Ahead Software, leaders in digital media technology, today announced that the latest addition to its Nero product, Nero Recode 2, has already surpassed 20 million downloads within the first four weeks of release. Nero Recode 2 which includes Nero Digital, the world’s fastest MPEG-4 video and audio codec, are part of last month’s update of Nero 6.3.

Nero Recode 2 is the first application to take full advantage of Nero Digital’s power. In addition to its capabilities to re-author, copy, recode and reduce MPEG-2 streams (DVD-9 to DVD-5), Nero Recode 2 can transcode ‘non-protected’ DVD movies to Nero Digital, preserving chapters, sub-titles, multi-channel audio and above all else, quality - all at lightening speed. No other application today offers these features.

“The worldwide success of Nero Digital is extraordinary,” said Richard Lesser, CEO of Ahead Software AG. “Nero Digital will soon be the number 1 brand in MPEG-4 with many CE devices to support this new standard.”

Ahead’s award-winning flagship product Nero 6 provides an all-in-one comprehensive CD/DVD burning suite. Ahead’s product line also includes Nero Digital - audio/video technology, SIPPS - VoIP, and across - professional computer aided translation software. Ahead distributes its products globally through world’s leading drive manufacturers and PC makers, as well as leading worldwide retailers.