Trident Partners With Yahoo! to Deliver the First Connected Cinema TV Into the Home

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), a leading provider of set-top box and TV semiconductor solutions, today announced that it has ported a cinema version of the Yahoo! Connected TV experience onto the Trident DTV platform that will be powering top-brand Cinema TVs scheduled to begin shipping in early 2011. These new Cinema TVs deliver a TV viewing experience previously found only on the big screen in movie theaters. Combined with access to the best of the Web, including more than 50,000 TV shows and movies on demand and thousands of Internet content sources specifically created for the TV, Cinema TVs deliver the ultimate home viewing platform.

Up until now, movies designed for the big screen needed to be altered in order to be displayed on home digital televisions since these TVs use a 16:9 aspect ratio.  With a Cinema TV, which uses a 21:9 aspect ratio, the movie can -- for the first time -- be displayed on the TV exactly as it appears on the movie screen.  This means that all the vivid details, picture quality and realism that consumers go to the movie theatre to experience, can now be achieved at home.   Furthermore, these new TVs also deliver an Internet-connected platform, enabling consumers to view a wide variety of Web content from leading publishers by scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen and clicking a remote control to access TV Apps for streaming video, movies, gaming, weather, sports, news, stock quotes, social networking and much more.

Trident also has plans to incorporate the Yahoo! Connected TV broadcast interactivity feature into its SXL platform. With the broadcast interactivity feature, TV viewers will be able to interact with broadcast programming in new ways, such as voting for a reality TV participant, accessing information about characters, or making ecommerce purchases of merchandise such as clothing, music, and more.

"Trident technology is once again at the forefront of enabling a fully-immersive and connected platform that provides access -- right from your living room -- to TV shows, 3D content, movies, music, games, photos, videos and extensive Internet content," said Christos Lagomichos, president of Trident Microsystems.  "We not only deliver the underlying semiconductor technology for the world's leading TVs and STBs, but we also partner with global leaders such as Yahoo! to build the entire ecosystem around the next generation connected home multimedia system."

"We are extremely pleased to see Yahoo! Connected TV featured on Trident's platform solutions designed to enhance the Connected Home," said Ron Jacoby, vice president of Yahoo! Connected TV. "The availability of our extensive selection of TV Apps on the first Cinema TV will deliver a whole new level of interactivity and television viewing experiences to users across the country."

Trident:  The Underlying Technology

As the only company in the world with leadership positions in both set-top box and TV semiconductor solutions, Trident is driving technologies for the extended, connected home, where any content can be enjoyed on any display, from any device at any time.  From spectacular 2D and 3D picture quality, stereo-sound audio, Internet-ready connectivity platforms, to the most advanced features on your television or set-top box, Trident is the driving force and underlying technology behind these exciting new capabilities.

Yahoo! Connected TV

Yahoo! Connected TV has partnerships with six of the top 10 TV manufacturers worldwide, including Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, LG, VIZIO and HiSense, and the product is available in 135 markets worldwide.

For additional information on Yahoo! Connected TV, including images, please visit: http://connectedtv.yahoo.com/newsroom

About Trident Microsystems, Inc.

Trident Microsystems, Inc., with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, is a leading force in the digital home entertainment market, delivering an extensive range of platform solutions that enhance the consumer experience in the Connected Home.  As one of the top-three semiconductor providers to both the TV and set-top box markets, Trident's solutions can be found in the products of leading OEMs and channel partners worldwide.  The company's extensive IP portfolio of more than 2,000 patents has been driving key innovations in image quality, 3D TV, low power consumption, and 45nm designs. For further information about Trident and its products, please consult the Company's web site: www.tridentmicro.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the integration of Yahoo! Connected TV into Trident's DTV platform. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause Trident's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. These risks include, without limitation, that not all consumers will attain or perceive the movie theatre experience in the home; that Trident's plans may change and it may not integrate the Yahoo! Connected TV feature into its SXL platform; that not all customers will be able to interact with all broadcast content; that the relationship between Trident and Yahoo! may not persist; and that other manufactures may release similar products that may offer similar attributes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release; Trident does not undertake any obligation to publicly revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the statement was made. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause results to differ can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recently filed Reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which are available at http://www.sec.gov.

NOTE: Trident, the Trident logo and SXL are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Trident Microsystems in the United States and /or other countries.  All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE Trident Microsystems, Inc.