Sigma's stock price may not be at 30,000 feet but...
biz.yahoo.com
Wednesday January 28, 8:31 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Sigma Designs And The Network Connection Deliver
MPEG Video To Passengers
Major Cruise Ship Line and Exclusive French Airline Equip Their Fleets with
REALmagic-Based Video-on-Demand Systems
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 1998-- Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM -
news), a recognized leader in MPEG video playback technology, today announced successful results
of its partnership with The Network Connection, Inc. (Nasdaq:TNCX - news) of Alpharetta, GA.
The Network Connection, Inc. (TNCi), a leader in travel entertainment systems, has developed a
family of video server platforms for delivering MPEG video over networks. Next month Fairlines, a
new French commercial airline owned and operated by Francois Arpels of the jewelry and fragrance
giant Van Cleef and Arpels family, will inaugurate scheduled service featuring TNCi's AirView(R), an
advanced interactive in-flight entertainment (IFE) system.
AirView enables every Fairlines passenger to simultaneously access the latest weather or news
report, their favorite movie or music selection, and even some shopping with the simple touch of a
laptop computer-like screen right at their seat. At the heart of each seat's electronics is a Sigma
Designs REALmagic card. ''Sigma's REALmagic cards deliver outstanding video quality,'' says Wil
Riner, TNCi's chief executive officer. ''We've implemented REALmagic MPEG technology across
our product line to deliver video-on-demand at television broadcast quality.'' Four Air-View
equipped airline seats were on display at the recent Comdex show in Sigma Designs' booth.
Fairlines' entire fleet of MD-80 aircraft will be configured with the AirView IFE system. In-flight
entertainment systems represent a growth opportunity, with airlines around the world poised to invest
tens of millions of dollars in the technology, now considered an essential marketing tool due to the
increasingly competitive nature of the airline business. Within the next five years, sales of IFE
equipment and services are expected to climb to more than $9 billion from $1.4 billion in 1997.
In addition, TNCi will work with a major international cruise line to install CruiseView(TM) on two
1600-cabin ships in mid 1998. CruiseView will support video/audio on demand, shopping, multi
player games, gambling, shore excursion/event booking, live feed programming, and business
services, all via a television remote control. As part of the configuration, a Sigma Designs
REALmagic card will be installed in each guest cabin for playing MPEG-2 video. Additional
CruiseView installations on board the cruise line's other ships should follow completion of the first
two projects.
About TNCi:
TNCi designs and manufactures the Cheetah(R) family of video server platforms for storage and
delivery of digital video/audio data to up to 300 simultaneous video/audio users over local area
networks. Enabled by REALmagic, Cheetah servers are used to bring interactive, on-demand,
full-motion video training, education, and entertainment to networked client computers in corporate,
home, educational, and travel-related environments. TNCi is a leader in the development and
installation of easy access entertainment video server systems. For additional information, call
1-800-327-4853, or visit TNCi on the web at tnc.www.com
About Sigma Designs:
Sigma Designs, headquartered in Fremont, Calif., is an acknowledged leader in the fast-growing
multimedia market. Sigma 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 is a driving force in advancement of the MPEG technology used in most
multimedia products on the market today. Sigma Designs' products, marketed under the REALmagic
trade name, include affordable MPEG/DVD video and audio decoding hardware used in consumer
and commercial PC-based applications. Sigma products are sold worldwide through a direct sales
force, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For more information, visit the
Company's web site at sigmadesigns.com
Contact:
MEDIA CONTACT: INVESTOR CONTACT:
Lauren Finkelman Carol Kaplan
S&S Public Relations, Inc. Sigma Designs, Inc.
Tel: 800/287-2279 Tel: 510/770-2991
lauren@sspr.com carol_kaplan@sdesigns.com |
