More very interesting reading from website.
A bit lengthy, but quite informative.
Bottom half noteworthy,Q&A with
Brian Harris and Jim Davis.
Countdown HAS begun! T-Minus....
February 15, 1999
Executive Summary
To support the move from product development to commerialization of the technology, DataPower is establishing a wholly owned subsidiary, VideoPower, Inc., which will develop and market all the video communication products and technologies.
Jim Davis has been appointed President of the company. Over the past four months, considerable preselling of the company's GO VIDEO! tm products via conventional distribution channels has been undertaken, and confirmed orders are expected to commence during the 2nd quarter of the this year.
VideoPower's strategy is to initially use its' leading edge video compression and digital imaging technology licensed from World Wide Video to integrate, sell and implement systems and solutions that can satisfy the customer requirements on a cost affordable basis. The new technology platform will raise the expectation of low bit rate video to a new plateau making the quality of low bit rate video approach that of true real-time video.
The heart of VideoPower's current technology is the codec (COder/DECoder). The codec converts analog information such as video and audio to digital and compresses that information so that it can be transmitted over the available communication bandwidth. The codec can be utilized in many forms; from a remote surveillance box that can dial when an alarmed occurs and connect to a personal computer at a central location or to a "Set Top Box" that is directly connected to a television for viewing the received video audio signals. The development focus has been to secure and develop codec and compression technology that operates over traditional residential copper-wire telephone systems. These systems are referred to as Plain Old Telephone Systems ("POTS") and represent over 87% of the world's present telephone networks. By being able to operate over POTS provides there are substantial technical advantages, (especially in the consumer marketplace) over other video codec systems that require higher and much more costly bandwidth (i.e., fiber optic, wireless, ISDN, satellite, etc.). The goal of this development is ‘near real-time' video and TV quality audio.
A key element in attaining the goal is a joint development arrangement with Analog Devices, a billion dollar semi conductor corporation with leading edge technology in digital single processing. Analog Device's very powerful 32 bit, 160 million floating point instruction per second DSP, called Sharc, became the engine for the DataPower products.
The markets identified as having significant ability for quick access and high market penetration are security and surveillance (Business and Home),tele-Medicine,video conferencing with out a computer,transportable Vvideo conferencing (Notebook System), computer based desk top video conferencing
Current Status - Financial Projections:
Over the past four months the company has identified sales opportunities via regular distribution channels where the immediate potential orders are in excess of $7 million. The following estimates reflect a year starting on March 1, 1999 and assume completion of current funding.
VideoPower, Inc., a wholly owned Subsidiary of DataPower USA, Inc.
Proforma Financial Information
1999
2000
2001
2002
General information
No. of employees
6
13
19
30
No. marketing employees
2
2
3
4
No. of sales staff
1
4
4
6
No. of main competitors
4
4
6
8
No. of existing products
2
7
11
16
No. of new products
5
4
5
2
Est Total Products
5
9
14
16
Est Market Value (Billions)
$8.2
$9.4
$13.5
$18
Est Share of Market .08% .07% .012% .02%
Financial data
Est Sales (Million)
VideoWatch
$ 2.3
$ 20.0
$ 54.0
$ 94.0
TVideoPhone
$ 3.0
$ 13.0
$ 28.2
$ 48.0
VideoVoice
$ 0.5
$ 3.0
$ 6.0
$ 20.0
VideoNoteBook
$ 0.6
$ 14.0
$ 25.0
$ 55.0
ISDN & Wireless
$ 13.0
$ 29.0
$ 63.0
VideoLink
$ 0.6
$ 6.0
$ 19.0
$ 42.0
Total Estimated Sales
$ 7.0
$ 69.0
$ 161.2
$ 322.0
Est Profit before Tax
$ 1.03
$ 13.52
$ 35.63
$ 70.84
Percentage (%)
14.7%
19.6%
22.1%
22.0%
Target Industries
Est Total Units (000)
Health Care
5
25
70
100
Insurance Industries
1
18
60
150
Commerical
6
14
30
57
MLM Sales
10
18
32
60
System Intergraters
2
35
78
152
Security Industries
6
50
122
200
Est Total Units
30
160
392
719
Est Sales Value (Million)
$7
$36
$88
$162
Add New Products
$33
$73
$160
Total Est. Sales Volume
$7
$69
$161
$322
Safe Harbour Statement
These documents may contain forward looking statements considered genuine by the author and are based upon the author's experience and knowledge. However, the outcome will ultimately be determined by forces of which the author may have little or no ability to affect. Any forward looking statements should not be considered guarantees. In addition, these documents should not be considered a solicitation to sell or an offer to buy the issuer's securities. The outcome and estimates of stock value, calculations and holdings will ultimately be determined by open market trading and accumulation, of which the author has no, or limited, involvement or authority to determine. The risk of any investment is ultimately borne by the investor and the author encourages the reader to partake in his or her own due diligence prior to determining a course of action.
DataPower Management Profiles:
Brian Harris, 55, President, Director. Mr. Harris has over 25 years international business experience including establishment of a number of successful companies listed on the Australian, Canadian and United States markets. He is a recognized expert in identifying new technologies, structuring start ups, and related mergers and acquisitions. He was one of the founders of EFTech Ltd., which pioneered EFT / POS into the Australian market. He also was a founder of Best Available Seating Services (BASS) which is known today as Ticketmaster. Over the past five years Mr. Harris has been a principal and Director to a number of emerging companies that have been listed on the OTC-BB. Mr. Harris is a graduate of the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce.
Phillip Wong, 39, Secretary Treasurer, Director. Mr. Wong has been in the financial services industry since he graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in 1980. From 1982 to 1992 he was a stockbroker in Vancouver Canada with Yorkton Securities Inc., and Wolverton Securities Ltd., specializing in IPO's, RTO's and mergers. Since then, he has acted as an independent consultant in the restructuring, sale and purchase of public companies. He has had extensive experience in arranging seed and venture capital for start ups and junior companies and in the project management process of going public. Over the years Mr. Wong has also established valuable strategic alliances for secondary financing.
John G. Perry, 52, Director and Technical Advisor. Mr. Perry has over 34 years of experience in the management, analysis, design, research and implementation of complex, networked computer systems. He possesses a through knowledge of computer science and systems engineering, and a broad spectrum of computer technologies. His experience covers a wide variety of projects including research and development of highly sophisticated weapons and ballistics systems for DOD and Intelligence agencies, design and development of wide area and local area networks, development and application of standards, technology and project management, and marketing of secure products. He possesses in depth knowledge of federal computer acquisition, Life Cycle Management (LCM), Information Resource Management (IRM) Government Open System Interconnect Profile (GOSIP) and computer and communication security. His work experience has required detailed working knowledge of LANs, WANs,FIPS,EDI,CALS, Video and DoD Security. Mr. Perry is the President of World Wide Video, Inc., and a Director of DataPower USA, Inc. He has a B.S Mathematics, Randolph - Macon College, 1967 SECURITY: TOP SECRET/SBI, M.S. Computer Science, University of Maryland, 1976.
James S. Davis, 54, President, VideoPower, Inc., ( a wholly owned subsidiary of DataPower USA Inc,.) . Mr. Davis has over twenty years of management experience with major public and privately held companies. From February 1994 to May 1997 he was President of Haskel Controls, a Subsidiary of Haskel International Inc. From mid 1991 to January 1994 he was General Manger of a Division of Arrow Electronics where he was responsible for over seventy two million dollars in annual sales. During the period 1984 - 1991 Mr. Davis was Vice President and National Sales Director of Hamilton Avnet Electronics, a 1.5 billion dollar corporation. From 1976 to 1984 he was Sales Manager of Hamilton Electronics which became Hamilton Avnet. Mr. Davis attended the University of San Diego and Cerritos College where he received his degree in business.
To support the move from product development to commerialization of the technology, DataPower is establishing a wholly owned subsidiary, VideoPower, Inc., which will develop and market all the video communication products and technologies.
Jim Davis has been appointed President of the company. Over the past four months, considerable preselling of the company's GO VIDEO! tm products via conventional distribution channels has been undertaken, and confirmed orders are expected to commence during the 2nd quarter of the this year.
To support the move from product development to commerialization of the technology, DataPower is establishing a wholly owned subsidiary, VideoPower, Inc., which will develop and market all the video communication products and technologies.
Jim Davis has been appointed President of the company. Over the past four months, considerable preselling of the company's GO VIDEO! tm products via conventional distribution channels has been undertaken, and confirmed orders are expected to commence during the 2nd quarter of the this year.
VideoPower Inc.,Technical Development Group Profiles:
John Perry, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Wide Video, Inc.(See CV above as Director, DataPower USA, Inc.)
Frank A. Maas, Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technical Officer, World Wide Video, Inc.
Mr. Frank Maas, 52, has participated in research and development programs for the US Navy and industry for over 25 years. Frank is one of the founders of WWV. He has extensive experience in design, development, fabrication, test, evaluation, operational installation and maintenance of electrical, mechanical, and electrooptical (EO) components, equipment and systems. These systems are used in support of surveillance, pointing and tracking for missile and gun systems, chemical and biological defense, intelligence gathering, and electronic and infrared countermeasure programs for the U.S. Navy. As a Hardware and Software Consultant from May 1995 to present, Mr. Maas has developed customized portable video teleconferencing equipment and he has designed campus-wide video switch control interfaces to PBX telephone systems and written custom Windows software for video conferencing. He was recently involved in the successful design and implementation of a desktop VideoTeleconferencing (VTC) system that featured links to distant VTC systems over POTS and ISDN lines. Mr. Maas earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the Case Institute of Technology, 1968 and has completed numerous short courses in ElectroOptical Systems Analysis, Communications Theory, Telemetry, and VAXJVMS Computer System Programming.
Bill DeMay, Vice President – Operations Consultant, World Wide Video, Inc.
Mr. Bill DeMay, 54, has managed in the high technology industry for over thirty years, first at Hewlett-Packard in the semiconductor business, then at Tektronix in the Test and Measurement (T&M) instrumentation business. He has specialized in quality control, manufacturing and engineering management, gaining wide experience in the operational aspects of business success. Mr. DeMay has worked closely with the telecommunication and video service provider industry while selling T&M equipment. Mr. DeMay also taught Quality Control courses through a community college while in Oregon. For 1½ years starting in 1994, Mr. DeMay was Vice President, Sales and Marketing, in a video conferencing start up effort. The state of technology at that time could not support the business.
Q & A's
The following are exerpts from a recent video call between Brian Harris,founder of DataPower and Jim Davis,President, VideoPower discussing the market and the company's opportunities.
To play the video, click here.
BH...I agree Jim, technology is having a profound effect on how we now use video. Ten years ago, video was primarily an entertainment medium with only the true innovators using video in business. Today, video conferencing is becoming common place but still hasn't become a tool for the average businessman. It still costs too much for most business to justify, the quality is still not what is expected for the dollars spent, but that is not to say that the industry isn't progressing. I believe that we are on the brink of a liftoff. The international standards committees have set standards for most conceivable methods of access to the desktop. There is a standard for video over the LAN, there is an ISDN standard, a POTS standard and ATM will carry them all. This means the manufacturers can create products based on the standards and ensure communication between various manufactures equipment. The recent alliances between Intel, PictureTel and other majors will make a difference - so the groundwork is in place.
JD... Its' amazing what a well kept secret the videp market is to the general public. Frost and Sullivan, estimates in the year 2000 the video communications market in the US alone is estimated to be nearly 10 billion dollars. Video conferencing is only a small portion of the video communications industry but it is generating a disproportionate share of the equipment and services revenues at this time. One must also include the video broadcast market, the video training market (both live and the potential stored marketplace), the distance learning market and the tele-medicine markets to name a few. Law enforcement uses video extensively, security companies use video, hospitals, college campuses and military bases all use video – but are not included in the numbers for video conferencing alone. I believe that a more likely size of the video communications market that DataPower has a good chance of capturing is about ten times as large asthe simple video conferencing market in the USA. Even if we only achieve a market share of less than 1% - we become a significant company.
BH... I agree, we seem to have a real niche opportunity. We feel that we have solved most the problems associated with using Plain old telephone system (POTS). First of all, there is very little bandwidth available and that that what is available is not guaranteed. This means you're not sure of what you can get, but you know it won't be much. Working with Analog Devices, our development group have designed the latest tremendous compression hardware that "retrains" at varying speeds as the line speed fluctuates. Our systems actually work well in this environment that customers now have good enough video for many of the applications that to date would not work over POTS.
JD.... I was talking to one of the larger system integraters in Atlanta last week it was confirmed that we have a great opportunity of being the lead company in these market segments. Security systems inside buildings or offices now take on a whole new dimension. Even the smallest of companies may set up security systems that can be monitored from home or from a hotel while on the road. Restaurant owners may watch the bar while at home or in another restaurant and boat owners may watch their boats during a storm from their living room TV. In most cases, acceptable video quality may be achieved using the DataPower POTS products at a price that everyone can afford – and in most locations around the world, high-speed data lines don't exist. The only universal access and retrieval system is POTS. This puts DataPower in a unique position to offer remote access video security systems to distribution channels throughout the world.
BH.... I'll make a bet with you that when we release the the Quad Box ( VideoLink) later this year, we will have another winner for many applications. The ability to watch four cameras simultaneously is important to the differentiation between suppliers. The balun cameras and quads are key. What makes DataPower VideoLink products unique and different is the creativeness of the product line. The balun cameras and the balun quads allow video transmission over twisted pair, as opposed to the coax needed by the others. Power is a non-factor with the balun cameras because the cameras are powered from the quad over the twisted pair. Therefore, the DataPower VideoLink system doesn't require power at the camera end, nor the use of expensive coaxial cable. Cameras may be installed in minutes rather than days, and for less money. The system is clearly superior. I think that the MLM and Direct Sales markets will really move on this product.
BH... Jim, how do you generally outline our product line?
JD... VideoPower has divided its product line into two categories – video monitoring products, and video communication products. The video monitoring products are based on one-way transmission, the communication product are bi-directional. Because all of the POTS products are based on the H.324 international standard for video communications, the entire product line is interchangeable, based on the application.
The video monitoring products and the video communication products are integrated into complete systems. A quad, which combines four cameras into one feed, is part of the monitoring system. From a remote location, a user may view four cameras at the same time on the same call. The user may select individual cameras or all four at once by using the telephone keypad to make the selections. Included in the communications products is a Multipoint Control Unit or MCU. The MCU allows four users – all from remote sites – to call in and have a conference call. Each user will see all four participants – and hear the other three. These systems are designed to be of the highest quality available using POTS technology and extremely inexpensive.
For situations where video quality is an absolute requirement, DataPower will be introducing the same monitoring and communication systems using higher bandwidth technologies. ISDN based systems will be introduced in 1999, and DSL following shortly after.
BH... That is a very easy to to understand the technology. Where are some of the applications for our Video Monitoring Systems (VMS).
JD... The applications for inexpensive video monitoring vary greatly. Users may set them up to monitor their home, office, and boat at the marina, vacation house or babysitter. Businesses may monitor construction sites, loading docks, remote warehouses or any location that may need some sort of surveillance. Students may watch a lecture while at home on extended sick leave or parents may monitor the daycare center while in their office. Using the pan, tilt and zoom option, a user can control the far end view and check inventory in a remote new/used car lot or pan a construction site for possible safety hazards. With infrared cameras and lighting, monitoring/surveillance can continue through the night without interruption.
BH... How do we differ from what is and has been on the market to date?
JD.... The quality of VideoPower's POTS based video products is the best available in the industry today. The technology is flexible enough to allow connections from 9.6K to 33.6K, which insures connection almost anywhere in the world. The video quality is based on the available bandwidth so areas with better quality lines will transmit better quality video. DataPower is fortunate in that the most effective use of POTS technology today is in one-way video monitoring. By incorporating a unique "systems" approach to the product set it has delineated itself from the other providers. All indications are that the security market is going to be getting larger and larger. In the past few weeks, world tension has grown, terrorist attacks on American property and citizens has been avowed, and the peacetime calmness of the last few years seems threatened. This is a world wide phenomenon. Our products are simple to understand and affordable.
The monitoring systems are based on one-way video broadcast. The transmit and receive units are called VideoWatch. The transmit unit is set up at the location to be monitored and the receive unit can be at any remote site. Each device is connected to a standard analog phone line, and a call from the receive unit connects the two. The call is automatically answered and the video transmission begins. A quad at the transmit, or monitored site, allows four cameras to be combined into one transmission. The receive unit displays all four views on a television monitor for the viewer to see.
Audio may be broadcast along with the video signal if it is a requirement. Our products are modular so one-way or two-way audio may be added. However, it is not a field upgrade, it must be specified when the product is ordered. Get the idea?
JD... We are being acknowledged as having the "POTS" solution, but very few in the industry understand that we are not a one solution or one technology company.
BH.... Well, we know that to totally invest in a single technology like POTS is a dangerous approach when so much money is being invested into research and development by much larger players than us. For that reason, the chips used in the initial POTS products are designed to be integrated into any one of the growing technologies on the horizon. VideoPower can produce products in the POTS arena, the ISDN arena, and the ATM and xDSL environments with just minor changes to the circuitry. So the "systems approach" for POTS, which no other POTS manufactures have, is also convertible to ISDN or to ATM, whichever technology begins to gain ground in the industry. However, saying that lets be pleased that we be recognized for our POTS products - it is the most difficult segment of the technology to accomplish. At this time, there is no single technology that is available around the world at a price that is affordable, that will give better video quality than ours on POTS.
Site Design by
CaféBC Communications
|
