Press Releases

ACCESS’ NetFront™ Living Connect Middleware for DLNA-Friendly Equipment Supports Sigma Designs’ SMP8634 Secure Media Processor Chipset

Faster Development of DLNA-Friendly, Advanced-Function Consumer Electronics and Cheaper Development Costs

TOKYO, Japan – June 22, 2006 — ACCESS CO., LTD. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813), a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, and Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGM), a leader in digital media processors for consumer appliances, announced that ACCESS’ NetFront^™ Living Connect middleware for DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) -friendly equipment supports Sigma Designs’ SMP8634 secure media processor chipset.

ACCESS’ NetFront Living Connect is a middleware product for ACCESS’ DLNA equipment. With a specialized design exclusively for embedded equipment, NetFront Living Connect can be mounted even in environments with limited memory resources. Its high portability, which allows it to function with any OS or CPU, means it can be smoothly embedded into a wide range of equipment. Sigma Designs’ SMP8634 media processor is a chipset for advanced-function IPTV set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, network DVD players and HDTV. Its Codec is compatible with high-definition MPEG-4 (H.264), WMV9/VC-1, MPEG-4, and MPEG-2 decoding. In the digital rights management (DRM) area, it supports DTCP-IP and Windows DRM. In the future, ACCESS plans to commercialize a NetFront Living Connect software development kit (SDK) to support faster development times and lower development costs for makers of equipment using Sigma Designs’ SMP8634 secure media processor.

“We are confident that the strategic collaboration with ACCESS, which has a fine record in incorporating software into consumer electronics devices, will support the development of network devices for use in the home and provide users with experience in advanced-function networks,” said Ken Lowe, vice president of strategic marketing, Sigma Designs.

“We are positive that this partnership will contribute to the popularization of consumer electronics networks, whose functions are becoming increasingly advanced,” said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO of ACCESS. “We will continue to provide high-performance solutions for the advancement of next-generation home network society and strongly support the shortening of development periods and reduction of development costs for equipment makers all over the world.”

A reference board incorporating NetFront Living Connect will be demonstrated at the ACCESS booth at the ESEC (Embedded Systems Expo & Conference) to be held in Tokyo from June 28 -30.

About ACCESS
ACCESS is a global provider of Internet technologies to the mobile and beyond-PC markets. Its NetFront browser, widely recognized as one of the most advanced Internet browsers in the world, is a cornerstone to the company’s vision of enabling Internet access anywhere and on any device. NetFront technologies are delivering full Internet browsing and related services to next-generation mobile devices and consumer electronics ranging from digital TV to automobile telematics. For more information: www.access.co.jp or www.access.co.jp/english.

ACCESS and NetFront are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACCESS CO., LTD. in Japan and other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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ACCESS CO., LTD.
Kyoko Obara +81 (3) 5259-3685
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Maureen O’Connell +1 (408) 400-1543
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Delia Liu +86 (10) 6566-9636
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