Sigma Designs and Telechips to co-develop UHD IP-STB SoCs

Sigma and Telechips Collaborate on Next Generation Set-Top Box Chips

FREMONT, CA and SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Sigma Designs,® (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of Smart TV platforms and IoT devices along with Telechips (KOSDAQ: 054450), a leading provider of Low Power STB and Automotive Infotainment platform, announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to jointly develop and market advanced SoC solutions for the new generation of ultra-high-definition IP streaming set-top boxes. Based on the companies’ combined strengths, the new chipset family will feature 4KTV processing with full HDR support, strong CPU and GPU performance, ultra-low operating power, and highly competitive pricing. As a byproduct of the joint development, both companies are proud to announce the first generation product family, the SMP8980 series, with the following features:

• High performance apps processing with quad ARM A53 CPU plus Mali GPU
• UHD video processing with universal HDR capable of supporting all major formats including HDR-10, HLG, Dolby Vision, and others
• Various middleware environments under Linux and Android
• Ultra-low power operation of under 2 Watts for video streaming
• Value-priced for high volume UHD set-top boxes featuring IPTV or OTT

IP streaming devices are now delivered in “HDMI stick” form-factors, necessitating very low power operation. Combining traditional and new small form factor devices, there is a large and growing market for all forms of IP streaming boxes and the highly integrated SoCs that power them.

Telechips and Sigma see this developing market as an opportunity to combine their mutual strengths into a single product family offering an industry leading combination of performance, power, and value. Sigma, a long-time leader in the IPTV set-top box SoC market, is providing foundational technology in 4KTV video processing with full HDR support, carrier-class IP streaming with fault resiliency, and Linux middleware porting. Telechips is providing state-of-the-art SoC implementation with ultra-low power and low cost, and complete Android porting.

“This collaboration provides several advantages that will benefit all parties such as market expansion and technology enhancement etc.,” said JK Lee, president & CEO of Telechips. “Our customers will gain access to state-of-the-art SoC solutions based on our combined strengths while Telechips and Sigma will be able to split the R&D costs of participating in this highly competitive market.”

“Telechips has an impressive low power silicon development process,” said Thinh Tran, president & CEO of Sigma Designs. “This enables Sigma to focus our engineering efforts on specific value-added IP, based on technology and expertise that we have developed in our 15 years of participating in this market. Furthermore, the products will be jointly marketed by both companies in their regions of strength, increasing our account coverage.”

The SMP89XX family will be demonstrated at both IFA and IBC trade shows in the coming weeks. Data sheets and SDKs are available immediately and sample chips will be available within 30 days.