Sigma Designs' REALmagic Hollywood DVD Shipping in Volume through PC OEMs and Integrators of Multimedia Upgrade Kits

OEMs Using Low-Cost DVD/MPEG-2 Playback Card for Entry into Explosive DVD Market

FREMONT, Calif., (July 31, 1997) -- Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM), a recognized leader in digital video solutions for personal computers, announced today a series of design wins for its award-winning REALmagic Hollywood DVD/MPEG-2 playback card.

The card, which is currently shipping in high volume, brings users state-of-the-art DVD digital video and digital surround-sound. OEMs and kit manufacturers using the card include Royal Computer, Zenon Computer Systems, Polywell Computers, Inc., Utobia Corporation, Max Group Corporation, Billionton Corporation, and Haitai I&C Co., Ltd.

"Young, aggressive integrators are taking advantage of the exploding DVD market to jump ahead of larger, more familiar OEMs," said Prem Talreja, Sigma Designs' Vice President of Marketing. "Sigma is exceptionally well positioned, with a completely proven and supported product for these manufacturers. Their selection of our products is an endorsement of Sigma's technology, quality, and market presence."

The editors of The Computer Paper recently awarded the Sigma REALmagic Hollywood DVD/MPEG-2 playback card the Editor's Choice Award as the best digital video player at COMDEX Canada '97. The editors described the card as "truly superior," and "coming through (literally) with flying colors."

"The exciting potential of the DVD market has attracted numerous OEM suppliers. It speaks well of Sigma Designs' technology that it has netted these early design wins," stated Andy Fischer, Senior Analyst with Jon Peddie Associates of Tiburon, Calif.

"Sigma is an established leader in the MPEG marketplace and is well known for shipping high-quality, well-supported products," said Howard Chan, President of Royal Computer. "After looking at all our options, we found that Sigma's technology offered quality and performance superior to other solutions being offered."

Available through Sigma's OEM customers, the Hollywood DVD playback card turns a PC into a full-featured DVD player that fully exploits all of the spectacular digital video and digital surround sound capabilities of the DVD format and upcoming MPEG-2 interactive titles. The REALmagic Hollywood DVD/MPEG-2 playback card displays flicker-free video at full-screen resolution, making video watching on a PC truly a new and rich experience.

Sigma's solution works with any standard 133 MHz system without requiring a specialized graphic adapter and fully complies with DVD specifications. This makes it the ideal choice for PC manufacturers and DVD upgrade kit providers.

The REALmagic DVD card includes device drivers and Sigma Designs' DVD Station, an easy to use program for DVD navigation and control. With DVD Station, PC users can take full advantage of every interactive DVD feature, using simple VCR-like controls to choose sound track and subtitle language, select viewing aspect ratios, and change viewing angles. The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. Users can also interact with DVD Station menus to exercise parental control and execute search commands.

The following computer systems are currently shipping with the Hollywood DVD/MPEG-2 playback card: Synergy PRO and Synergy EV by Royal Computer, the Poly 500 DV Series by Polywell Computers, and the DVD Media Playstation and DVD Dream Media Plus by Zenon Computer Systems. The Hollywood card is also being bundled in multimedia upgrade kits by Haitai of Korea, Max Group, and Billionton, and in the Hollywood DVD/MPEG-2 Upgrade Kit by Utobia.

For more information on these products, please contact Royal Computer (800/486-0008), Zenon Computer Systems (800/899-6119), Polywell Computers (415/583-7222), Utobia (888/488-6242), Max Group (800/256-9040), or Billionton Corporation (909/468-5500).

Sigma Designs, headquartered in Fremont, California, is an acknowledged leader in the fast-growing multimedia market. Sigma entered the multimedia market in 1993 with products based on the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard for compressing and decompressing digital audio and video signals. Sigma is a driving force in advancement of the MPEG technology used in most multimedia PCs on the market today. Sigma Designs' products, marketed under the REALmagic trade name, include high-performance, low-cost graphics, MPEG-1, and DVD/MPEG-2 decoding hardware. Sigma products are sold to PC OEMs and card makers worldwide.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties, including the timely introduction and market acceptance of Sigma's video conferencing and other related products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and other risk factors detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 1997 and on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 1997.