customer service and tech support across the board.
You guys ain't bad. That may be faint praise, but after putting together
two custom systems over the past few months, I've dealt with the
absolute dregs of the computer industry. You've never been speedy, but
I've always gotten satisfactory responses from you regarding my miro
card. Hang in there.
!^NavFont02F01BC0007RGHHHBD57FC
!N3
Gary Bettan
>I recommend to you and others to contact Pinnacle Sales for any and all
>pre-sales questions, by calling 888-484-3366 (which is answered
>immediately), or e-mailing us at
>
You can also call The Electronic Mailbox 800 323-2325 or visit our
website http://www.videoguys.com
We are extremely knowledgable on the Pinnacle DCxx product lines. We
offer FREE tech support, a 30 day satisfaction guarantee nad some
great deals on bundles with storage and plug-ins.
Gary
Ben Delaney
your own on-line foums to find plenty more. Mike Iampietro has done a good job of trying to
keep up on line, but calls to tech support aretypically not returned, and in my case, when I did
find a live body, he new almost nothing, and was condescending to boot.
Pinnacle's support and poor QA has turned me against them. I am looking for a replacement
system for my Studio 400, and am not seriously considering Pinnacle products due to my
experiences with them.
Ben Delaney
In article <dcdvproducts-1...@isdn1-p7.palo-alto.ca.walltech.net>,
dcdvpr...@pinnaclesys.comH says...
Pinnacle Systems DCDV
We've done our best to turn the tide on these issues, all of which are
correct observations on your part. Mike I has done an incredible job on
the forums, and we've increased our staff incredibly on the telephone
support side - our hold times today are less than four minutes. That's
much better than the reported 20 minutes I read about here in the past.
Also, if you have specific dates and people you spoke with re: the
support problems you mentioned below, please let me know, e-mail or
post, I don't care. We want to fix problems rather than have them
languish and go unreported. (In fact, if ANYONE has a problem where
support has been a problem, or getting a hold of us in any way, let me
know),
Tech support is getting better, as is presales and the robustness of our
products. It won't be fixed overnight, but I trust that we're getting
there.
---M3
-----Original Message-----
From: no-sp...@cyberedge.com (Ben Delaney)
[mailto:no-sp...@cyberedge.com]
Posted At: Wednesday, December 30, 1998 9:25 AM
Posted To: desktop
Conversation: Pinnacle Systems to Acquire Truevision
Subject: Re: Pinnacle Systems to Acquire Truevision
BuleriaChk
>there.
Hey, lissen, all you really have to do is to lay MIV on us original Miro DC30
suckers (uh, ok, owners) ........
Chuck Keyser
http://members.aol.com/BuleriaChk/private/flamenco.html
RDavis101
Could you post the tech support numbers here in this forum for various Pinnacle
products. I would like to call them myself, record the hold times, and post
them here, whether long or short.
Roger
>Ben -
>
>We've done our best to turn the tide on these issues, all of which are
>correct observations on your part. Mike I has done an incredible job on
>the forums, and we've increased our staff incredibly on the telephone
>support side - our hold times today are less than four minutes. That's
>much better than the reported 20 minutes I read about here in the past.
>
>Also, if you have specific dates and people you spoke with re: the
>support problems you mentioned below, please let me know, e-mail or
>post, I don't care. We want to fix problems rather than have them
>languish and go unreported. (In fact, if ANYONE has a problem where
>support has been a problem, or getting a hold of us in any way, let me
>know),
>
>Tech support is getting better, as is presales and the robustness of our
>products. It won't be fixed overnight, but I trust that we're getting
>there.
>
>---M3