Sigma Adds All-Format Media Processing to Their EM8620 Series, With Support for H.264 and VC-1; New EM8622L Provides Pin- and Software-Compatible Upgrades for EM8620L Users Sigma Adds All-Format Media Processing to Their EM8620 Series, With Support for H.264 and VC-1; New EM8622L Provides Pin- and Software-Compatible Upgrades for EM8620L Users
BW5489 APR 18,2005 3:30 PACIFIC 06:30 EASTERN
( BW)(NV-SIGMA-DESIGNS)(SIGM) Sigma Adds All-Format Media Processingto Their EM8620 Series, With Support for H.264 and VC-1; New EM8622LProvides Pin- and Software-Compatible Upgrades for EM8620L Users
Business Editors/High-Tech Editors NAB2005
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2005--Sigma Designs(Nasdaq:SIGM), a leader in digital media processing for consumerappliances, today announced that the EM8622L and EM8624L mediaprocessors now add full H.264 and VC-1 decoding support to the popularEM8620L series. The EM8622L is a direct pin- and software-compatibleupgrade to the EM8620L, while the EM8624L extends functionality forhigh-definition display products. At this week´s National Associationof Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, Sigma will showcase itsEM8622L processor at the Sigma hospitality suite located at the HiltonHotel. "The EM8622L enables customers to effortlessly upgrade theirexisting EM8620L based products with H.264 and VC-1 decoding," saidKen Lowe, VP of strategic marketing. "This will lead to a wide rangeof digital media adapters, IP set-top boxes, high-definition displaysand DVD players coming on the market in the second half of this yearwith all-format media processing, obviating the need to choose whichstandard to support."
Next Generation Consumer Products Embrace Advanced Codecs and HighDefinition
The increasing pervasiveness of digital media, coupled with afundamental need for entertainment alternatives, are paving the wayfor explosive growth in new types of consumer products and services.Telcos around the world are preparing to launch premium videoservices, DVD is moving to high definition, homes are using wirelessnetworks to access media anywhere, digital media adapters (DMAs) arefeatured within displays and portable players are just about toexperience video on-the-go. The common denominator: advancedcompression technologies and high performance media processors turningthese concepts into commercial realities. Driving this movement is a transition from the digital mediamonopoly, held by MPEG-2 for the past 10 years, yielding to a duopolyshared by two new video codecs that provide more than twice thecompression efficiency: VC-1, a SMPTE specification based onMicrosoft´s Windows Media Video 9 (WMV9); and H.264, a sharedspecification from ITU and MPEG associations, also known as AVC, andMPEG-4 part 10. Moving forward, VC-1 and H.264 appear destined toequally share the role as next generation digital media standards. The IPTV industry, which is just now showing signs of impendinggrowth on a worldwide basis, is rapidly moving toward advanced set-topboxes that feature both VC-1 and H.264. For network operators, theseadvanced codec solutions enable the delivery of high-quality videoservices, such as live broadcasts and video-on-demand (VOD) overbandwidth-limited broadband networks. To upscale competition, certainNorth American and Asian services are looking to use the addedcompression to feature high-definition channels. By deploying set-topboxes that incorporate all codecs, operators ensure that theirinvestment in customer premise equipment can support future contentstreams in any major format. For future DVD players, the movement toward high-definitioncontent using VC-1 and H.264 with continued support for MPEG-2 is anear certainty as both HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps have selected thesenew codec standards. For some time, advanced DVD players featuringMPEG-4 content, high-definition output, and network connectivity havebeen popular with entertainment enthusiasts. However, the enormousmomentum behind the emergence of HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will usherthis level of performance into the mainstream and bring with it atidal wave of content that requires multi-format support. Meanwhile,high-definition DVD players currently using the WMV9 codec are beingpurchased by enthusiasts with the desire to utilize the resolution oftheir HDTVs. Moving into the future, many other digital media products areadopting one or all of these new video codecs. Digital media receivers(DMRs) provide seamless flow of video content to TV sets throughoutthe home, and offer access to the growing collections of PC-based,digital photos, music and video, much of which is now based on WMV9and Windows Media Audio (WMA). Likewise, high-definition televisionsare moving to support the widening range of broadcast standards,including the migration of DVB, ARIB and ATSC to high-definition,H.264 content. Moving down the road, new portable media players,sporting video playback, are adding WMV9 compression to more thandouble their video storage capacity, as well as tap into the growinglist of downloadable content.
Decoding in All-Formats
Sigma´s EM8622L and EM8624L provide system-on-chip (SOC) siliconsolutions that feature all major compression technologies and supporthigh definition. Key features include:
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§Video decoding up to high definition for H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10), VC-1 (WMV9), MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (part 2).
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§Graphics acceleration with 32-bit alpha-blending, raster operations, and line drawing functions.
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§Audio decoding capability for Dolby Digital, WMA, WMA Pro, MPEG, AAC, MP3, and MPEG 1 or 2, layers I, II and III.
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§JPEG acceleration.
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§Motion adaptive deinterlacing for flat-panel, digital television output, as well as NTSC/PAL encoded video output for standard analog televisions.
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§Digital Rights Management (DRM) support with hardware cryptography engines for high speed payload decryption including AES, DES, triple-DES, RC4, CSS, DVB-CSA and Multi-2.
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§Single-chip solution with on-chip CPU, unified memory controller, IDE controller, general purpose IO and Ethernet MAC controller (EM8624L only).
To ensure quick time-to-market and engineering convenience, Sigmawill provide a library of streaming video and media playback software,including a real-time streaming engine for IP-based video-on-demandapplications, a DVD navigation module for playback from various formsof stored media, a network stack, and a hardware abstraction layer forlow-level program control.
Sigma Designs -- Powering the Digital Media Generation
For more than five years, Sigma Designs has been investing in thedevelopment of advanced high-definition codecs to drive the expansionof the digital media consumer market. Based on its media processorsand streaming software technologies, Sigma has established aleadership position in single-chip solutions for IPTV set-top boxes,digital media receivers and networked DVD players. Taking advantage ofthis technology, consumer products are being distributed on aworldwide basis by such leading manufacturers as D-Link,Fujitsu-Siemens, I-O Data, Kenwood, KiSS Technology, LG Electronics,Lite-ON IT, Onkyo, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and many others.
Availability
The EM8622L and EM8624L media processors will be sold throughSigma´s direct sales force. Samples of the EM8622L will be availablein May and samples of the EM8624L will be available in June.Production availability will begin in August.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may contain forward-looking statements,including statements about the projected timing and extent of customershipments as well as the expected use of Sigma´s MPEG decoderproducts. Actual results could vary from those projected in theforward looking statements as a result of various factors, includingworldwide economic conditions, changes in the customer´s ability ordesire to complete the roll-out, consumer reaction to the new productsand services being offered, the ability of Sigma to deliver sufficientquantity and quality of MPEG decoder chips, prices for the Sigmachips, alternative offerings by competitors, and the ability of theparties to work together successfully to achieve the rollout.
About Sigma Designs, Inc.
Sigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM) specializes in silicon-based mediaprocessors for IPTV set-top boxes, digital media receivers, highdefinition DVD players, HDTV, and portable media players. Thecompany´s award-winning REALmagic(R) Video Streaming Technology isused in a variety of consumer applications providing highly integratedsolutions for high-quality decoding of H.264, WMV9, MPEG-4, MPEG-2 andMPEG-1. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., the company also has salesoffices in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For moreinformation, please visit the company´s web site atwww.sigmadesigns.com/.
REALmagic and Sigma Designs are registered trademarks of SigmaDesigns. All other products and companies referred to herein aretrademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
--30--EL/sf* CONTACT: Sigma Designs, Inc. Ken Lowe, 408-957-9850 kal@sdesigns.com KEYWORD: NEVADA CALIFORNIA TRACK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICSTELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE NETWORKING TRADESHOW PRODUCT SOURCE: Sigma Designs, Inc.Copyright Business Wire 2005
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Autor: © Business Wire , 12:30 18.04.05
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