New player utilizes
Sigma's industry-leading SMP8630 family of media
processors
Milpitas, Calif. - Dec. 12,
2005 - Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM) today announced it will work with
Pioneer Corporation (NYSE: PIO) on the joint development of a full-featured
Blu-ray DVD player using Sigma Designs' SMP8630 family of media
processors.
"Pioneer intends to be the first
company to offer a high-quality, Blu-ray DVD player that contains all the key
features expected from a consumer product under our brand name," said Russ
Johnston, senior vice president of marketing and product planning for the home
entertainment division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "Sigma's SMP8630 family
of chipsets provides a virtual system-on-chip solution for the hardware portion,
enabling us to focus on software development and value-added features that
extend beyond basic operation."
Blu-ray is the leading standard in
the market for next-generation, high-definition optical players, based on blue
laser disc technology. Blu-ray allows consumers to view movies and other
programs in high definition. In addition, Blu-ray Discs allow consumers to
record HD programming from a cable, satellite or TV antenna. A Blu-ray Disc
computer drive enables consumers to store up to 50 gigabytes at a time to back
up data, photos, portable music files and home videos.
"Collaborating with Pioneer on an
industry-first product was a natural relationship for Sigma," said Ken Lowe,
vice president of strategic marketing, Sigma Designs. "Sigma is dedicated to
creating the leading chipset for next-generation, high-definition optical
players and we are excited to be working with such a respected consumer
electronics company."
Availability
Pioneer plans to introduce the new
Blu-ray DVD player in the first half of 2006.
About Sigma's SMP8634
Media Processor
Sigma's SMP8634 media processor
integrates a complete complement of next-generation capabilities for a
single-chip system-on-chip (SOC) solution with powerful multimedia processing,
robust content security system, and a full complement of peripherals. Its
advanced decoder engines support video decoding of H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10),
Windows Media® Video 9 (Microsoft's implementation of VC-1, the proposed SMPTE
standard), MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (part 2) with multiple streams, up to the
equivalent of two high-definition video streams. High-performance graphics
acceleration, multistandard audio decoding, advanced display processing
capabilities, and HDMI/HDCP output round out its multimedia core. Powerful
content security is ensured through a dedicated secure processor, flash memory,
and a range of digital rights management (DRM) engines for high-speed payload
decryption. The SMP8634's 300-MIPS host CPU, 3.2 GB/second unified memory
controller, Ethernet 10/100 controller, dual USB 2.0 controller, and IDE
controller provide for a single-chip solution for most set-top boxes and
consumer players.
About
Blu-ray
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray
Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed
by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer
electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell,
Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp,
Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting
and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of
data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold up to 25GB, which can be used to
record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV.
There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold up to 50GB.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may contain
forward-looking statements, including statements about the projected timing and
extent of customer shipments as well as the expected use of Sigma's MPEG decoder
products. Actual results could vary from those projected in the forward looking
statements as a result of various factors, including worldwide economic
conditions, changes in the customer's ability or desire to complete the
roll-out, consumer reaction to the new products and services being offered, the
ability of Sigma to deliver sufficient quantity and quality of MPEG decoder
chips, prices for the Sigma chips, alternative offerings by competitors, and the
ability of the parties to work together successfully to achieve the rollout.
About
Pioneer
Pioneer Corporation, headquatered
in Tokyo,
Japan, is one of
the leading manufacturers of consumer and business-use electronics products such
as audio, video and car electronics on a global scale. Its shares are traded on
the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol PIO), Euronext Amsterdam, Tokyo Stock
Exchange, and Osaka Securities Exchange.
About Sigma Designs,
Inc.
Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM)
specializes in silicon-based MPEG decoding for streaming video, progressive DVD
playback, and advanced digital set-top boxes. The company's award-winning
REALmagic® 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.
REALmagic
and Sigma Designs are registered trademarks of Sigma Designs. All other products
and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies.
Source: Sigma Designs
