Breakthrough in Wireless Home Entertainment Network Unveiled by STMicroelectronics, Universal Electronics Inc., and Airgo Networks
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New Reference Design Delivers Powerful Digital Media Control and Wireless Connectivity
BERLIN, Sept. 6-- IFA Conference -- STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) (NASDAQ:UEIC), and Airgo Networks today announced a demonstration of the SimpleWare® Home reference design at the IFA Conference in Berlin, Germany. Featuring STMicroelectronics STi710X technology platform, UEI's SimpleWare software, and Airgo Networks' True MIMO® Media technology the new SimpleWare Home reference design platform allows consumers to organize and play all their personal multimedia content, such as DVDs, CDs, digital audio, digital photos, and digital video at their home entertainment system using only a remote control and provides wireless connectivity with other connected home entertainment devices. Content can be completely centralized and moved freely around the home.
All appropriately enabled devices in a home network can connect to a component powered by the SimpleWare Home technology in order to watch home movies in a bedroom, play music in the kitchen, or display photos in the study. The solution features Airgo Networks' True MIMO Media technology to enable streaming of even the richest HDTV content wirelessly to any compatible device anywhere in the home network.
"More and more consumers are downloading videos to their PCs or MP3 files to their cellphones, but most have no way of playing this content on their TV or stereo because they can't easily move multi-media content from one device to another," said Christos Lagomichos, corporate vice president and home entertainment group general manager of STMicroelectronics. "Now, for the first time, by exploiting the powerful capabilities of ST's STi710X platform, UEI's open and flexible software approach and Airgo Networks' high-performance wireless technology, consumer and automotive electronics OEMs will be able to deliver products that allow consumers to tie all of their home entertainment devices into one virtual network and port content to wherever it is they want to play it."
Designed for demanding set-top box (STB) and DVD applications, the STi710X family of devices is produced in ST's state-of-the-art CMOS process technology, offers the world's first single-chip H.264/AVC and VC-1 decoders and is recognized to be the industry leading fully integrated advanced A/V decode platform.
"The SimpleWare Home reference design based on the STi710X technology highlights the capabilities of our software solution," said Paul Arling, CEO of Universal Electronics. "The combination of STMicroelectronics' powerful multi-media processing and Airgo's faster-than-wired wireless performance removes the barriers that previously hampered multi-media home networking and allows the vision of converged home entertainment to become a reality."
The SimpleWare Home reference design will allow CE manufacturers to offer an all-in-one solution that appeals to the widest range of consumers. The system consolidates the number of components needed in the home entertainment center to enjoy music, pictures, and movies in addition to consumer's personal CD, DVD, digital home movie and digital camera photo collections, all without a PC.
"Airgo's faster-than-wired True MIMO chip removes the need for costly and hard-to-provision wires between home entertainment devices and makes a wide variety of home networking applications finally possible. True MIMO completes the digital home vision by providing reliable, high-performance connectivity between devices so that multi-media content can be moved freely around the home," said Beau Beck, vice president of business development for Airgo Networks. "This new platform from STMicroelectronics and Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) delivers some of the most powerful features yet seen and we are proud that Airgo was able to help bring about this important step in networked home entertainment."
Airgo's True MIMO chipset provides faster-than-wired speeds at range and the reliability necessary to enable content, such as media-rich Internet, large files, video, IPTV, music, photos and games, to be distributed across a wireless network. Offering faster connection speeds than 10/100 Ethernet, it eliminates the need for unsightly and inflexible wired connections between devices in the home, such as routers, laptops, PCs, set-top boxes, consoles and TVs.
About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2005, the Company's net revenues were $8.88 billion and net earnings were $266 million. Further information on ST can be found at http://www.st.com/.
About Universal Electronics Inc.
Universal Electronics Inc., based in Southern California, develops firmware and turnkey solutions as well as software designed to enable consumers to wirelessly connect, control and interact with an increasingly complex home environment. The company's primary markets include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in consumer electronics and personal computing, as well as multiple system operators in the cable and satellite subscription broadcasting markets. Over the past 16 years, the company has developed a broad portfolio of patented technologies and the industry's leading database of home connectivity software that it licenses to its customers, including many leading Fortune 500 companies. In addition, UEI sells its universal wireless control products and other audio/visual accessories through its European headquarters in the Netherlands, and to distributors and retailers in Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa and Australia/New Zealand under the One For All® brand name. More information about UEI can be obtained at http://www.uei.com/.
About Airgo Networks, Inc.
The founders of Airgo Networks have pioneered a wireless communication technique known as Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). A breakthrough in wireless, MIMO OFDM has been adopted as the foundation for defining the new IEEE 802.11n standard for next generation Wi-Fi®. Airgo is first-to-market with 802.11a/b/g-compliant MIMO enhanced chipset, software and reference design solutions. Now in its third generation, Airgo's True MIMO® technology has surpassed the speed of wireline connections, enabling the most bandwidth-intensive applications and eliminating the need for wires at home, at work, and in public places. Founded in January 2001, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA.
Source: STMicroelectronics; Universal Electronics Inc.; Airgo Networks
CONTACT:
Airgo Press/Analyst Inquiries:
Louise Tipton of LEWIS PR
Tel: 415-992-4400
Email: airgo@lewispr.com
Joe Volat
Airgo Networks
Tel: 650-475-1983
Email: joevolat@airgonetworks.com
Stephanie Trussell
Blanc & Otus for UEI
Tel: 415-856-5162
Email: strussell@blancandotus.com
Michael Markowitz
STMicroelectronics
Tel: 212-821-8959
Email: michael.markowitz@st.com
Web site: http://www.st.com/
http://www.uei.com/
