Sigma Designs Makes Streaming Video Easy with REALmagic NetStream 2000; Adds Video-on-Demand and IP Multicast Software.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

mcast 2000

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2000

Sigma Designs(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM), a recognized leader in digital video solutions, announced today that it is adding new features to its REALmagic(R) NetStream(TM) 2000 card to shorten the evaluation cycle typically experienced by systems integrators.

Bundling InfoValue's QuickVideo OnDemand(TM) (QVOD(TM)) and Media NOW!'s StreamRider(TM) IP/multicast software with NetStream 2000 will enable prospects to stream MPEG-2 video over Ethernet networks within one hour, dramatically shortening the &uot;proof of concept&uot; testing cycle. Sigma is demonstrating NetStream 2000 with the new software at mcast 2000, a streaming video show being held in San Francisco.

The purpose of the additional software is to enable prospective customers to quickly create streaming video demonstrations using NetStream 2000. Previously, customers needed to obtain and integrate several separate products to stream video.

By including the easy-to-install video-on-demand and IP multicast software, Sigma provides developers and information system (IS) departments with everything they need to build and test a complete streaming video system in about an hour.

NetStream 2000 will ship with a three-user version of InfoValue Computing's QuickVideo OnDemand, the industry's fastest video-on-demand software for standard Windows(R) NT or Linux networks. Networked PCs with NetStream 2000 cards can open and play MPEG files stored on the InfoValue video server. The video can be viewed using InfoValue's QuickVideo Player or customized applications such as those used for training applications. Network administrators can create web pages that access each video file with a hyperlink.

The IP/multicast software, Media NOW!'s StreamRider, is a robust client/server solution that makes it possible to &uot;broadcast&uot; one or more &uot;channels&uot; of rich MPEG video to every PC on a local area network (LAN), much like a TV network. IP/multicast ensures the same low network overhead whether one user or 100 users are viewing the broadcast.

StreamRider can view live, IP/multicast MPEG-2 video delivered over an IP-based network by Media NOW!'s ThunderCast/IP(TM) server and is compatible with Minerva's VNP and Optivision's NAC encoders.

&uot;We've worked closely with InfoValue Computing and Media NOW! for several years,&uot; reported Marshall Goldberg, Sigma's director of marketing. &uot;They provide high-quality products that many of our customers have already deployed. We're delighted that we are now able to introduce these products to all of our customers. This will vastly improve the 'out of the box experience' for our NetStream customers by making it easy to build and test a streaming video network.&uot;

&uot;Our video steaming software transforms ordinary PCs into video-on-demand and IP multicast servers,&uot; explained Monsong Chen, president of InfoValue Computing. &uot;Our products are used by corporations, educational institutions, and the U.S. military to achieve their missions by incorporating video streaming into their daily operations. Having our video-on-demand software bundled with Sigma's video decoder silicon is a natural fit.&uot;

Sigma demonstrated its new NetStream 2000 card at InfoValue's booth during the Linux World conference last week in New York. Visit InfoValue Computing's website at www.infovalue.com.

&uot;NetStream 2000, combined with Media NOW!'s broadband video streaming technology, provides a robust way to deliver MPEG content to thousands of users, simultaneously, over any IP-based network,&uot; stated Eric Yao, Chief Technology Officer of Media NOW!

&uot;With the incredible broadband explosion that is occurring, NetStream 2000 is the ideal component for bringing the richest-quality MPEG content to desktops in this revolutionary new way. Our mutual customers have been using our combined streaming video solutions to train, inform, and motivate customers, employees, and students for some time now. This joining of forces represents the natural evolution of our products in a new broadband age.&uot; Visit Media NOW!'s website at www.gomedianow.com.

Sigma's NetStream 2000 card, which includes the REALmagic EM8400 chip, is specifically designed for flawless-quality MPEG-2 and progressive DVD digital video playback on VGA monitors and TV screens. It is an affordable, plug-and-play solution for client playback of streaming video across Ethernet and ATM networks. NetStream 2000 also features a powerful software toolkit that supports high-performance, interactive digital video applications such as kiosks, video walls, ATM machines, and corporate training.

Sigma's EM8400 is a highly integrated decoder for DVD and MPEG-2 video. Its feature set ensures that it can be incorporated into a wide variety of set-top digital video appliances at a lower cost than competitive parts. Further increasing its popularity is DVD and streaming video software support for a wide range of platforms, including interactive TV software provided by Liberate TV Navigator and Microsoft TV, as well as drivers for operating systems such as Windows 95/98/NT4.0/2000 and CE, VxWorks, QNX, and Linux.

This enables not only standalone DVD player designs but also integrated designs that support web browsing with video in a window, video over ADSL, digital VCRs, interactive television, and more.

Availability

Supporting a wide range of video servers as well as DVD-Video, NetStream 2000 is available for immediate delivery through major resellers and distributors worldwide, including Ingram Micro, Inc. (NYSE:IM).

About Sigma Designs:

Sigma Designs is an acknowledged leader in the fast-growing digital video market. Sigma specializes in digital video encoding/decoding for the PC DVD market, for video streaming over corporate/organizational Intranets and extranets, and for the emerging set-top box/information appliance market. Sigma is a driving force in advancement of digital video technology used in high-speed, high-bandwidth transmission for business, home, and education markets.

Sigma Designs' products, marketed under the REALmagic trade name, are sold worldwide through a direct sales force, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

For additional information, visit the Company's web site at http://www.sigmadesigns.com.

Editors and Analysts: For further information and interviews, please contact Andy Marken, [e-mail] or 408/986-0100.

Note to Editors: REALmagic and Sigma Designs are registered trademarks, and NetStream is a trademark of Sigma Designs. All other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.