Sigma Designs Announces Single-Chip REALmagic DVD/MPEG-2 Decoder to Accompany Intel i740 Graphics Controller Chip.FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1998--Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGM), a recognized leader in digital video solutions for personal computers, today announced the EM8220 REALmagic DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. chip developed in conjunction with Intel as part of the reference design for Intel i740-based 2D/3D graphics cards. Including a VMI VMI Virginia Military Institute VMI Vendor Managed Inventory VMI Vertical Motion Index VMI Valtakunnan Metsien Inventointi (Finnish: National Forest Inventory) VMI Video Module Interface 1.4 interface, the EM8220 chip-based reference design will also be compatible with other graphics chips with a VMI 1.4 socket. VMI (Video Module Interface) provides a bi-directional high bandwidth connection for passing DVD data and video to the graphics controller. Systems taking advantage of VMI can achieve high DVD performance at a lower cost than PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). solutions, since they do not require a dedicated PCI slot (hardware) PCI slot - A connector on Peripheral Component Interconnect and the associated physical space occupied by the installed PCI card. to add DVD functionality. VMI eliminates loading the PCI bus PCI bus - Peripheral Component Interconnect with video, improving system performance. When the Intel i740 graphics controller chip was introduced in February, industry analysts projected that Intel would gain a 20 to 25 percent market share thisyear, in part because the Intel brand name provides added value to card manufacturers. Intel has secured numerous design wins among makers of graphics accelerator add-in cards. Sigma has already secured design wins for its EM8220 from Labway Corporation and Lung Hwa Electronics-both Taiwan-based add-in card manufacturers-to use the REALmagic EM8220 chip in their Intel 740-based 2D/3D graphics cards. In addition, these card manufacturers can provide the EM8220 module to their OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and customers to upgrade PCs already equipped with the i740 graphics card. "Sigma has established itself as a technology and quality leader in the DVD/MPEG market and has long been a driving force behind advancement of 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). technology," commented Thinh Tran, Sigma Designs' Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "EM8220 is the latest demonstration that Sigma continues to leverage its technology leadership to meet the growing needs of this new and dynamic market by linking to graphics accelerators to provide superior DVD picture quality on PCs/TVs. In addition, we have a long business relationship with Taiwanese graphics card manufacturers, which we believe will help us increase the adoption rate of this technology." Sigma's feature-packed EM8220 DVD decoder is fully DVD compliant, providing virtually all functions of a DVD decoder on one chip. The EM8220 integrates a VMI 1.4 interface, MPEG-2 decoder, and a video scalar with bilinear interpolation filtering in both X and Y directions. The Sigma Designs EM8220 performs all MPEG decompression in both PAL and NTSC (National TV Standards Committee) The committee that developed the television standards for the U.S, which are also used in Canada, Japan, South Korea and several Central and South American countries. Both the committee and the standard are called "NTSC. modes and video frame rate conversion with only 2 MB of memory. With its built-in S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital InterFace) A serial interface for transferring digital audio from CD and DVD players to amplifiers and TVs. S/PDIF is typically used to transmit PCM and Dolby Digital 5.1, but is not tied to any sampling rate or audio standard. encoder, it turns a PC into a full-featured home theater DVD player that fully exploits all of the digital video and digital surround sound capabilities of DVD. Samples of the EM8220 are available at $35 per piece in sample quantities. About Sigma Designs: Sigma Designs entered the multimedia market in 1993 with products based on the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group (compression, standard, algorithm, file format, body) Moving Picture Experts Group - (MPEG, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG11) An ISO committee that generates standards for digital video compression and audio. Also the name of their algorithms. ) standard for compressing and decompressing de·com·press v. de·com·pressed, de·com·press·ing, de·com·press·es v.tr. 1. To relieve of pressure or compression. 2. digital audio and video signals. Since then, Sigma has been a driving force behind advancement of the MPEG technology used in most multimedia products on the market today. Sigma Designs' products include affordable MPEG video and audio decoding hardware. All Sigma Designs' products are sold worldwide through a network of dealers, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For additional information, call 800-845-8086 or 510-770-0100, fax 510-770-2640 or visit Sigma's web site at http://www.sigmadesigns.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the PC-DVD market, the features, price, and potential growth prospects of certain DVD/MPEG-2 products offered by the Company in this market, and the rate of adoption of the Company's EM8220 technology by graphics card manufacturers that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, the ability of the Company's REALmagic EM8220 DVD daughter card to compete with other technologies in these emerging markets, the risk that such product will not gain widespread acceptance or will be rendered obsolete by product offerings of competitors or by alternative technologies, and the risk that the Company will not meet price or time-to-market estimates due to production, manufacturing, or other delays. Editors and Analysts: For further information, photographs and interviews please contact S&S Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most .
CONTACT: Sigma Designs, Inc.
Carol Kaplan, 510/770-2991
Fax: 510/770-2640
carol_kaplan@sdesigns.com
or
S&S Public Relations, Inc.
Lauren Finkelman/Emily Armanetti, 800/287-2279
Fax: 312/266-8247
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