Sigma Designs And Microsoft Announce Worldwide Availability Of Consumer Products Supporting Windows Media Audio And Video 9 Series

2-Dec-04

Sigma Designs Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced that consumer entertainment devices powered by Sigma processors feature support for Windows MediaÆ Audio and Video 9. These devices are now being shipped around the world by an increasing list of companies including KiSS Technology A/S in Europe, I-O Data, Buffalo in Japan, and LITE-ON IT Corp. Networked DVD players, digital media receivers, and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) set-top boxes are among the applications taking advantage of the compression capability offered by Windows Media Audio and Video 9 and Sigma processor innovation. Sigma Designs also announced support for the PlaysForSure program, with new chip designs that will allow device manufacturers to ship networked devices that work seamlessly with WindowsÆ XP-based PCs and with the widest variety of online music and video services using Windows Media DRM 10 for networked devices and Windows Media Connect.""The proven quality and compression efficiency of Windows Media Audio and Video are leading to its further wide-scale adoption in a range of new consumer devices,"" said Amir Majidimehr, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. ""The new series of Windows Media- capable media processors from Sigma Designs that will support features such as Media Connect and Windows Media DRM 10 form an excellent basis for a variety of leading-edge products.""Sigma Designs is rapidly moving forward to make Windows Media Video 9-based consumer products a commercial reality. Since April of this year, Sigma has been shipping its first generation of media processors that support Windows Media Video 9, and it is making an investment in a series of application-driven chips and software that will enable single-chip implementation of IPTV set-top boxes, digital media receivers, networked DVD players and portable media devices. Sigma's first chip, the EM8620L, offers a wide range of media-processing functions for video decoding, audio decoding and graphics processing featuring the highest-quality image possible on high-definition (HD) displays. It currently offers Windows Media Video 9 support for up to 720p resolution, Windows Media Audio and Windows Media Audio 9 Pro, Windows Media DRM 10 for portable and networked devices, and Windows Media Connect implementations.""Demand for Windows Media Video is taking off, which is evidenced by the amount of customer interest for next-generation digital media devices,"" said Ken Lowe, Vice President of Strategic Marketing at Sigma Designs. ""The availability of new Windows-based technologies, including Media Connect and Windows Media DRM 10, and Sigma chipsets has made it extremely convenient to take advantage of Windows Media Audio and Video for greater compression efficiency and HD support.""For more information on Sigma Designs, visit http://www.sigmadesigns.comFor more information on Windows Media Video 9, visit http://www.wmvhd.com

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