NEC Selects Sigma's MPEG Decoder Chips for New Multimedia Consumer PCs; NEC Places Initial Production Orders to Commence Shipments.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002 Sigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM), a leader in IP video streaming See streaming video and video stream. solutions, today announced that NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. Corporation (Nasdaq:NIPNY) has selected Sigma's MPEG decoder Software or hardware that decompresses and renders MPEG-encoded data. Because MPEG uses lossy compression, the decoded images are not 100% identical to the original. In most cases however, the differences are not easily detectable. See MPEG. EM8470 for incorporation into its new VALUESTAR T series of multimedia consumer PCs. NEC has already placed an initial production order to support shipments of its new product line starting in May 2002. NEC's VALUESTAR T contains a multitude of enhanced multimedia features, which are enabled by the addition of several hardware and software video/audio components. The range of multimedia features include: -- SmartVision TV tuner board and software for viewing, recording and time-shifting TV -- Digital video editing for creating a custom DVD or video CD -- Music recording and editing for creating a custom music CD -- Internet phone and dialpad service -- Applications for creating electronic albums and digital postcards The new systems are based on the Windows(R) XP operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. . "We are excited to introduce our new VALUESTAR products, which offer many ground-breaking features for consumer entertainment," said Mr. Kazunori Muraki, general manager of NEC CustomTechnica, Ltd. "The addition of Sigma's MPEG decoders will provide the type of high-quality video output that our customers have come to expect." Sigma's EM8470 -- a featured hardware component in NEC's new product -- supports video playback on the television for the new VALUESTAR T products and is envisioned for use with a broad range of video applications. As a highly integrated decoder chip, Sigma's EM8470 is capable of decoding MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 video content, Dolby(R) Digital, MPEG-1 Layers 1 and 2, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) An audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 standards. AAC, especially MPEG-4 AAC, provides greater compression and better sound quality than MP3, which also came out of the MPEG standard. and CELP (Code Excited Linear Predictive) A speech compression method that achieves high compression ratios along with toll quality audio. LD-CELP (Low-Delay CELP) provides near toll quality audio by using a smaller sample size that is processed faster, resulting in audio content as well as complete output formatting for TV display (though not all these features are supported on NEC's new products). "NEC's new multimedia consumer PC products cuts new ground between traditional personal computers and consumer interactive set-top appliances," said Ken Lowe, vice president of business development at Sigma Designs. "Sigma is enthusiastic about working with NEC and providing our third generation MPEG decoder chips to support top quality interactive video features for TV viewing." About NEC Corporation NEC Corporation (Nasdaq:NIPNY) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 140,000 people worldwide and saw net sales Net Sales The amount a seller receives from the buyer after costs associated with the sale are deducted. Notes: This amount is calculated by subtracting the following items from gross sales: merchandise returned for credit, allowances for damaged or missing goods, freight of approximately $39 billion in fiscal year 2001-2002. For further information, visit the NEC home page at http://www.nec.com/. About Sigma Designs, Inc. Sigma Designs specializes in silicon-based MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video. Pronounced "em-peg," it is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs). decoding for streaming video A one-way video transmission over a data network. It is widely used on the Web as well as company networks to play video clips and video broadcasts. Computers in home networks stream video to digital media hubs connected to a home theater. , progressive DVD See progressive scan DVD. playback and advanced digital set-top boxes. The company's award-winning REALmagic(R) Video Streaming Technology is used in both commercial and consumer applications providing highly integrated solutions for high-quality decoding of MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., the company also has sales offices in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.sigmadesigns.com/. Note to Editors: REALmagic(R) is a registered trademark of Sigma Designs, Inc. Other product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. |
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