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), 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.
CONTACT: Sigma Designs Inc., Fremont (Investor Contact)
Carol Kaplan, 510/770-2991
carol_kaplan@sdesigns.com
or
S&S Public Relations Inc. (Media Contact)
Lauren Finkelman or Regan Daniels, 800/287-2279
lauren@sspr.com
regan@sspr.com
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