SONICblue

SONICblue

(SONICblue Inc., Santa Clara, CA, www.rioaudio.com, www.replaytv.com) A former consumer electronics company that offered a variety of products, including Rio MP3 players, ReplayTV recorders, home networking and modems, professional display adapters and Web appliances.

Founded in 1989 as S3 Corporation by Dado Banatao and Ronald Yara, it was a major player in graphics chips, launching the first GUI accelerator in 1991 and single-chip 3D accelerator in 1995. ViRGE, Savage and Trio3D chips were used in numerous third-party display adapters. In 1999, S3 acquired Diamond Multimedia Systems, a maker of PC display adapters and the Rio MP3 player. It also acquired the assets of Number Nine Visual Technology, which was known for its high-quality display adapters.

In 2000, S3 sold its chip business to Via Technologies and renamed itself SONICblue. In 2003, the company declared bankruptcy, and its Rio and ReplayTV business units were sold to Tokyo-based D&M Holdings, Inc., specialists in home theater, consumer electronics and professional audio. D&M brands include Denon, Marantz and McIntosh Laboratory. For more information, visit www.digitalnetworksna.com.