Microsoft Partners With SGS-THOMSON To Deliver Hardware DVD support to ActiveMovie 2.0 Consumers to Benefit From Low-Cost Products

REDMOND, Wash. - Dec XX, 1996 - Microsoft and SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics today announced a strategic partnership to add hardware Digital Video Disk (DVD) support to the ActiveMovie Platform. This joint effort will develop a standard platform for DVD that optimizes cost, functionality and performance for the PC user.

The SGS THOMSON reference design will take advantage of leading edge technologies from both companies including Microsoft's ActiveMovie 2.0, for playback of MPEG 2 video and high-quality audio, and a highly integrated single-chip DVD decoder engine from SGS-THOMSON. The result will drive cost-effective hardware acceleration solutions for playback of DVD-based media.

"Microsoft continues to accelerate the multimedia market by providing a powerful ActiveMovie platform for emerging DVD technology," said Brad Chase, vice president of Microsoft's Internet Platforms and Tools Division. "Our partnership with SGS-THOMSON will result in advanced DVD development and unprecedented value for the end user."

Andrea Cuomo, VP of Strategic Marketing and Key Customers, of SGS-THOMSON, states "Our goal is to lower the barriers to entry for emerging multimedia technologies. This collaboration, between multimedia hardware and software leaders, will deliver a package that will kick-start DVD on the PC. It is another example of convergence between PC and consumer electronics to create digital entertainment, which allows SGS-THOMSON to capitalize on it's traditional strengths."

Home Computers using ActiveMovie 2.0 with hardware acceleration from SGS THOMSON will allow for playback of linear DVD streams and interactive MPEG2 based games and titles without impacting the general performance or operation of the PC or the network.

"ActiveMovie is the ideal platform for exposing digital video hardware to multimedia applications for playback," said Yash Singh, Marketing Mgr.PC Multimedia at SGS-Thomson. "By providing significant performance and feature gains, we will enable content developers to make increasingly interactive titles for the consumer."

A key advance in this ActiveMovie based solution is the ability to allow users to view digital satellite TV transmissions on the PC. The SGS THOMSON chip is the first and only MPEG 2 decoder chip available today that is fully compliant to the Digital Satellite Transmission industry. This advancement will spawn new applications using broad band satellite transmissions including access to multimedia services and web content.

The hardware reference platform will be available early next year, enabling manufacturers to offer high-performance, feature-rich products to end users during the second half of 1997.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics is a global independent semiconductor company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Bourse de Paris. It designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of microelectronic applications, including telecommunication systems, computer systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and control systems.

For further information, please contact:

Simon Loe
SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics
Tel.+33 4 50402558

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