DTV Manufacturers Adopt Sigma HiDTV SoC

Sigma Designs announced that its HiDTV Fusion SmartTV System-on-Chip (SoC) is being welcomed with open arms by major European TV manufacturers.

For more information visit: www.sigmadesigns.com


Unedited press release follows:

Leading DTV Manufacturers Select Sigma Designs’ HiDTV Fusion System on Chip for Next-Generation SmartTVs

World’s First 240 Hz Frame Rate Converter (FRC) Integrated System on Chip (SoC) Enables Advanced Connectivity, Superior Picture Quality, Higher Refresh Rates and 3D Capability

MILPITAS, CA–(Jul 12, 2012) – Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for home entertainment connectivity and control, has announced that its HiDTV Fusion™, the industry’s only integrated 200/240Hz Frame Rate Conversion SmartTV SoC solution, has been selected for use in a wide range of SmartTV products from major European TV manufacturers. The HiDTV Fusion is enabling the next-generation of SmartTVs with advanced connectivity, superior picture quality, higher refresh rates and 3D capability.

“We are very pleased that the new generation of SmartTVs is now appearing on retail shelves based on Sigma’s HiDTV Fusion SoC technology,” said Mustafa Ozgen, Sigma Designs’ vice president and general manager, DTV Business Unit. “We look forward to working with our partners on the next generation of designs based on our innovative FRC and DTV SoCs.”

Consumers are being driven by the desire for televisions with top visual quality and Internet connectivity. Sigma’s Fusion products are designed to deliver these advanced capabilities, which is the source of their demand by leading television manufacturers. As a leading European manufacturer known for high quality televisions, Metz has been developing and manufacturing its products in Germany for over 70 years, making it one of Germany’s longest-established consumer electronics companies. By combining experience and innovation, Metz offers products that represent technical excellence and exceptional user-friendliness.

“The home TV and entertainment market is rapidly evolving, driven by innovations such as enhanced connectivity, 3D capabilities, and true to life picture quality, which provide the ultimate viewing experience,” said Mr. Manfred Billenstein, Managing Director at Metz. “Sigma’s HiDTV Fusion SoC is a driving force in this evolution, representing a true technological breakthrough for achieving extremely fast refresh rates, 3D capabilities, and vastly superior picture quality that the Metz brand represents.”

As the first fully integrated 240Hz Smart TV SoC, the HiDTV Fusion provides all the key technologies required for advanced home connectivity and for deploying over-the-top (OTT) services. It is also highly cost effective due to savings in memory and eliminating the need for external FRC as well as significantly reducing board design complexity, cost of materials and overall system power for premium Smart LED TVs. In addition, the Fusion SoC supports advanced features such as 2D to 3D conversion, local dimming, and video processing up to Quad Full HD (QFHD).

About HiDTV® Fusion™
HiDTV Fusion is the flagship SmartTV SoC solution from Sigma Designs offering the highest level of integration including multiple CPU cores, H.264 decoders and encoders, 3D Full HD video, FRC and more to deliver a host of smart applications and exceptional picture quality. To create a fully functional Smart TV software platform, HiDTV Fusion includes a 1 GHz CPU and 3D Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).

HiDTV Fusion offers cutting edge video performance from motion compensated de-interlacing and video scaling to de-judder and smooth frame rate conversion using patented motion compensated/motion estimation frame rate conversion. HiDTV Fusion supports global broadcast standards, dual HD video decode and state of the art video processing up to 21:9 240Hz display support. Other features include:

• ATSC/DVB-T/DVB-C/ISDB-T digital and NTSC/PAL/SECAM analog demodulators
• Secure programmable transport stream demultiplexer
• High performance 3D GPU and 3DTV capable video decoder (supports HDMI v1.4a mandatory 3DTV formats)
• HD video encoder
• Programmable audio decoder
• 2D to 3D conversion
• Local dimming for LED backlight control
• Up to QFHD video processing
• Full screen 21:9 support
• Video post processor based on Sigma’s industry leading video processing algorithms

To enable fast time to market, HiDTV Fusion™ comes with complete software middleware stack and applications for all major geographical regions in the world.

About Sigma Designs, Inc.
Sigma Designs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGM) is a world leader in connected media platforms. The company designs and builds the essential semiconductor technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s leading IPTV set-top boxes, DTV, connected media players, residential gateways, home control systems and more. For more information about Sigma Designs, please visit www.sigmadesigns.com.