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Posts with tag sigma designs

Sigma Designs unveils its latest SOC for Blu-ray players

Sigma SMP8644 demo
Although you may not have heard of Sigma Designs, if you own any High-def gear, some it probably uses a Sigma chip for the heavy lifting. At CEATEC this week Sigma was showing off its SMP8644 SOC which promises to make the next generation of Blu-ray players load discs faster and perform better when rendering all that BD-J interactive content. And although it wasn't mentioned, we'd be willing to bet that the new chip can do all of this while at the same being cheaper then its older brothers.

CoAir: world's first UWB chipset with wireless, coax and gigabit Ethernet

Sigma Designs has been dabbling in wireless HD technologies for eons, so we aren't going to get too excited until we see this here system-on-chip (SoC) actually hit some products that we care about. Still, the CoAir is a fairly sweet concept, wrapping integrated wireless, coax and gigabit Ethernet capabilities into one single chip aimed at whole home networking. Put simply (or as simply as possible), this chip is the world's first to "simultaneously deliver multiple independent streams of video and data over coax cable, Ethernet cable and wirelessly without compromising quality of service and throughput." Based on the WiMedia standard, it can reach speeds of up to 480Mbps with UWB (ultra-wideband) wireless streaming, and room-to-room linkage via UWB-over-coax can peg those same rates. What we have here is a great basis for building a whole home server on, but until said device emerges and performs flawlessly, we'll just smile and carry on.

Macnica demonstrates UWB-over-coax HD transmissions


Not that Macnica is the first to offer up a method for transmitting HD / HDMI over coaxial cabling, but it has taken the time in Tokyo to showcase a new system that relies on a Sigma Designs UWB transmission chipset (dubbed Windeo). The display saw high-definition content passed 100 meters over coaxial cable without noticeable degradation, and booth attendees at ESEC 2008 stated that the effective throughput was close to 120Mbps. We're still quite aways from this stuff being commonplace in the home, but with Pulse~LINK and Tzero battling it out in the courtroom over patent issues, we suppose someone has to pick up the slack.

Chip makers rise and fall with format war conclusion


Though the clear winner and loser in the format war was Sony and Toshiba, respectively, quite a few behind the scenes supporters are now facing similar celebrations / dilemmas in dealing with the fallout. A new report takes an in-depth look at how chip makers are faring, and while not surprising, we are told that both NEC and Broadcom are reeling after HD DVD went under, and will have to "absorb software R&D costs that can't be recouped." On the flip side, parties such as Sigma Designs and IBM have their lucky stars to thank, as the former even attempted to ally with Toshiba but were spurned in favor of Broadcom. Interestingly, the article also notes that many fencesitters are now looking to jump in, which could hopefully lead to increased competition and lower overall prices for those anxious to snap up a Blu-ray player in short order.

[Thanks, Daniel H.]

Sigma Designs acquires Gennum's VXP image processing business

It was pretty much a done deal already, but now the final bit of paperwork has apparently been pushed. Sigma Designs has finally completed its acquisition of Gennum's VXP image processing business, which will enable it to "acquire assets of the VXP group including, but not limited to, products and intellectual property." As part of the deal, some 46 employees will be joining Sigma Designs -- oh, and Sigma's pocket book will be getting $18 million lighter, too.

[Via Widescreen Review]

Fujitsu, Sigma Designs collaborate on Wireless HDAV

Yeah, we've certainly seen Sigma Designs pick up partners for WiMedia-based UWB HD streaming before, but this go 'round it's managed to solicit the help of Fujitsu. Apparently, the duo is planning to showcase its wireless HDAV technology at CES, which was designed to transport HD content over ultra-wideband and rely on Fujitsu's H.264-compliant codec. The setup can purportedly transmit signals at distances of up to ten meters, and will combine Fujitsu's MB86H51 codec with Sigma Designs' SMP8634 Secure Media Processor decoder and UWB Windeo chipset. Granted, we've witnessed similar songs / dances before, but here's to hoping one of these wireless concoctions actually takes off in 2008.

Taiyo Yuden and Sigma Designs showcase WiMedia-based UWB HD streaming

If you're looking to pick up any UWB device to stream high definition video / audio around your crib anytime soon, chances are it might have a little Taiyo Yuden and Sigma Designs beneath the shell. The two firms are showcasing a WiMedia Alliance-based UWB wireless HD streaming solution here at CES, which highlights "Taiyo Yuden's antenna array on its mini-PCI reference design module with Sigma Designs' Windeo chipset." The unique three-antenna array offered on Yuden's solution supposedly offers up extended range possibilities, and fully supports Sigma's "Intelligent Array Radio" technology. Unfortunately there's no word on any end product uses just yet, nor any expected dates for this newfangled system to hit the mainstream, but with the ginormous pressures being felt around here to get wireless HD streaming out to consumer, we're sure it's pretty high up there on each company's priority list.




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