Media Vision
 |
|
| defunct | |
| Industry | computer audio industry, computer and video game industry |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Defunct | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Fremont, California USA |
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Key people
|
Paul Jain, CEO |
| Products | computer sound cards, computer video cards, computer multimedia kits, computer games |
Paul Jain, CEO
Russell Faust, COO
Steve Allan, CFO
Dan Gochnauer, VP of Engineering
Wayne Nakamura, Director of Manufacturing
Bryan J. Colvin, Director of Hardware Engineering
Tim Bratton, Director of Strategic Marketing
Jim Gifford, Director of Software Engineering
Doug Cody, Senior Software Engineer
Media Vision was an American electronics manufacturer of primarily computer sound cards and CD-ROM kits, operating from 1990 to approximately 1995 in Fremont, California. Media Vision was widely known for its Pro AudioSpectrum PC sound cards—which it often bundled with CD-ROM drives—and its spectacular growth and demise.
Media Vision was founded in May 1990 by Paul Jain and Tim Bratton. Early employees also included Russ Faust, Sandy Pfister, Dan Gochnauer and Bryan Colvin. As Mr. Bratton recalls, he wrote the company's business plan while an engineer at National Semiconductor and studying for his MBA at Santa Clara University. Mr. Jain and Mr. Bratton used the plan to raise $1 million in funding and by July 1990, after returning from the MPEG standard committee meeting in Porto, Portugal, Mr. Bratton joined the company as its first full-time employee. Mr. Faust and Ms. Pfister joined soon after. Mr. Jain remained at National Semiconductor for another month and joined the company full-time in August 1990. Within its first two years of operation, Media Vision had become the second-largest producer of personal computer sound cards, providing strong competition to Creative Labs.
In 1992, Media Vision was the first company to publish Microsoft Windows with Multimedia Extensions on CD-ROM; having beaten Microsoft to market with its own product, Bill Gates's assistant telephoned and ordered two copies. During the same year, the company acquired Pellucid, Inc., a computer graphics company, and began producing a line of high-performance video graphics cards for the PC. Media Vision became a publicly traded company in late 1992.
In 1993, Media Vision updated its logotype to reflect its expanding product lines and broad foray into technologies beyond computer audio. Perhaps one of the biggest endeavors was the company's leap into software publishing with the creation of its Multimedia Publishing Group. CD-ROM titles such as Critical Path, Quantum Gate, and Forever Growing Garden were often bundled with its multimedia kits. The new logo reflected the company's desire to be known as a cutting-edge multi-media technology company. During the same year, the company expanded business operations into Europe with the establishment of Media Vision GmbH in Munich, Germany.
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Wikipedia