December 19, 2007 -- Sigma Designs, Inc. today announced that its highly integrated SMP8634 media processor was selected by Sharp Corp. to power its new line of AQUOS Blu-ray disc players and recorders. Sharp’s new products include the BD-AV1 and AV10 Series for the Japanese market and the recently introduced slim-profile AQUOS BD player, model BD-HP20U, the company’s first offering in the U.S. market.
"Sigma’s technology helps us design Blu-ray disc players that deliver breathtaking and vivid pictures with enhanced video and audio quality that closely mimics a true cinematic experience," said Ryohji Ohno, Sharp. "Sigma’s SMP8634 chip also passes the test of our DVD enthusiast customers who demand the highest quality in picture and sound."
Sharp’s new series of AQUOS Blu-ray disc recorders BD-AV1 and AV10 enable recording and playback of digital broadcasts of HDTV programs that capture the same high-resolution image quality of broadcast TV that VCR users are accustomed to experiencing. AQUOS also offers full compatibility with 24 movie frames per second playback, matching the native filming format for most movies as well as HDMI output support of 1080/24p video and Dolby TrueHD, and an i.LINK (IEEE1394) input for connecting to a Sharp AQUOS High-Vision recorder.
About Sigma's SMP8634 media processor
Sigma’s SMP8634 media processor integrates a complete complement of next-generation capabilities for a single-chip system-on-chip (SOC) solution with powerful multimedia processing, robust content security system, and a full complement of peripherals. Its advanced decoder engines support video decoding of H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10), Windows Media Video 9, VC-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (part 2) with multiple streams, up to the equivalent of two high-definition video streams. High-performance graphics acceleration, multi-standard audio decoding, advanced display processing capabilities, and HDMI/HDCP output round out its multimedia core. Content security is ensured through a dedicated secure processor, flash memory, and a range of digital rights management (DRM) engines for high-speed payload decryption. The SMP8634’s 300-MHz host CPU, 3.2 GBps unified memory controller, Ethernet 10/100 controller, dual USB 2.0 controller, and IDE controller provide for a single-chip solution for most set-top boxes and consumer players.
Go to the Sigma Designs, Inc. website to find additional information.
