Hello all,
Another win for SIGM! Stock is moving up on the news.
Labway to Use Sigma's REALmagic EM8300 Decoder in DVD Card
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1998--Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGM -
news), a leader in DVD decoder solutions for personal computers, today announced that Labway
Corporation, a leading provider of PC audio and digital video-related cards to worldwide OEMs,
has selected the Sigma EM8300 REALmagic DVD/MPEG-2/MEPG-1 decoder IC for its new
LabDVD-S1 DVD/MPEG-2 SuperStar decoder card.
The new PCI card, which is scheduled for release in May, features both AC/3 Digital Dolby and
Dolby Pro Logic surround sound outputs for compatibility with virtually any home theater system.
S-Video, composite TV, and VGA outputs maximize flexibility and ease of use. The board includes
a VGA loopback cable, enabling the LabDVD-S1 to be used with existing graphics controllers. So
that buyers can immediately take advantage of the advanced multimedia capabilities of DVD,
Labway has announced that it will bundle the retail version of the LabDVD-S1 with a DVD movie
title and an educational interactive DVD title.
''The availability of DVD cards like the LabDVD-S1, combined with the rapid growth of the DVD
market, will help spur the rapid convergence of PCs and quality home entertainment systems,''
commented Thinh Tran, Chairman and CEO of Sigma Designs. ''As a highly integrated, flexible, and
cost effective solution that is ideal for the PC upgrade market, we believe the EM8300 will help
make DVD available and affordable.''
Sigma's feature-packed EM8300 DVD decoder is fully DVD compliant, providing virtually all
functions of a DVD decoder on one chip. The EM8300 integrates a PCI 2.1 master/slave interface,
VMI 1.4 interface, MPEG-2 decoder, and a video scalar with bilinear interpolation filtering in both
X and Y directions. The Sigma Designs EM8300 performs all MPEG decompression in both PAL
and NTSC modes and video frame rate conversion with only 2 MB of memory. With its built-in
S/PDIF encoder, it turns a PC into a full-featured home theater DVD player that fully exploits all of
the digital video and digital surround sound capabilities of DVD.
A companion IC, the EM9010 Analog Overlay Chip, provides one of the industry's most
compatible solutions for existing graphics controllers. Analog overlay permits simpler upgrading of
existing personal computers to display DVD images. Facilitating development of systems based on
the EM8300, a complete turnkey reference design is available from Sigma Designs. A
comprehensive hardware and software solution completely ready for manufacturing, the reference
design includes an evaluation board, schematics, Gerber printed circuit board plots, drivers, and
Sigma's DVD-Station software.
About Labway:
Labway Corporation is an ISO-9002 certified manufacturer specializing in development and
production of PC audio and digital video-related products. Labway has headquarters in Taipei,
Taiwan, with R&D and marketing in Fremont, California. Combining the advanced technology of its
U.S. location with its production facilities in Taiwan affords Labway an advantage in the competitive
market for leading edge products. Labway has obtained OEM orders from first-tier computer
companies, including IBM. This joint effort with Sigma Designs will strengthen Labway's presence in
the DVD market worldwide. For additional information, call 510/656-9800, fax 510/656-9810, or
visit Labway's web site at labway.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
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the PC-DVD
market and the features and potential growth prospects of certain DVD/MPEG-2 products offered
by the Company in this market, that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results of Sigma Designs
may vary materially due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, the levels of orders from
and the risk of cancellation of orders by significant customers, including Labway, the ability of the
Company's REALmagic EM8300 DVD/MPEG-2 decoder to compete with other technologies in
these emerging markets, the risk that such products will not gain widespread acceptance or will be
rendered obsolete by product offerings of competitors or by alternative technologies, and the risk
that the Company will not meet price or time-to-market estimates due to production, manufacturing,
or other delays.
Editors and Analysts: For further information, photographs and interviews please contact S&S
Public Relations, Inc. |
