C-Cube Redefines Set-Top Architecture and Leads Industry with Revolutionary AViA MPEG2 Product Line; C-Cube's Flexible AViA Product Family is the First to Address the Diverse Needs of the Set-Top Market Addressing Both Cost-Sensitive and Feature-Rich Applications.

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1996--C-Cube Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: CUBE), the market leader in digital video compression, today introduced the AViA family of set-top chipsets, the first upgradable and interoperable set-top solutions on the market. AViA products deliver the advanced features needed for emerging feature-rich set-top applications, including interactivity, 2D plane overlaid graphics, and support for web browsing on the set-top box. The AViA product line also includes a low-cost, memory-optimized solution for the cost-sensitive DBS market, delivering the best performance per byte. Within a single set-top box design, OEMs can now develop low-cost models as well as feature-rich set-tops to meet the full range of demands from the diverse set-top industry.

C-Cube's AViA set-top chipsets enable service providers and set-top manufacturers to incorporate advanced audio, video and graphics capabilities -- delivering a true home theater experience to the consumer. AViA provides support for future consumer products requiring interactivity, increasing the consumer's ease-of-use and ever-demanding entertainment value. AViA also provides the capability to overlay a video window on a graphical background to deliver a more user-friendly and graphical electronic program guide.

The AViA family is the first result of the joint C-Cube and DiviCom collaboration, allowing C-Cube to tap into DiviCom's set-top design and systems expertise, increasing the integration and functionality of C-Cube's set-top solutions. C-Cube merged with DiviCom in August of this year.

"The set-top box market is clearly evolving into two key segments: the feature rich set-top such as the Zenith box to be used for the americast home entertainment service and the fixed-function DBS set-top such as the set-top used for DirecTV," said Alex Daly, vice president of marketing for C-Cube Microsystems. "The AViA product line leverages DiviCom's powerful understanding of the program infrastructure to redefine the set-top box and address both segments, while meeting the needs of the emerging digital video network deployments."

The AViA MPEG2 product family is comprised of two set-top solutions:

-- The AViA-502 Advanced Audio/Video Set-top Decoder with Dolby AC-3 audio, along with the AViA-GTX Advanced Graphics Transport I/O (GTIO) deliver high-performance graphics capabilities, meeting the needs of the value-add set-tops to be deployed by service providers through the end of the decade. The AViA-GTX is the only set-top solution that integrates a DAVIC A0 compliant ATM-SAR, designed to support network-independent set-top boxes and includes a NIM interface that allows interoperability across both wired and wireless broadcast networks. The ATM-SAR allows the set-top to take advantage of increased bandwidth, defining the model for future interactive digital cable applications.

-- The AViA-500 MPEG2 Audio/Video Set-top Decoder and the AViA-DMX Transport Demultiplexer -- providing the ideal solution for cost-sensitive DBS programs that concentrate on price as the primary key to market entry.

The AViA-502 and AViA-GTX are pin-for-pin and API upgradable from the AViA-500 and AVIA-DMX sockets. This allows one design to be used to provide both a high-end solution as well as a low-cost solution. Both solutions are backward compatible with C-Cube's CL9100/9110 product line.

C-Cube's programmable architecture lets OEMs develop a single set-top design that can be successfully deployed for multiple applications including MMDS, DBS, SDV and HFC. C-Cube is actively enabling set-tops for leading DBS programs including the Kirch Program in Germany, Canal+ in France, PerfecTV in Japan, and AlphaStar in the US. With AViA's backwards compatible API, C-Cube's new generation of set-top solutions let existing customers easily transition their set-tops to the AViA family. The company is also working with service providers to enable advanced set-tops that deliver full-featured networks to set new standards in video for communication, entertainment and education.

AViA Audio/Video Decoders

The AViA-500 and AViA-502 Audio/Video Decoders are highly-integrated solutions that incorporate forward-looking features to develop next generation set-top boxes. Both decoder chips support automatic A/V sync, and offer an API-level interface that simplifies the set-top design development cycle and allows software developers to concentrate on adding additional end-user features. Based on C-Cube's programmable video architecture, the AViA-50x decoder family maintains the flexibility to comply with evolving broadcast standards and requirements and offers the capability to perform advanced electronic program guide (EPG) functions that are difficult to perform with a fixed function architecture. The AViA-502 also incorporates Dolby AC-3 functionality to deliver a complete home theater experience to consumers via the set-top.

AViA Transport Products

The AViA-DMX and AViA-GTX products support transport demultiplexing and DVB descrambling, and offer advanced graphics capabilities to support 2D graphics display, advanced electronic program guide capabilities as well as infrared remote control and smart card interfaces. Both solutions are configurable to support multiple global transport standards. The AViA-DMX is targeted at cost-sensitive DBS applications and consists of a 32 PID MPEG-2 transport demultiplexer, DVB descrambler, IR receive/transmit interface, CPU interface, smart card interface, DVB teletext port interface and IDC port. The AViA-GTX is a GTIO solution that incorporates all the functionality of the AViA-DMX and also supports up to 16 bits/pixel direct mapped, plane overlay graphics and a cost-effective ATM-SAR module that supports increased bandwidth for future interactive digital cable applications. Recognizing that audio is an important part of the user interface, the AViA-GTX features the capability to stereo mix PCM audio samples with the decoded MPEG 2 audio.

About C-Cube Microsystems

C-Cube is the leading provider of digital video semiconductor solutions, which implement international standards for digital video, including MPEG 1 and MPEG 2. C-Cube's Emmy award-winning encoder chips form the heart of digital video networks worldwide. DiviCom Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of C-Cube Microsystems and is a leading developer of digital video networking systems for broadcast communications applications. C-Cube Microsystems is headquartered in Milpitas, California and has offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company employs 645 people worldwide. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol CUBE. C-Cube can be reached at +1.408.944.6300 or on the World Wide Web at http://www.c-cube.com. -0-

Note to Editors: The C-Cube logo is a registered trademark of C-Cube Microsystems Inc. C-Cube is a trademark of C-Cube Microsystems.

CONTACT: C-Cube Microsystems

Mary Sharpless-Giani, 408/944-8628

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