Micronas licenses Silicon Images's production-proven HDMI™ and DVI™ IP for TV ICs (0506)

Top-notch HDMI and DVI technology for Micronas consumer ICs will offer system-integrators proven capability, interoperability and full compliance at a faster time-to-market.

CeBIT, Hanover, Germany, March 10, 2005 - Micronas (SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN, Frankfurt: MNSN, Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX), a leading supplier of innovative, cutting-edge application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics, today announced that it has licensed the High-Definition Multimedia Interface™ (HDMI™) and Digital Visual Interface (DVI) receiver intellectual property (IP) for integration in their consumer ICs from Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIMG), a leader in multi-gigabit semiconductor solutions for the secure transmission and storage of rich digital media.

"Micronas has a strong presence in the consumer IC market, and we are pleased to be licensing our HDMI and DVI IP to such a respected industry leader," noted Eric Almgren, Silicon Image Vice President of Business Development and IP licensing. "Micronas' selection of Silicon Image HDMI IP is a strong endorsement for both HDMI technology in general and Silicon Image's production-proven PanelLink® implementation, which is by far the most widely adopted HDMI technology worldwide. We have more experience developing, manufacturing and testing HDMI than any other company."

Micronas video ICs provide HDTV functionality to high-end and mainstream TV sets, and are continually enhanced in their capabilities so as to supplement the ultimate video experience with the feeling of being bathed in sound. Being a pioneer in image enhancement technologies, Micronas only recently set a new industry benchmark by introducing its latest truD® technology. truD® is the latest generation of frame rate converter with vector-based motion estimation and compensation. It brings the viewing experience to a whole new level of realism and clarity and puts Micronas far ahead in picture quality for new generations of TV sets.

Whatever the part of the world, Micronas is a reliable partner for HDTV television manufacturers, with an attractive portfolio of scalable system solutions, an impressive line-up of innovative IC families, and a worldwide marketing and customer support infrastructure that is located right next-door to the key CE industry players. Micronas has the know-how and the technologies to support these latest generations of high definition displays like next-generation LCDs and plasma panels, thanks to its longstanding business relations with the key players.

"Silicon Image is the leading provider of HDMI and DVI ICs, and their technology is widely recognized as the industry standard," said Dr. Peter Weigand, Vice President Business Development at Micronas. "By selecting Silicon Image's market-leading connectivity technology for our TV ICs, we can offer our customers proven HDMI and DVI capability on a quicker timetable, with the confidence that our ICs will be fully compliant with the specifications, and that they will interoperate with other HDMI and DVI products on the market. In addition, Silicon Image backs their IP with a high-level of dedicated support that was instrumental in allowing us to integrate their high-speed cores into our advanced TV ICs."

Silicon Image developed the world's first DVI and HDMI chips and is the leading provider of HDMI semiconductors. The company has shipped more than 80 million PanelLink HDMI and DVI ICs. Silicon Image is also the primary author of the HDMI Compliance Test Specification and operates one of the world's two HDMI Authorized Testing Centers, as well as the industry's only DVI Compliance Test Center™.

Silicon Image offers HDMI transmitter and receiver core IP, including the digital logic and analog PHY. Silicon Image's HDMI cores are compliant with the HDMI 1.1 specification and have undergone extensive verification testing. Silicon Image's HDMI technology includes High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), supported by Hollywood as the technology of choice for the distribution of premium digital content. HDMI receiver core IP is ideal for DTVs and HDTVs, including LCDs, DLPs, plasma TVs and high-end CRTs, as well as projectors and A/V receivers. Silicon Image HDMI receiver core IP provides full support for HDCP decryption and authentication. Silicon Image's DVI cores are DVI-compliant and support the full DVI bandwidth of 25 to 165 MHz.

About Silicon Image
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Silicon Image, Inc. designs, develops and markets multi-gigabit semiconductor and system solutions for a variety of communications applications demanding high-bandwidth capability. With its proprietary Multi-layer Serial Link (MSL™) architecture, Silicon Image is well positioned for leadership in multiple mass markets including PCs, consumer electronics and storage. Currently, Silicon Image leads the global PC/display arena with its innovative digital interconnect technology, and has emerged as a leading player in the consumer electronics and storage markets by offering robust, high-bandwidth semiconductors. For more information on Silicon Image, visit www.siliconimage.com