Mediaboss Marketing

TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwire -06/04/12)- Sigma Designs (SIGM), a leading provider of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for home entertainment, connectivity and control, today announced the release of its SMP8674 media processor. The latest member of SMP8670 product family delivers solid performance and advanced features at an aggressive price point for OEMs and ODMs. The flexible SMP8674 can be configured to address multiple markets including hybrid IPTV Set-Top Boxes (STBs), OTT streaming players and WiDi and Wi-Fi display receivers.

"The SMP8674 offers an optimal blend of multimedia features and CPU horsepower for the mainstream STB market," said Waheed Rasheed, Sigma Designs' vice president of product marketing. "Some of the advanced features supported by the SMP8674 include: the widest range of industry standard AV COCECs, including new broadcast audio standards like Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-Broadcast; a new Wi-Fi display API with ultra-low latency video performance designed for wireless display receivers; and a special security facility for chipset pairing used in the latest conditional access systems. With a commitment to mainstream applications, the SMP8674 also achieves very low BOM designs due to the level of integration and efficient DDR3 interface."

To accelerate time-to-market for consumer designs, the SMP8674 offers two ready-for-market reference design kits that offer Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer (P2P) connectivity between televisions and either phone, tablet, or laptop devices. The Wi-Fi Display reference kit combines the SMP8674 with the Atheros AR9342 to provide a compact design with a separate power supply. The USB Dongle reference kit combines the Sigma SMP8674 SoC and the Atheros AR6203 to provide a miniature package configuration utilizing a powered USB port and direct HDMI output. The SMP8674 is also available on Sigma's general purpose Vantage development board for set-top box and other designs.

With the SMP8674, the product family migrates to Sigma's latest Software Development Kit (SDK) which offers an intuitive new porting layer called SAPI (Simple API) for realizing fast time-to-market porting of Hybrid STB middleware. The new SDK improves developer productivity with a range of reference implementations of OTT applications like Netflix and VUDU along with proprietary application frameworks for developing Webkit-HTML5 applications or Adobe Air applications.

SMP8674 will be available mid-July. More information on the SMP8674 can be found here http://www.sigmadesigns.com.

About Sigma Designs, Inc.Sigma Designs, Inc. (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, connected media players, residential gateways, home control systems and more. For more information about Sigma Designs, please visit http://www.sigmadesigns.com.

Sigma Designs, Secure Media Processor, and the Sigma Designs logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sigma Designs, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are believed to be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements about the anticipated features and benefits of Sigma's products and solutions and expected availability date of these products. Actual results may vary materially due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, general economic conditions, including the rate of adoption for set-top boxes in general, or any of the component technologies including media processors, our HomePlug AV with ClearPath and our Z-Wave technology. Sigma's ability to deploy and achieve market acceptance for Sigma's products in its target markets, the ability of its SoCs to compete with other technologies or products in these markets as well as other risks that are detailed from time to time in Sigma's SEC reports, including our annual report on Form 10-K as filed March 29, 2012. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Sigma undertakes no obligation to publically release or otherwise disclose the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made as a result of events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Sigma Designs Launches a Feature-Rich SoC for Mainstream Media Players

TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwire -06/04/12)- Sigma Designs (SIGM), a leading provider of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for home entertainment, connectivity and control, today announced the introduction of its SMP8672 media processor, a new platform delivering advanced features and lower power for connected media players, IPTV and hybrid Set-Top Boxes (STBs). With a smaller footprint and low power requirements, the SMP8672 delivers critical features for today's mainstream systems including 3D video and graphics processing, customizable user interfaces and high-performance Over-the-Top (OTT) content streaming.

"The SMP8672 provides the level of performance that OEMs need for building today's 3D-enabled media devices and IPTV hybrid systems. Featuring a high performance CPU, deep L2 cache, and powerful 3D accelerator, the SMP8672 significantly boosts HTML5 and JavaScript benchmarks that reflect the expected user experience with a growing list of OTT applications," said Waheed Rasheed, Sigma Designs' vice president of product marketing. "Furthermore, with its small footprint and low power profile, the SMP8672 can be designed into the most aggressively sized packages while still delivering full performance."

The SMP8672 product series also migrates to Sigma's latest Software Development Kit (SDK) which offers an intuitive new porting layer called SAPI (Simple API) for realizing fast time-to-market porting of Hybrid STB middleware. The new SDK improves developer productivity with a range of reference implementations for OTT applications like Netflix and VUDU along with proprietary application frameworks for developing Webkit-HTML5 applications or Adobe Air applications. The SMP8672 also fully supports the XBMC middleware, which is available royalty free as a turnkey release. The XBMC middleware along with additional OTT plug-ins can enable a custom high-end media jukebox experience. In addition, there is full support for the OpenGL-ES 2.0 to enable new 3D user interface capabilities as well as future applications with WebGL.

SMP8672 will be available mid-July. More information about the SMP8672 can be found here http://www.sigmadesigns.com.

Tags/Keywords: Sigma Designs, SIGM, SMP, SMP867X, OTT, Media Processor, Home Theatre, IPTV, hybrid STB

About Sigma Designs, Inc.Sigma Designs, Inc. (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, connected media players, residential gateways, home control systems and more. For more information about Sigma Designs, please visit http://www.sigmadesigns.com.

Sigma Designs, Secure Media Processor and the Sigma Designs logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sigma Designs, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are believed to be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements about the anticipated features and benefits of Sigma's products and solutions and expected availability date of these products. Actual results may vary materially due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, general economic conditions, including the rate of adoption for set-top boxes in general, or any of the component technologies including media processors, our HomePlug AV with ClearPath and our Z-Wave technology. Sigma's ability to deploy and achieve market acceptance for Sigma's products in its target markets, the ability of its SoCs to compete with other technologies or products in these markets as well as other risks that are detailed from time to time in Sigma's SEC reports, including our annual report on Form 10-K as filed March 29, 2012. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Sigma undertakes no obligation to publically release or otherwise disclose the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made as a result of events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Sigma Launches Powerful New Media Processor for Intelligent Media Devices

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google is buying Silicon Valley startup Meebo to help expand its social networking service.

The acquisition announced Monday will bring more tools to Google Plus, an alternative to Facebook Inc.'s popular online hangout. Meebo started as a system for connecting people by instant message but has since built other communication features used by an audience of about 100 million Web people in the U.S.

Both companies are based in Mountain View, Calif. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the Web, just as they do in real life," Google said in a statement. "With the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google Plus team."

Since its debut nearly a year ago, Google Plus has attracted more than 170 million users. Despite that impressive growth, Google so far has had trouble persuading people to visit its social networking website as regularly as Facebook's more than 900 million users frequent its website.

Meebo works with publishers and advertisers to help them connect with Web surfers for longer periods.

"Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike," Meebo wrote in a Monday blog post.

Meebo has raised $70 million in venture capital since it was founded in 2005 by Seth Sternberg, Elaine Wherry and Sandy Jen. Sternberg, who formerly helped IBM Corp. identify acquisition targets, served as Meebo's CEO.

Google Inc. has spent more than $16 billion buying 140 companies since the end of 2009. That includes the biggest deal in Google's 14-year history, a just-completed $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings.

Google shares fell 59 cents after hours to $578. They ended regular trading up $7.61 at $578.59 before the deal was announced.

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Google buys Meebo to help social networking push

By LISA LEFF Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court in San Francisco plans to announce Tuesday if it will rehear a legal challenge to California's same-sex marriage ban or send the landmark case on to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday it was ready to reveal whether a majority of its actively serving judges has agreed or refused to reconsider a February ruling by two of its member judges declaring the ban unconstitutional.

The decision is important because it affects how much longer the issue, which is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court no matter what the 9th Circuit does, will take to resolve.

Same-sex marriages briefly were legal in California before voters approved Proposition 8 in November 2008, which barred gay and lesbian couples from marrying.

Two unmarried couples sued to overturn the ban in May 2009, and their lawsuit gave rise the next year to the first federal trial to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ultimately sided with the couples.

After the ban's sponsors appealed, a 9th Circuit panel by 2-1 affirmed Walker's finding that Proposition 8 violated the civil rights of gay and lesbian Californians. But, instead of finding any gay marriage ban would be unconstitutional, the panel limited its decision to California, saying Proposition 8 improperly took away an existing right.

The ban's backers asked the full 9th Circuit to review the decision instead of appealing directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the full appeals court decides to rehear the case, it will go before the chief judge and 10 randomly selected judges, delaying a final resolution from the Supreme Court.

The 9th Circuit does not agree to such banc reviews very often. The practice is reserved for "a question of exceptional importance" or when the original panel's decision appears to conflict with Supreme Court or 9th Circuit precedents.

Several other high-profile same-sex cases also are making their way toward the high court. A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared last week that the federal law that prohibits recognition of same-sex couples unconstitutionally denies Social Security and other federal spousal benefits to married gay couples.

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Next word in Calif. gay marriage case due Tuesday

Compromise has always been a holy word for the Washington establishment. But against the backdrop of ever-increasing anxiety over our fiscal dysfunction, most particularly the next budget showdown, the word has taken on a tone of anger, desperation and even panic.

By Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images

Not eye-to-eye: House Republican leader John Boehner and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

By Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images

Not eye-to-eye: House Republican leader John Boehner and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

Columns

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes a variety of opinions from outside writers. On political and policy matters, we publish opinions from across the political spectrum.

Roughly half of our columns come from our Board of Contributors, a group whose interests range from education to religion to sports to the economy. Their charge is to chronicle American culture by telling the stories, large and small, that collectively make us what we are.

We also publish weekly columns by Al Neuharth, USA TODAY's founder, and DeWayne Wickham, who writes primarily on matters of race but on other subjects as well. That leaves plenty of room for other views from across the nation by well-known and lesser-known names alike.

But in all its usages these days, "compromise" remains a word for bludgeoning Republicans. "Congress isn't just stalemated, it's broken, experts say," proclaims the typical headline, this one in TheMiami Herald. And the experts say it's all the Republicans' fault.

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Column: 'Compromise' is not a dirty word