Excerpt from the BARRON'S article:
Compare/Contrast of chip companies:
Companies that make semiconductors are also excited about DVDs because they
require all manner of new microchips. Texas Instruments, LSI Logic and
C-Cube Microsystems are all working on producing one or two unique chips that
would replace the eight separate ones now in a DVD player. And SGS-Thomson
is the leading maker of decoders for data-compression technology used to pack
more onto each disc.
Beaten down by a slumping market for its chips that go into karaoke machines in
Japan, C-Cube now has the distinction of being one of the most heavily shorted
Nasdaq stocks. Yet it could prove to be a big winner in DVDs, with Aiwa and
Samsung already lining up to buy its all-in-one chip for their DVD players. C-Cube
Chief Executive Alexandre Balkanski figures DVD could deliver close to 15% of
C-Cube's revenues this year, and an even greater percentage next year. Says he,
``I have no doubt that DVD will take off and become the most successful consumer
product ever.''
The article concludes with:
In the end, what will really make this new magic disc a success is the standout
quality of video and the sound. When you have seen a DVD, especially
side-by-side with either live TV or a videotape, the improvements are obvious.
Once the price of the players drops toward $300 and the list of available movie
titles increases, DVD could well become a ``must buy'' for many mainstream
households.
If not, it could prove costly for such DVD pioneers as Sony, Toshiba, Matsushita
and Philips, not to mention smaller players like C-Cube and LSI Logic.
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