Sigma Media Processor is Adopted by Samsung’s New Third Generation Blu-ray Player

-Sigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM), a leader in digital media processing SoCs for consumer electronics, today announced that its highly integrated SMP8634 media processor was selected by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. to power its third generation Blu-ray player, the BD-P1400.

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 offers consumers the highest quality viewing experience which includes high definition video at 1080p resolution, picture-in-picture video, high definition multi-channel audio, 3D style graphics and enhanced interactive features such as real time director's comments, pop-up menus, and more.

"Samsung Electronics has developed a high quality Blu-ray player for consumers craving a complete high definition experience at an affordable price point," said Mr. M.G. Yim, Vice President of the Digital AV Division at Samsung Electronics. "Using Sigma’s SMP8634 SoC, our BD-P1400 Blu-ray player delivers an outstanding viewing experience."

Samsung’s new BD player is designed to offer one of the best video and audio performances available, including a number of industry first features. The BD-P1400 offers full compatibility with 24 movie frames per second playback, matching the native filming format for most movies and reducing artifacts. The new BD player also supports 60 frame/second output for enhanced compatibility with many of today's HDTVs. Focusing also on sound quality, Samsung's new BD player completes consumers' HD total home theater experience with advanced HD audio decoding featuring the industry’s first HD audio bit-stream pass-through on HDMI 1.3 for formats DTS-HD Master Audio®, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio®, Dolby TrueHD®, and Dolby Digital Plus®, enabling a variety of clear, full-bodied sound options. The HDMI 1.3 connection also offers HDMI CEC (Anynet+) technology, allowing consumers to use a single remote control to operate the BD player, TV and other A/V products from Samsung. The BD-P1400 is available now at stores in the U.S.

“Samsung is taking the high road with its new feature-packed Blu-ray player,” 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 and it is gratifying to be selected in a competitive environment for Samsung’s third generation players.”

Sigma provides advanced media processor silicon and software that constitute a system-on-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. 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.

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-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® 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-Mhz 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 and a dual-layer version holds 50GB, which can be used to record multiple hours of HDTV video at high quality compression levels.

About Sigma Designs, Inc.

Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM) specializes in silicon-based media processors and wireless chipsets for IPTV set-top boxes, digital media receivers, high definition DVD players, HDTV, and portable media players. The company’s industry-leading media processor architectures feature high definition video, advanced codec support (H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2), and secure media processing in a complete system-on-chip (SOC) solution. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., the company also has sales offices in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, please visit the company’s web site at www.sigmadesigns.com.