CES Showcases New Blu-ray Players Powered By Sigma Media Processors

SMP8630 Series Media Processors Provide the Most Complete SoC Solution for Blu-ray Players

January 12, 2007

Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM), a leader in digital media processing for consumer electronics, today announced the latest Blu-ray Disc players being demonstrated at this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2007) are powered by Sigma media processors. Demonstrating continued leadership in high definition consumer electronics products, Sigma's award winning SMP8630 series of media processors are powering the majority of today's Blu-ray players, including those being shown at CES from Panasonic, Pioneer, and Sony. Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a leading standard in the market for next-generation, high-definition optical players, which is based on blue laser disc technology. Blu-ray allows consumers to view movies and other programs in high definition, offering more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs. Six of the top consumer electronics manufacturers have chosen Sigma media processors to power their new Blu-ray players. Sigma provides advanced media processor chipsets and software that constitute a system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution for designing Blu-ray or HD-DVD players, enabling customers to focus on software development and value-added features that extend beyond basic operation. As demonstrated at the CES 2007 exhibits, the next-generation technology contained in Sigma's SMP8630 series enables players to offer stunning, precise pictures and remarkably beautiful sound as well as intelligent interactive features. "Working with the top consumer electronics manufacturers, including Panasonic, Pioneer, and Sony, has been a rewarding challenge," said Ken Lowe, vice president of strategic marketing, Sigma Designs. "Sigma is dedicated to providing chips that deliver the highest quality front-of-screen experience with the most convenient overall system solution available for developing Blu-ray players." Blu-ray Disc Players Across the CES 2007 Show Floor Powered by Sigma Panasonic DMP BD10 Blu-ray Disc Player Powered by Sigma Panasonic Corporation is using Sigma's SMP8634 media processor to power its new DMP BD10 Blu-ray Disc Player, a BD compatible product with a number of proprietary features such as Pixel Precision Progressive Processing for enhanced image quality. Panasonic is also offering the DMR BW200 and BW100, marketed as one of the world's first Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorders that can also play back BD-Video discs, both of which are also based on the SMP8634. The DMP BD10 is available now in US retail stores and the DMR BW200 and BW100 are available now in Japan. Pioneer BDP HD1 Blu-ray Disc Player Powered by Sigma Pioneer Corporation is using Sigma's SMP8634 media processor to power its new BDP HD1 Blu-ray Disc Player, a BD compatible product with extras such as IP network capability designed to DLNA guidelines. The BDP HD1 is available now in US retail stores. Sony Blu-ray Disc Players and Compatible Products Powered by Sigma Sony Corporation is using Sigma's SMP8634 media processor to power a series of new Blu-ray compatible products. Sony is marketing the new BDP-S1 Blu-ray player, which is available at major retail outlets in the US market. Sony is also offering the BDZ-V9 and BDZ-V7, a pair of BD recorders that are being currently marketed in Japan. About Sigma's SMP8634 Media Processor Sigma's SMP8634 media processor integrates a complete complement of next-generation capabilities for a single-chip system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution with powerful multimedia processing, robust content security system, and a full complement of peripherals. Its advanced decoder engines support video decoding of H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10), Windows Media(R) Video 9, VC-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (part 2) with multiple streams, up to the equivalent of two high-definition video streams. High-performance graphics acceleration, multi-standard audio decoding, advanced display processing capabilities, and HDMI/HDCP output round out its multimedia core. Powerful content security is ensured through a dedicated secure processor, flash memory, and a range of digital rights management (DRM) engines for high-speed payload decryption. The SMP8634's 300-MIPS host CPU, 3.2 GB/second unified memory controller, Ethernet 10/100 controller, dual USB 2.0 controller, and IDE controller provide for a single-chip solution for most set-top boxes and consumer players. About Blu-ray Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB, which can be used to record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50GB.

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