Trident Microsystems Appoints New Chief Technology Officer to Drive Connected Home Strategy

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), a leader in high-performance semiconductor system solutions for the connected home, today announced that Dr. J. Duane Northcutt, a renowned industry veteran in multimedia semiconductor technologies, has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In this new role, Dr. Northcutt is responsible for driving the company's corporate technology strategy consistent with its vision of becoming the preferred supplier in the emerging and high-growth Connected Home market. Trident is currently a top three player in both the TV and set-top box markets and has a strong IP portfolio of more than 2,000 patents.

"By supplementing our leading digital TV technology with the acquisition of certain product lines and IP from NXP and Micronas during the past year, Trident has strategically assembled many of the core technologies needed to make the Connected Home a reality," said Sylvia Summers, CEO of Trident Microsystems. "Duane's extensive experience in defining and executing corporate technology strategies will be critical to achieving our goal of enabling consumers to access entertainment and content anywhere and at anytime throughout the home. I am very pleased to have him join my executive staff."

Added Dr. Northcutt, "As a technologist, I am deeply impressed with the quality and breadth of Trident's technology and expertise, as well as with the potential competitive advantages that this technology can provide. I look forward to building upon and leveraging this technology foundation and helping to define a long-term strategy that will drive Trident to an industry-leading position in the Connected Home market."

Prior to joining Trident, from 2002 to 2010, Dr. Northcutt was with Silicon Image, Inc., where he was responsible for the company's corporate, product, and IP strategies, as well as system architectures.  Prior to this, he was a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems, where he led research projects that produced products such as the Sun Ray, the Java Media APIs and the Sun MediaCenter.  While at Sun, Dr. Northcutt led a research group as a Principal Investigator in Sun Laboratories from its inception in 1990 through 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he was the Chief Technologist for several product groups. During his 12-year tenure at Sun, Mr. Northcutt twice received the President's Award for his technical contributions.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Northcutt was a member of the research faculty at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, where he led the research project responsible for developing the Alpha real-time operating system and multiprocessor testbed.  Dr. Northcutt currently holds over twenty patents, has authored a book on the Alpha real-time distributed operating system, and has written many articles and technical reports for leading journals and conferences.  Dr. Northcutt received both a Master's of Science degree and a Ph.D. degree in computer and electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.

About Trident Microsystems, Inc.

Trident Microsystems, Inc., with headquarters in Santa Clara, California, is a leading force in the digital home entertainment market, delivering an extensive range of innovative multimedia semiconductor solutions for digital televisions and set-top boxes -- at the heart of today's digital home. Trident has been making bold moves to expand its market, deepen and more fully leverage its Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio, and drive the evolution of the "connected home." Its acquisition of NXP Semiconductors' set-top box and television product lines in 2010 establishes Trident as one of the top three semiconductor providers to both the TV and set-top box markets. For further information about Trident and its products, please consult the Company's web site: http://www.tridentmicro.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Trident's vision of becoming the preferred supplier in the emerging and high-growth Connected Home market. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially depending on a number of factors. These risks include, the timing of product introductions, the ability to obtain design wins among major OEMs for Trident's products, and competitive pressures, including pricing and competitors' new product introductions, the impact of the uncertain global macroeconomic environment, the success of Trident in developing and implementing a Connected Home strategy, and the increasingly competitive DTV and STB markets. Additional factors that may affect Trident's business are described in detail in Trident's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission available at http://www.sec.gov. Such forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Trident's views or expectations as of any subsequent date and Trident does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the statement was made.

NOTE: Trident is a trademark of Trident Microsystems, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

SOURCE Trident Microsystems, Inc.