Sigma planning Mac Attack in March............................
newsalert.com
February 17, 1999 06:15
Sigma Designs Announces REALmagic DVD Playback for the Macintosh; Collaboration With Wired, Inc. Opens New Market Opportunity
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 1999--Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM), a leader in DVD/MPEG-2 decoder technology, announced today that it has selected Wired, Inc. as a development partner for the Macintosh platform.
Wired will provide Wired 4DVD(TM), a DVD and MPEG-2 playback card for the Macintosh -- an affordable PCI-based card that, when used with a DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drive, enables Macintosh users to view Hollywood movies and MPEG-2 data on either their computer screen or television.
Based on Sigma's feature-packed EM8300 decoder IC, the Wired 4DVD card includes Macintosh drivers to turn a Macintosh into a full-featured DVD player that fully exploits all of the spectacular digital video and Dolby digital surround-sound capabilities of the DVD format. The card plays DVD movies at up to 1600 x 1200 resolution without burdening the computer's processor.
Designed with robust system silicon, Wired 4DVD handles all complex MPEG-2 video and audio streams, thereby reducing the burden on the computer's CPU. As a result, the PC runs at maximum performance while multitasking (e.g., having DVD, live TV broadcast feeds, and interactive web browsing open in concurrent windows).
"Wired 4DVD is certainly the most comprehensive solution the Macintosh platform has ever seen," said Michael Whittingham, Wired's VP of Research and Development.
"Apple's DVD solution is fine for simple playback of a DVD clip/movie on the computer screen, but Wired 4DVD adds the ability to view MPEG files on the computer screen, view MPEG files and Hollywood movies on a television by way of composite and S-Video output, as well as output AC-3 audio via S/PDIF. Furthermore, Wired 4DVD is the only Macintosh solution that will work on all existing Macintosh PCI-based computers."
"Sigma's REALmagic DVD decoder silicon offers the highest level of video quality among the DVD playback cards on the market today; we are extremely pleased to bring this exciting DVD technology to the Macintosh platform," said Thomas Burke, president of Wired Inc. "Finally, Macintosh users can add a first-rate aftermarket DVD playback system at an affordable price." "We selected Wired as a development partner because it is clearly the leader in MPEG for the Macintosh platform," said Thinh Tran, chairman and chief executive officer of Sigma Designs. "We have enjoyed a strong relationship with the company for over five years, during which time we've watched it consistently develop the Mac's most innovative MPEG products." "Our collaboration with Wired, Inc. enables us to go after an untapped market," said William K. Wong, vice president of marketing for Sigma Designs. "Fifteen million Macintosh users worldwide will now have the opportunity to upgrade their systems to the latest in MPEG-2/DVD technology."
Availability and Distribution
Wired 4DVD will be demonstrated at the Macworld Expo in Tokyo Feb. 18-20. Wired 4DVD will be sold through qualified Macintosh distributors and VARs worldwide. Volume shipments will commence in March.
About Wired Inc.
Wired was established in 1987 to develop and market peripherals for personal computers. The company's expertise in MPEG encoding and decoding technology has lead to a comprehensive line of MPEG solutions for Macintosh platforms. Wired products are now offered in over 50 countries by qualified Macintosh OEMs, distributors, VARs, and resellers. For additional information about Wired 4DVD or other Wired MPEG products, contact Thomas Burke at 831/420-0185 or visit the company's website at www.wiredinc.com.
In Japan, Wired 4DVD is available from Software Too Corp. For additional information about Wired 4DVD in the Japanese market, call Software Too at 81.3.3797.9739, fax 81.3.3707.5799, email pressinfo@sw2.co.jp, or visit the company's website at www.swtoo.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. Since then, Sigma has been a driving force behind advancement of the MPEG technology used in most multimedia products on the market today. Sigma Designs' products include affordable MPEG video and audio decoding hardware.
All Sigma Designs products are sold worldwide through a network of dealers, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For additional information, call 800/845-8086 or 510/770-0100, fax 510/770-2640, or visit Sigma's web site at sigmadesigns.com
Note to Editors: Wired and Wired 4DVD are trademarks of Wired Inc. REALmagic is a trademark, and Sigma Designs is a registered trademark of Sigma Designs. Apple, Macintosh, and PowerMacintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other trademarks are rights of their respective owners.
Editors and Analysts: For additional information, photographs and interviews, please contact Andy Marken, marken@cerf.net or 408/986-0100.
CONTACT: Sigma Designs, Inc.
Carol Kaplan, 510/770-2991
carol_kaplan@sdesigns.com
or
Marken Communications
Andy Marken, 408/986-0100
marken@cerf.net
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