Digital Display Working Group to Demonstrate Industry's First Digital Visual Interface -- DVI -- Board Based on S3's Savage4 Accelerator.

SANTA CLARA, Calif--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1999--

Intel to Demonstrate Board at SID Conference in Booth No. 1335; DVI 

Standard Backed by Intel, Compaq, HP, IBM, NEC and Others

Enabling the rapid proliferation of flat panel displays for the desktop, the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) today announced the industry's first DVI 1.0 compliant board based on the S3 (Nasdaq:SIII) Savage4 Pro accelerator.

At this week's SID Conference in San Jose, Intel and DDWG will demonstrate the Savage4 DVI board (called the SR9) which was developed by Number Nine Visual Technologies (Nasdaq:NINE).

DVI 1.0 is new digital interface standard backed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) and founding members Intel, Compaq, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, NEC and Silicon Image.

"We are pleased with the cooperative industry effort that delivered the Digital Visual Interface version 1.0 and the rapid adoption of the DVI specification," said Steve Spina, Strategic Initiative Manager, Intel Corp.

"The completion of the Digital Visual Interface Specification is important to the PC industry and to PC users as it will enable digital display technologies and lay the groundwork for the eventual elimination of analog from the PC Platform."

"The DVI 1.0 standard will enable flat panel displays to become as common on the desktop as they are in the notebook space today," said Andy Wolfe, Chief Technology Officer of S3 Incorporated.

"Having delivered the industry's first DVI-compliant board, S3 is well positioned to drive this initiative with leaders such as Intel and other DDWG members. We look forward to quickly transferring this technology to our customers to give them a time-to-market advantage with flat panel displays for the desktop."

About the Digital Display Working Group

The primary objective of the DDWG is to define a robust, comprehensive and extensible interface specification addressing protocol, electrical, and mechanical definitions. The working group's DVI 1.0 interface specification is based on Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) which will ensure backwards compatibility.

DVI 1.0 was released in April 1999. By working together on establishing an industry connectivity specification, members of the Digital Display Working Group are delivering a complete, open specification that will accelerate the adoption and implementation of high-quality digital displays on the PC platform, allowing for a better visual experience.

A widely accepted interface specification will help clear the path for product integration and legacy removal within the platform -- reducing cost and increasing performance.

About S3 Inc.

One of the largest suppliers of graphics and video accelerators in the world, S3 Inc. has established itself as a market leader in technology excellence, core business strengths, strategic partnerships and worldwide reach. Building on these strengths, S3 is committed to delivering targeted products for the Personal Computer, Computing Integration and Consumer Appliance Markets.

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements as to S3's ability to drive the initiative toward digital display and to transfer quickly its technology to customers, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive products and pricing and of alternative technological advances, design, competitive product and other factors that may affect current and potential customers' decisions to use the company's products, and other risks detailed from time to time in S3's SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 1998.

Note to Editors: S3 is a registered trademark of S3 Incorporated. The S3 corporate logo and Savage4 are trademarks of S3 Incorporated. Other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.