Sigma Designs Enables TigerDirect DVD Player and
Internet PC
Tiger PC Cinema Uses Sigma's Ventura for Living Room DVD
Player/Internet PC
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 1998--Sigma Designs Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGM
- news), a leader in digital video solutions for personal computers, today announced that TigerDirect
has selected its REALmagic Ventura DVD MPEG-2 playback card for its new PC Cinema DVD
Player/Internet PC.
The latest design win for Sigma's line of DVD/MPEG-2 playback cards, the TigerDirect PC
Cinema, breaks new ground in digital convergence. PC Cinema serves as the cornerstone of
advanced home entertainment systems, providing the ultimate in video and audio for a totally
immersive home theater experience.
''We believe PC Cinema will help change the future of home entertainment,'' said Gilbert Fiorentino,
chief executive officer of TigerDirect. ''Our goal was to set a new standard for digital convergence
by providing a system with the best possible audio and video quality and pricing it under $1,000.
Sigma's REALmagic Ventura provided the superior performance, quality, and affordability that
enabled us to meet our goals.'' In a March 1998 in-depth review, Home Theater Magazine called
PC Cinema ''the best value going in DVD today.''
PC Cinema uses the Sigma Designs Ventura DVD/MPEG-2 playback card to provide users with
the choice of viewing brilliant video on ordinary television sets, projection TVs, monitors, or CRT
projectors. The Ventura card also enables listening with Dolby Digital, Dolby ProLogic Surround
Sound or conventional analog stereo.
''With its capability and low price, Tiger's PC Cinema will help establish a new business model for
PCs,'' commented Prem Talreja, Sigma Designs' vice president of marketing. ''This system is
helping take the PC out of the office and into the living room, where it will see new usage as the
heart of next-generation home entertainment systems.''
''DVD clearly represents a dramatic increase in the capability of the home entertainment PC by
totally immersing the user in a superior home theater environment,'' added Talreja. ''The capacity
and quality associated with DVD, the endorsement of major high volume retailers like TigerDirect,
and availability of affordable high quality systems like the PC Cinema will continue to contribute to
the growth of the PC-DVD market.''
The PC Cinema includes a complete AMD K6-based multimedia computer, including speakerphone
and 56k modem, a Panasonic DVD-ROM drive, and Sigma Designs' REALmagic Ventura DVD
MPEG-2 playback card.
About TigerDirect
TigerDirect Inc., based in Miami, is one of the largest catalog direct resellers in North America.
Tiger (also known as TigerSoftware) specializes in the PC platform, with hardware, software,
systems, and accessories for every need.
Tiger was founded in 1987 as the leading innovator in software mass-marketing, and has been
responsible for the launch and establishment of countless new software products. In 1995,
TigerDirect became a part of the Global DirectMail (NYSE:GML) family of companies, creating
one of the largest computer reseller groups in the world.
PC Cinema evaluation units and artwork are available for the media. For more information about
TigerDirect or PC Cinema, please visit the company's web site at tigerdirect.com or
contact Richard Wallet, public relations manager, at 305/228-3302.
About Sigma Designs
Sigma Designs, headquartered in Fremont, 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 has been a driving force in advancement of the MPEG technology used in most multimedia
PCs on the market today. Sigma Designs' products include affordable MPEG decoding hardware
used in PCs, notebook computers and networked video applications. All Sigma products are sold
worldwide through a direct sales force, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
For additional information, call 800/845-8086, 510/770-0100, fax 510/770-2640 or visit the
company's web site at sigmadesigns.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding the use of PCs in home
entertainment systems, the PC-DVD market, and the features and potential growth prospects of
certain DVD products offered by the company and TigerDirect in this market that involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may vary due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, the
ability of the company's REALmagic Ventura DVD MPEG-2 playback card and the TigerDirect's
PC Cinema product to compete with other technologies and products in this emerging market and
the risk that such products will not gain widespread acceptance or be rendered obsolete by product
offerings of competitors, or by alternative technologies.
Note to Editors: REALmagic and NetStream are trademarks of Sigma Designs. Other products and
companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. |
