World's Leading DTV IC Vendor MStar Licenses MIPS Processor IP

World's Leading DTV IC Vendor MStar Licenses MIPS Processor IP

MIPS Technologies’ Multi-threaded Cores to Power Next Generation DTV and Set-top Box Designs

INTERNATIONAL CES, Las Vegas - January 5, 2010 - MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIPS), a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer, home networking, wireless, communications and business applications, today announced that the world's leading provider of integrated circuits (ICs) for digital television, MStar Semiconductor, licensed its multi-threaded MIPS32® 34Kf Pro synthesizable processor core for next-generation devices. The 34Kf core includes a floating point unit that provides enhanced performance for graphics-intensive functionality, making it critical for connected DTV and technologies such as Java, JavaScript, Adobe® Flash® Player and Android. MStar is a long-time MIPS® licensee, having previously licensed the MIPS32 M4K® and 4KEc® cores.

In its Q4'09 Quarterly TV Design and Features Report, DisplaySearch, a worldwide leader in display market research, noted that MStar is now the market leader of video processor ICs in unit shipments. The report also noted that flat panel TV market growth this year is dominated by China's migration to LCD from CRT, and that MStar had a leading position in the rapidly-growing Chinese market. DisplaySearch's TV Electronics Analyst Paul Gray commented, "MStar has risen rapidly to lead the TV IC market worldwide. Their focus on cost-effective designs and strong relationships with aggressive TV set makers enabled their success in this highly competitive market."

"To meet next-generation demands for connectivity, high-definition displays, advanced LED backlighting control, high-quality video decoding and other advanced functionality along with green power regulations, we need processors that deliver high performance, power efficiency, and seamless integration with the necessary software stacks," said WK Chia, associate vice president, MStar. "The multi-threaded 34Kf core offers a great balance of high performance, low power and compact area. Together with MIPS' leadership and robust ecosystem in the DTV and set-top box markets, this provides us with the right solution to support next-generation development."

"We are pleased that MStar, the world's leading provider of DTV ICs, is partnering with MIPS for development of future chips," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing for MIPS Technologies. "It is an exciting time in the DTV and set-top box industries as advanced technologies such as Internet connected TV become viable market solutions. As the number one supplier of processor IP for the DTV and set-top box markets, MIPS provides cores and enabling technologies that are optimized for multimedia, connectivity, and the next generation of connected devices."

About MIPS32 34K Cores

The MIPS32 34K core family is a revolutionary implementation of the MIPS® Multi-Threading (MT) Application Specific Extension (ASE) designed to exploit multi-threading in embedded applications. Processing multiple software threads in parallel, 34K cores mask the effect of memory latency to deliver instant 20-40% gains in system performance and cost savings, with a very modest increase in die size.

The 34K core family also meets the real-time requirements of embedded applications by giving users the ability to allocate dedicated processing bandwidth to real-time tasks. Pro Series cores allow SoC designers to write their own instruction set extensions to significantly increase performance, reduce power consumption, implement critical operations and more, leading to highly differentiated and competitive products.

About MStar Semiconductor

MStar Semiconductor, Inc. is a professional IC design house, and is dedicated in providing mixed-mode integrated circuit technologies. By combining semiconductor design expertise and advanced proprietary technologies, MStar delivers a broad line of products: multimedia, wireless communications ICs, general-purpose mixed-mode ICs, and Intellectual Property (IP) development services. Backed by a very experienced mixed-mode R&D team (members have years of experience in mixed-mode design), MStar is able to leverage its know-how in mixed-mode processing to deliver products, which facilitates its diversified range of semiconductor solutions. For more information, visit www.mstarsemi.com.

About MIPS Technologies, Inc.

MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIPS) is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores that power some of the world's most popular products for the home entertainment, communications, networking and portable multimedia markets. These include broadband devices from Linksys, DTVs and digital consumer devices from Sony, DVD recordable devices from Pioneer, digital set-top boxes from Motorola, network routers from Cisco, 32-bit microcontrollers from Microchip Technology and laser printers from Hewlett-Packard. Founded in 1998, MIPS Technologies is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices worldwide. For more information, contact (408) 530-5000 or visit www.mips.com.