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Sonic Foundry is conducting a seven-city tour to present and demonstrate its desktop multimedia and Web communication solutions at the New Media Consortium (NMC) regional directors' meetings. <P> New media center directors from colleges and universities throughout the United States will participate in the meetings, which start Jan. 23 in San Jose and end Feb. 27 in New York City. <P> At each meeting, Sonic Foundry will provide hands-on demonstrations of MediaSite Live, its rich media presentation system, as well as its soon-to-be released Vegas 4.0 and Vegas+DVD, real-time video and audio non-linear editing and DVD authoring solutions. The tour with the NMC is part of Sonic Foundry's continued commitment to providing higher education institutions with state-of-the-art multimedia technology, and is a key factor behind its "Distinguished Partner" status granted by the NMC earlier this month. <P> Founded in 1993, the NMC counts among its members more than 118 colleges and universities, as well as 15 innovative high-tech companies. Prospective members undergo a rigorous peer-review process and must demonstrate a strong commitment to using new media to transform teaching, learning and creative expression in higher education settings. The consortium provides a non-competitive forum for its academic members to learn about new technologies and how other institutions are using them. Member institutions also benefit by receiving discounted multimedia software, in-house training and advance notice of emerging products. <P> "This tour gives Sonic Foundry access to the people overseeing new media centers at some of the largest, most prestigious universities in the country," said Brad Reinke, senior vice president and general manager of software for Sonic Foundry. "We've had tremendous success outfitting more than 1,000 schools, colleges and universities with quality media creation and editing software that enriches the teaching and learning experience. Now we have the opportunity to introduce them to the powerful capabilities of our award-winning MediaSite Live, a Web presentation system which is perfectly suited for their online learning initiatives -- from distance education for students to online professional development for educators."