Sigma Designs®, Inc. announced today that it will add Linux support to its new REALmagic® NetStream 2000 card and EM8400 progressive MPEG-2/DVD decoder chip. Sigma will demonstrate Linux DVD playback at InfoValue Computing’s Booth 274-276 during the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo this week at New York’s Jacob Javits Center.

Additionally, Sigma and Eagle Wireless International have announced that Eagle has selected Sigma’s EM8400 chip for its Webflyer Linux-based Convergence Set-Top Box products. The Eagle Wireless CSTB(TM) featuring REALmagic decoder silicon on the motherboard for DVD and streaming MPEG-2 playback is designed for residential deployment by broadband ISPs. Eagle chose Sigma’s REALmagic decoder silicon to help ensure that the Webflyer Linux set-top box meets customers’ video quality requirements.

Sigma’s NetStream 2000 card, which includes the EM8400 chip, is the first MPEG-2/DVD playback product to support the Linux operating system. NetStream 2000 is specifically designed for flawless-quality MPEG-2 and progressive DVD digital video playback on VGA monitors and TV screens. It is an affordable, plug-and-play solution for client playback of streaming video across Ethernet and
ATM networks. NetStream 2000 also features a powerful software toolkit that supports high-performance, interactive digital video applications such as kiosks, video walls, ATM machines, and corporate training.

Sigma’s EM8400 is a highly integrated decoder for DVD and MPEG-2 video. Its feature set ensures that it can be incorporated into a wide variety of set-top digital video appliances at a lower cost than competitive parts. Further increasing its popularity is DVD and streaming video software support for a wide range of platforms, including interactive TV software provided by Liberate TV Navigator and
Microsoft TV, as well as drivers for operating systems such as Windows® 95/98/NT4.0/2000 and CE, VxWorks, QNX, and Linux. This enables not only standalone DVD player designs but also integrated designs that support web browsing with video in a window, video over ADSL, digital VCRs, interactive television, and more.