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To: John Rieman who wrote (43730)	8/5/1999 11:17:00 PM
From: Craig Gordon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

One of the greatest wonders of the internet is that we are free to choose what we want to see and read. Unfortunately freedom is not a God given right, it is a privilege that is expensive and worthy to preserve. Over the years I have thoroughly enjoyed your posts and whenever I see your name I always read what you have to say or share. Thank you for your unselfish sharing of your thoughts and information. There is one person on this thread who's posts I don't read. I don't waste my time. If he sends me a post I clear it immediately. If he feels the same way about my posts, as I do about his that is just fine with me. He doesn't have to look at what I post. He is free to pass.

To: John Rieman who wrote (43730)	8/6/1999 1:13:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Technologically prepared, South Korean makers wait for HDTV to take off asiansources.com Despite sales projections for HDTV falling far short of expectations, South Korean chipset makers anticipate strong demand from digital set-top boxes. Makers have given considerable impetus to R&D and are ready to launch 'third-generation' chipsets. The HDTV boom in the United States is yet to materialize, hamstrung by high prices and inadequate digital broadcasting infrastructure. As a result, the aspirations of South Korean HDTV chipset makers have received a setback. However, digital set-top boxes are emerging as a major application segment for HDTV chipsets. Makers forecast the HDTV chipset market to grow to $50 million by 2010, the growth expected to be driven by more than 40 export-oriented manufacturers of digital set-top boxes. Lee Jong-soo, assistant digital marketing manager of LG Semicon echoes the prevailing market sentiment. "Though HDTV sales have been sluggish, we expect strong demand from digital set-top boxes." Last year's sale of chipsets by LG Semicon Co. Ltd to Sharp Corp. of Japan signaled the arrival of South Korean companies in the line. LG Semicon and Samsung Electronics are leading the race to capture the HDTV chipset market with a strong impetus on R&D. The companies are securing narrower linewidth technology. Reportedly, LG Electronics has embarked on the development of 0.25µm technology for "third-generation" chipsets. Samsung's second-generation HDTV chipsets consist of less than three chips and are manufactured with 0.25µm and 0.35µm linewidth technology. LG Electronics' early foray into this market has helped it make some headway, observes Kang Rok-hee, senior analyst at Daishin Securities Economic Research Institute. The company has already obtained about 300 patents in the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. Lee Jong-soo, assistant digital marketing manager of LG Semicon, claims that the company is ready to launch third-generation chipsets as soon as the market improves. These chipsets will come as a systemized single chip, with customer programmability. The launch of these chipsets is scheduled for early next year. LG Electronics' "first-generation" HDTV chipsets consisted of five chips manufactured using 0.6µm CMOS technology. The subsequent "second-generation" chipsets, developed jointly with LG Semicon Co. Ltd, featured a combination of two digital TV receivers — the Sync/Equ and Channel decoder— in one chip. This chipset had an ADC to simplify chip exterior circuit and facilitate system integration, eliminating typical problems such as 'ghosting'. While LG Semicon's first-generation chipsets were manufactured with 6-inch silicon wafers, the second-generation chipsets use 8-inch wafers. The company will continue to research its HDTV chipsets at LG Electronics' Digital TV Research Laboratory. "Our competitive edge lies in chipset architecture, not manufacturing," says Park Jong-Seok, CEO. Another cause for optimism among South Korean makers is that the combined effort of the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) and four local companies — Samsung Electronics, LG Semicon, Hyundai Electronics and Daewoo Electronics — has borne fruit. Chipsets developed by the KETI in association with this pool passed commercial tests of the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee). The government-backed $38.5 million project initiated in 1995 was executed by KETI, which integrated the tuner and channel decoders from Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Electronics, video decoders from LG Semicon and Daewoo Electronics, audio decoders from Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Electronics, and display processors from LG Semicon and Daewoo Electronics. The new chipsets can accommodate GA (grand alliance) type digital TV signals and are capable of receiving 18 display formats. According to KETI's senior engineer Lee Byong-ryul, these chipsets will contribute to a reduction in the number of components for HDTVs. "This will considerably reduce production costs of HDTVs. We are now geared to export these chipsets," he says.

To: John Rieman who wrote (43730)	8/10/1999 4:09:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

TI takes another step in the optical disc area....... Texas Instruments Licenses Calimetrics' Optical Write Technology; Inks Pact To Develop ICS Enabling Calimetrics' Multilevel Write Capabilities New Strategic Agreement Improves Texas Instruments' Position as Storage IC Technology Leader in the DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) and CD-RW (Compact Disk-Rewriteable) Optical Drive Marketplaces TUSTIN, Calif., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move designed to improve its position as the leader in storage ICs for various optical drive marketplaces, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) has licensed a suite of DVD and CD-RW optical write technologies from Calimetrics Inc., a semiconductor and storage technology developer based in Alameda, California. In addition, the Licensing and Procurement Agreement provides the opportunity for the two companies to work together in jointly developing new products, whereby TI will design and produce ICs that implement Calimetrics' advanced Multilevel Optical Storage (ML) capabilities. The licensing agreement provides TI with access to Calimetrics' Universal Write Strategy (UWS) technology, including the standard binary recording technology for both DVD and CD-RW optical drives. This adds a key capability to TI's optical IC technology suite, enabling TI to provide more complete, cost effective chip set solutions for the emerging combination CD-RW/DVD drive and other optical storage markets. The agreement brings Calimetrics' proprietary ML technology into the mainstream of the optical storage marketplace. The ML technology will enable TI's chip set to write data in a format that, when combined with Calimetrics' read technology, will yield significant speed and capacity increases when compared to CD-RW recording. Mike Holt, Product Line Director for Removable Optical Solutions at TI Storage Products, states that "using these capabilities, it is possible to triple both the standard storage capacity and read/write speed of CD or DVD drives. Such added capacity and speed will be critical success factors in existing and emerging optical markets, including VCR replacements, high- definition TV video recorders, high capacity computer backup solutions and single disk high capacity VCD players." The heightened relationship between TI and Calimetrics will provide the marketplace with the economical optical recording solutions required for new generations of writeable optical products. "Calimetrics is pleased to bring its optical write technology to TI, and excited to work with TI as a strategic partner, licensee, and source of supply for ML ICs. Together we can offer our customers complete IC solutions that provide extremely compelling economics, along with the highest capacity and performance up to 3 times greater than currently available technology," says Ken Campbell, Calimetrics' President & CEO. "Combining Calimetrics' optical write technology with our leading market and technology position in high speed optical read channels, gives us the ability to better service our customers in this, the fastest growing storage industry market segment," concludes TI's Holt. Calimetrics, Inc., is a semiconductor and storage technology development company headquartered in Alameda, Calif. Incorporated in 1994, the venture- backed firm is the exclusive licensee of patents granted to the University of California, Berkeley related to optical data storage and holds numerous other patents applying to multi-level recording technology. Calimetrics-designed integrated circuits, cores, and disc media enable low-cost production of optical storage systems with significantly greater capacity and faster data transfer rates than currently available systems. Texas Instruments Storage Products is a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced semiconductors for mass storage applications and is composed of Silicon Systems, Inc., Intersect Technologies, Inc., and the mass storage unit of Texas Instruments. Leveraging its digital signal processor (DSP) and analog and mixed-signal leadership with industry-proven mass storage integrated circuits (ICs), Texas Instruments Storage Products provides total systems solutions to customers. Addressing the performance, capacity and cost demands of the storage market, Texas Instruments Storage Products ICs are used by manufacturers of hard disk drives, removable drives, and emerging mass storage technologies. Additional information is available through its website located at ti.com. The worldwide leader and pioneer in digital signal processing solutions since 1982, Texas Instruments provides innovative DSP and mixed signal/analog technologies to more than 30,000 customers in the computer, wireless communications, networking, Internet, consumer, digital motor control and mass storage markets worldwide. To help customers get to market faster, TI offers easy-to-use development tools and extensive software and hardware support, enhanced by its extensive network of third party DSP solutions providers that produce more than 1,000 products using TI technology. Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world's leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing and analog technologies, the engines driving the digitization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's businesses also include materials and controls, educational and productivity solutions, and digital imaging. The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries. Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at ti.com. SOURCE Texas Instruments Storage Products