Philips Certifies Sigma REALmagic DVD/MPEG-2 Decoder For Satellite Data Broadcast System
Philips Certifies Sigma REALmagic DVD/MPEG-2 Decoder For Satellite Data
Broadcast System
MILPITAS, CALIF. (May 6) BUSINESS WIRE -May 6, 1999--
Sigma Designs' Hardware Decoder Provides Ultra High-Quality Satellite
Video Playback For Philips CleverCastPC Broadcast System
Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGM) announced today that Philips Digital
Video Systems Corporation has certified its REALmagic(TM) NetStream 2
card to provide clean, crisp DVD/MPEG-2 decoding for the Philips
CleverCastPC(TM) Data Broadcast System. The Sigma REALmagic card
faithfully decodes and validates the CleverCast image signal to provide
system users with a seamless solution that can be installed in minutes
and used in any Windows-based PC to deliver HDTV quality imagery.
CleverCastPC uses digital satellite transmission systems for high-speed
delivery of large digital audio, video and data files. The files, which
are sent as MPEG-2/DVB transport streams, can be delivered to any
personal computer with access to the broadcast. Sigma's NetStream 2
card decodes the files and enables PCs to display flicker-free video at
full-screen resolution.
"We're very pleased that Philips selected our MPEG technology for its
CleverCastPC technology," said William K. Wong, vice president of
marketing for Sigma Designs. "It's really an endorsement of the
superior picture quality that NetStream 2 provides."
The NetStream 2 solution turns any PC into a full-featured DVD player
that fully exploits all of the spectacular digital video and Dolby
digital surround-sound capabilities of the MPEG-2 format. NetStream 2
can handle most of the complex MPEG-2 video and audio streams without
burdening the computer's CPU. As a result, the PC runs at maximum
performance while multitasking (e.g., having MPEG-2 video, live TV
broadcast feeds, and interactive web browsing open in concurrent
windows).
Featuring an end-to-end throughput of 20Mb/s, the Philips CleverCast PC
Data Broadcasting System provides audio and video distribution firms,
syndicators, businesses and broadcasting stations with a cost-effective
solution for distributing AV files. The system also transmits
image-enabled documents and multimedia-enhanced materials. Since the
data needs to be transmitted to the satellite network only once, the
data "push" method saves bandwidth and dramatically reduces
transmission costs.
"Our system does an excellent job of capturing, encapsulating and
distributing data to an unlimited number of satellite receivers," said
Jacco van der Kooij, market development manager for Philips Data
Broadcasting. "But the real performance test comes when the digital
signal is decoded and the images are displayed on the screen. Sigma's
REALmagic NetStream 2 card efficiently decodes the signal to give the
viewer high-quality video." About Philips Digital Video Systems Corp.
Philips Digital Video Systems Company, a division of Philips
Electronics North America Corporation, is a leading manufacturer of
digital equipment and systems for the professional television and video
production communities and is a world leader in MPEG-2 compression and
transmission systems. For more information, contact Philips Digital
Video System Corporation, 2300 S. Decker Lake Blvd., Salt Lake City, UT
84119; call 801-977-1565, fax 801-977-6304 or email
CleverCastPC@mail.philipsdvs.com. Visit Philips Digital Video Systems'
Web site at www.broadcast.philips.com. About Sigma Designs
Sigma Designs entered the multimedia market in 1993 with products based
on the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard for compressing and
decompressing digital audio and video signals. Sigma Designs' products,
marketed under the REALmagic trade name, include affordable MPEG
decoding hardware used in PCs, notebook computers, and networked video
applications. Sigma products are sold to PC OEMs and card makers
worldwide. For additional information, call 800-845-8086 or
408-262-9003, fax 408-957-9740 or visit Sigma's web site at
sigmadesigns.com.
Editors and Analysts: For further information, photographs, and
interviews, please contact Andy Marken, marken@cerf.net or
408/986-0100.
REALmagic and NetStream 2 are trademarks, and Sigma Designs is a
registered trademark of Sigma Designs, Inc. Other products and
companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies.
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