Attendees of NAB 2008 who visit SmartSound Software Inc.'s booth (South Hall, #SL7712) will be the first to get a live, up-close look at SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 5, the groundbreaking new development in library music. Shipping in June, this new release accesses the largest selection of fully-customizable library music available. With new music timing controls and searching features, Sonicfire Pro 5 gives professional editors the most complete customizable music library solution.

Recent versions of Sonicfire Pro have brought incredible customization options to the length, arrangement and mix of SmartSound-enabled music. Sonicfire Pro builds on this history of innovation with a focus on timing controls, specifically the timing of events in a music score to key points in a production. This level of control is not available from any other music library or software product, and is part of what makes Sonicfire Pro 5 the most complete solution ever for creating a customized music score.

Sonicfire Pro 5 features incredible new enhancements to its award-winning Mood Mapping ® feature that make it easy and fast to precisely match the timing of a score with events in a production. Users will be able to simply grab a beat in a piece of music and drag it to a nearby edit point or other key event in a video timeline without changing the rhythm and length of the rest of the score. The company believes this will be the first time such a capability has been available for prerecorded music. New control over the timing of the music section changes helps editors create dynamic music that matches the pace of their scenes. Also added to this release is the ability to adjust the tempo of any SmartSound music track while maintaining customization control. These new innovations enable Sonicfire Pro 5 to create music scores with tremendous impact without requiring time-consuming and complex manual editing.

The new "Spotting and Timing" feature in Sonicfire Pro 5 also increases the precision with which musical events can match events in a video. Editors can mark key points in the production where additional musical emphasis is required and Sonicfire Pro 5 will recommend the best-fitting music and provide different options and methods for achieving the best overall fit with the key points in the visual.

This ability to include key events in a video timeline as a factor in the music search is one critical element of the new Sensory Searching feature in SmartSound's reconfigured Express Track search tool. Sensory Searching uses an individual's personal musical preferences to drill down to exactly the right piece of music, dynamically changing search results in real-time as the user modifies their parameters. By using their own ears and creative musical preferences, the user always has the option to make a comparative judgment on the current search result and get a new result without ever having to start the search over.

"Sonicfire Pro 5 may be the most significant technology achievement in the music library industry in years," said Kevin Klingler, President and CEO of SmartSound Software, Inc. "The innovations of precise timing control over prerecorded music and dynamic, sensory-based music searching, when combined with our existing features of Mood Mapping and real-time instrument access, make this the only real choice for anyone interested in customizing music for their projects."

Sonicfire Pro 5 will be sold in two editions: the Express Track Edition gives access to the improved music search function, and basic customization options such as length, arrangement, and overall instrument mix; while the Scoring Edition includes access to the Timeline editing tools, such as the new advanced timing controls and precise control over the instrument mix throughout the score. The Express Track Edition will be free with any purchase from SmartSound's Multi-Layer Music library, or customers can upgrade to the Scoring Edition for just $99.95. Any customer who is a registered Sonicfire Pro 4.5 owner will receive a free upgrade to the Sonicfire Pro 5 Scoring Edition.

"Sonicfire Pro 5 is the result of over a decade of research and development, and arrives decisively at the summit of creative technology for the music library industry," said Klingler. "We are proud to make this achievement free for any current customers as our way of saying thanks for their support throughout the years."

Anyone new to SmartSound can qualify for the free upgrade by purchasing the currently available Sonicfire Pro 4.5 before the June release of Sonicfire Pro 5. Complete details can be found at http://www.smartsound.com/sonicfire.