Roxio gains foothold in online photo sharing with Simple Star

Roxio parent Sonic Solutions acquired privately-owned Simple Star for an undisclosed sum on Tuesday.

Simple Star produces PhotoShow, a tool that allows users to assemble their photos and videos into multimedia presentations that can be shared online or through a host of devices.

About 13 million copies of the PhotoShow software have been installed since its 2002 introduction. Approximately five million new installations now occur each year, according to company statistics.

One of Simple Star's biggest customers is Time Warner Cable, for whose cable customers it produced a version of the PhotoShow application. The service allows public broadcast of their content through Time Warner's on-demand service.

In a statement to customers, Simple Star CEO Chad Richard said that he expected Sonic to continue to invest in the development of PhotoShow, and that Roxio's reach would also help to bring new customers into the fold.

The company will maintain its offices in San Francisco, and conduct "business as usual." Sonic, in its statement announcing the acquisition did not specify how exactly it planned to integrate Simple Star into the company overall.

"Simple Star also brings to us a group of talented engineers and senior managers who will help us expand and diversify our product line." Roxio general manager Matt DiMaria said in a statement.