SGS-THOMSON announces shipment of three millionth MPEG decoder IC, increase in production and support for Windows95TM

18 September, 1995 -- SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics announced that it delivered its three millionth MPEG decoder integrated circuit (IC) at the end of July, and will increase its production of these essential components for the multimedia revolution.

These ICs can be found in high performance multimedia Personal Computers plus a new generation of consumer products that bring hundreds of channels of digital TV to people throughout the US and will make it possible to squeeze a full length feature film onto a 12cm (5-inch) compact disk.

To meet the surge in demand for these parts the company is increasing production by starting to manufacture these devices at its new 200mm wafer facility in Phoenix Arizona, which is also producing the STx86 and other VLSI products. These MPEG decoder ICs will also continue to be manufactured at SGS-THOMSON's existing 200mm wafer plant in Crolles, near Grenoble, France. This will provide a significant increase in the production of MPEG decoder ICs.

"Our long standing leadership in this business is due partly to our early start in the market", explained Guy Lauvergeon, director of SGS-THOMSON's Image Processing Business Unit. "While many companies are now announcing MPEG decoder parts that will only go into volume production next year, we have already shipped millions of parts and acquired an unrivaled experience in large volume, low cost production of these crucial components," he said.

Many of SGS-THOMSON's MPEG decoder ICs are used in the RCA brand set top box made by Thomson Multimedia for the Hughes DirecTVTM digital satellite TV service. MPEG technology is used in this application to allow more TV channels to be squeezed into the same bandwidth, greatly increasing viewer choice and making concepts such as near video on demand feasible. Launched last year, it has proved to be one of the most successful introductions of a new consumer electronics product, with sales in the first year outstripping those of CD players and video recorders during their first year after introduction.

SGS-THOMSON MPEG decoder chips are also used in a new generation of compact disk products that employ MPEG compression technology to store video signals on a standard 12cm compact disk. These products include video CD players, karaoke machines, advanced video games and interactive CD video.

Other MPEG decoders are used in hardware accelerator cards for multimedia PCs, bringing full motion, full screen video playback. To support this market the company now offers a Windows95TM compatible software driver, building on a long experience in supplying drivers for previous Windows operating systems.

One of the devices involved in the production ramp up is the STI3520A MPEG2 Audio and Video Decoder, a product chosen as the core of several new set top boxes which will be compatible with the emerging DVB standard for digital television and DirecTV.

DirecTV is a trademark of Hughes Communications Windows95 is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.

Notes to editors

SGS-THOMSON pioneered the technology used in these applications starting in the late 1980s and was the first company to introduce landmark products such as the first Discrete Cosine Transform processor IC, the first motion estimation processor IC and the first combined MPEG-2 audio/video decoder. To date the company has sold more MPEG decoder ICs than any other company in the world.

Another factor contributing to the success of SGS-THOMSON in this field is that the company bases MPEG decoder ICs on a basic core technology that applies a "hardwired" approach, rather than a programmed solution. Though more difficult at first, this approach ensures that large volumes can be produced at "consumer" prices. Moreover, it makes the design of MPEG applications easier because the equipment manufacturer does not have to develop complex software. Hardwired solutions also reduce power consumption -- a critical performance factor for laptop computers.

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