Utobia Launches Hollywood+98 DVD Upgrade Kit;
REALmagic-Enabled Bundle Provides PC/TV Flexibility, Unequaled
Progressive DVD Display Quality and Performance for HDTV
newsalert.com
CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1998--Utobia Corp., an industry leader in
designing, manufacturing, and marketing imaging display products for multimedia PC applications, has
announced Hollywood+98, a new PC DVD/MPEG-2 upgrade kit.
Priced from $210, the kit includes a high-speed internal DVD-ROM drive, a REALmagic DVD/MPEG-2 PCI
playback card from Sigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM), cables, and connectors -- everything users need to
enjoy flicker-free video at full-screen resolution, best progressive DVD display quality for HDTV, and
Dolby(R) Digital Surround Sound capabilities on their computers and their TVs.
To provide crystal clear, full-screen, full-motion DVD and MPEG-2 multimedia, video game, and movie
playback, Utobia's engineers designed the Sigma Designs REALmagic DVD/MPEG-2 playback card into
their upgrade solution. ISO 13818-2 MPEG-2 standard and ACPI power management-compliant, the
Hollywood Plus card provides full, rich decoding -- without burdening the CPU.
"We looked at software-based MPEG-2 solutions and found them lacking in two major areas," said Joe
Lung, Utobia general manager. "At best, software-managed images are of marginal quality -- certainly
nothing you'd want to project on a widescreen TV set. Secondly, they require more CPU power. With our
REALmagic-based kit," he continued, "users have high-quality, full-screen images with a hardware
MPEG-2 solution that uses less than 30 percent of the CPU, so the system can be used simultaneously
for other tasks."
Utobia's new upgrade kit was developed to meet the needs of a growing number of users who want the
higher capacity and performance that DVD provides. The high-speed DVD-ROM drive provides 25X the
capacity of older CD-ROM solutions and delivers up to 266 minutes of uninterrupted, high-quality video.
Easy to install, the plug-n-play drive supports Windows(R) 95, 98, and NT 4.0 and will play all DVD,
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, CD-RW, CD-R, and CD-ROM media, as well as both audio and video discs.
With the kit's customized navigational software, "DVD Station," users can take full advantage of every
interactive DVD feature. Using simple VCR-like controls, they can choose from multiple DVD settings
such as sound track and subtitle language, viewing aspect ratios, and viewing angle. Users can also
interact with DVD Station menus to exercise parental control and execute search commands, such as
navigating to any point in a movie with the click of a button.
Featuring a DVD-ROM drive that fits easily into any standard half-height drive bay, the Utobia
Hollywood+98 DVD/MPEG-2 playback kit can be used with any 133 MHz or higher IBM-compatible PC.
The upgrade kits are available for immediate delivery through leading resellers worldwide or direct from
Utobia at an MSRP from $210. Volume discounts are also available.
The complete kit includes a high-speed internal DVD-ROM drive, a REALmagic Hollywood Plus
DVD/MPEG-2 decoder card, a VGA loop-back cable, a CD audio cable, and an S-Video/Composite TV
out cable, plus Installation Disks, DVD Sampler(s) and a user manual. Utobia also offers the
Hollywood+98 DVD/MPEG-2 decoder card separately for $95.
Sigma Designs is the industry's leading producer of DVD/MPEG-2 decoder chips and add-in cards for
computer manufacturers, upgrade kit developers, and systems integrators for stand-alone systems and
network applications. For additional information, call 800/845-8086 or 510/770-0100, fax 510/770-2640, or
visit Sigma's Web site at sigmadesigns.com.
For more information on the Hollywood+98 DVD/MPEG2 playback kit or the name of the closest Utobia
reseller, call or write Utobia Corporation, 111 North Hudson Avenue, Building B, City of Industry, CA
91744, 888/488-6242, 626/855-5080, fax 626/855-5072 or visit the company's Web site at
www.utobiadvd.com.
Note to Editors: For a slide of the new Utobia Hollywood+98 DVD/MPEG-2 upgrade kit, or to review the
new DVD kits, contact Wendy Tan, wtan@utobiadvd.com. For information on the Sigma Designs
REALmagic Hollywood Plus DVD/MPEG-2 add-in card, contact Andy Marken, marken@cerf.net
CONTACT: Utobia
Wendy Tan, 626/855-5080
wtan@utobiadvd.com
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