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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter V who wrote (43516)	8/2/1999 7:15:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Settop box OEMs in China. Korea, Tiawan, and Hong Kong OEMs are on the side links.................. asiansources.com Product survey: Satellite/CATV accessories Mainland China: Suppliers skip analog, go straight to digital The relaxation of laws prohibiting satellite broadcasting in China have come at just the right time to spark the development of a local industry serving the digital hardware market. The CATV sector has been strong in recent years, but it is only now that the first companies are making serious investments in digital satellite technology. According to manager Huang Wei of the Sichuan Jiuzhou Electric Group Co. Ltd, China's production capacity will increase by more than 10 percent by the end of this year. Sichuan Jiuzhou itself plans to release several digital satellite receivers with MPEG-2 and DVB capability. Price movement across the accessories market is difficult to ascertain, but with the possible exception of satellite receivers, reports from the makers interviewed here suggest a slight downturn. The relative newness of receivers in the local market may support stable pricing, or even slight increases due to product enhancements, according to Sichuan Jiuzhou. Lack of local satellite broadcasting previously stifled the development of a supply base for analog satellite receivers, putting China in the unusual position where its emergent industry is going straight to digital. Sichuan Jiuzhou is investing heavily in R&D and in automatic production-line equipment, Huang said, and along with other leading makers is already looking toward the future. Makers are upgrading their receivers to incorporate frequency tuning to enable automatic channel searching; Huang also expects to see digital set-top boxes used to provide Internet access. Another Sichuan company, Sichuan Changhong Electronics Group Corp., agrees that adding functionality is important to maintaining competitiveness. The firm is concentrating on digital production, manager Li Shisheng said. Sichuan Changhong's latest releases include a digital satellite receiver and a digital cable receiver that support DVB and MPEG-2. Features include time and calendar function (TDT decoding), electronic program guide, multiple sound reception, radio/TV selection and selectable standard/wide-screen display. HiSense I/E Co. Ltd has also recently started making digital satellite receivers. The company's new models include an MPEG-2 and DVB-compatible receiver featuring S-Video output, CD-quality sound, universal power input (SMPS) and PAL/NTSC output. The unit also has a low-speed, nine-pin serial port for computer access or other peripherals. CATV accessories also get upgrades The digital satellite market is the focus of much industry attention, and the target of most investment. But although investment in the mature CATV accessories business has slowed, China continues to offer a wide range of products, from line amplifiers to splitters and coaxial cable. "This is a mature sector, but we can still improve product performance," said Cai Liqiang, general manager of Shenzhen Senstar Telecom Co. Ltd. "We are also adding features [to our cable products], such as lightning protection and power-failure protection." Satellite dish antennas are also the focus of upgrades. HiSense has developed a flat, 370mm Ku-band antenna for use in areas where the satellite signal is stronger than 52dBW, for example. Sichuan Jiuzhou's models include a C/Ku-band dish with SMC precision die-stamped surface, adjustable antenna mounting and high-efficiency feedhorn. The firm's latest dish is a 600mm Ku-band antenna with elliptic reflector made of aluminum-alloy coated steel. The LNB down-converter is also the target of redevelopment, particularly as digital broadcasting comes online. Sichuan Jiuzhou has developed an LNB converter featuring super-low phase noise for compressed MPEG-2/DVB digital signals. The firm also believes there will be a strong market for reverse-optical receivers that convert the optical signal into RF, and has developed a 1550nm optical transmitter/receiver with low power consumption and increased temperature tolerance, Huang said. Shenzhen Senstar's Cai also identifies the optical receiver/transmitter as a strong future product. The firm's latest models feature built-in driver amplifiers and control circuits for super-low noise and intermodulation. Designed for CATV and telephony applications, these AM laser transmitters can be used for NTSC or PAL signals and digital and compressed-digital information.