These PlanetWeb people have no special deal with CUBE -- they are dealing with all decoder manufacturers. "Subsidized" DVD players.....
semibiznews.com
National, Planetweb create platform for Internet DVD players
Semiconductor Business News
(01/07/00, 12:06:57 PM EDT)
LAS VEGAS--At the Consumer Electronics Show today, National Semiconductor
Corp. and software supplier Planetweb Inc. said they were offering the industry's
first reference platform for Internet DVD players.
The iDVD player platform is based on National's Mediamatics Pantera-DVD chip
and Planetweb's software, providing support for personalized entertainment
content, Internet browsing, e-mail and advanced DVD features, according to the
two companies. The reference design platform is intended to helping system
manufacturers reduce the time it takes to develop iDVD players.
According to National and Planetweb, several Internet service providers (ISPs) are
planning to introduce "subsidized" iDVD players early this year.
"With shrinking product life cycles, accelerated growth and intense competition in
the DVD space, many OEMs are demanding out-of-the-box solutions," said Prem
Nath, president of National's Mediamatics group in Santa Clara, Calif. "Because of
the combined strengths of our software-hardware partnership, National and
Planetweb can offer our customers complete solutions that allow them to
differentiate their products from those of their competitors."
The appearance of Internet DVD players is expected to give DVD technology a
boost in the consumer marketplace. The Consumer Electronics Association says
nearly 4 million DVD players were sold in 1999. The number of units sold is
expected to double in 2000, according to a forecast by market researcher In-Stat.
National and Planetweb officials said iDVD systems and new Internet capabilities
will accelerate growth. "Considering that current DVD market projections don't
account for Internet functionality, we believe these figures are somewhat
conservative," said Jan Gullett, CEO of Planetweb, based in Mountain View, Calif.
"iDVD players could account for 25% of the overall DVD market in 2000, growing
to as much as 50% by 2002. And when convergence features like time shifting
and recording are integrated into players, the iDVD market could really take off."
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