About the DCT5000.....
Another excerpt:
"Eager to avoid re-creating the PC business model, the cable industry, led by John C. Malone, the electrical engineer turned chairman of
Tele-Communications, structured a deal in which Microsoft, Sony, Sun and other companies all are providing software for the set-top
box. No company has a monopoly. The companies were eager to be part of the deal, in the hope that beyond supplying their operating systems they would be able to sell highly profitable services -- like pay-per-play video games -- directly to the consumer. "
Maybe this is how Ampex's contribution will fit. Ampex will supply some software/firmware/hardware component to the DCT5000 and that fact will be branded on the GeneralInstrument set top box or for that matter, any other set top box manufacture...DigitalVideo by Ampex..etc.
I beleive it was Al C who had asked Karen if Ampex was developing a set top unit? Karen had said, "No." But this means "Yes, we have no bananas." It does not preclude Ampex's contribution to the set top box -- appropriately branded. I may be wrong in the recollect here.
Also, noone should overlook AT&T's forey into this mixture. If their takeover of TCI is successful, watch out. CEO Armstrong is operating from hunger and would see this broad consumer forey as the deal of the next century.
Also, most everyone had their sights on a DOD like origin for a big DST order. Imagine what Sony and whoever is networked in the supply chain would need for storage should the pay for movie become a reality?
Yes SwampFox ad Ampex can also provide "know how" like NOONE else can --- as well as gear. I remember how Dave G. commented on how in his earlier life he was aware of Ampex gear but it was too expensive for their budget. In fact, it may turn out that Ampex will hold the trump card, the keystone, the defining moment for whoever will win the digital plus video storage in the following time frame:
Narrowcasting and streaming ............... one year
Set top box movie on demand ............... one year
General SANS for image storage ............ two years
Mind you, any competitor could do thier own R&D, prototyping and developyment for this specialized area. What would it take Sony or a Microsoft funded facility to accomplish this? About 5 years? This assumes that everyone else stands still.
I see either a buyout of Ampex or a strategic capture from a substantial investment by one of the biggest players ... Microsoft, Sony, AT&T, IBM, any of the big Net Portal Companies, remotely Disney or TimeWarner.
Yes, Swamp, you were right when you said a while back that the world was heading in their direction. It just seems that now maybe it's coming from all directions.
"Seat belts are advised."
Ed Perry
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