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

To: Stoctrash who wrote (44656)	9/11/1999 7:04:00 PM
From: Black-Scholes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

IMO, TiVO will be a flash-in-the-pan company. They're going to face such superior competition in such a short amount of time I just can't see them ever making any real money. Sort of like the same dilemma CUBE has faced through the years. Always remember - a technology company's greatest enemy is technology itself.

To: Stoctrash who wrote (44656)	9/12/1999 4:58:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Samsung and LG use C-Cube chips. DVD in Korea............. globalsources.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home \| Product Search \| Supplier Search \| Country Search \| Magazines Inquiry Manager \| Excess Stocks \| Trade Shows \| Trade & Travel Cover story: DVD players Korea: Chaebols aim for massive growth of high-end sales Korea's two leading consumer electronics suppliers, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, are both making a major push into the US market for DVD players. Each is aiming for a 10 percent share of the market. "Our target is the high-end, where we are competing with Japanese makers," said junior manager Sung-Ho Yoon of Samsung. Mid-1999, the retail prices of Samsung's DVD players were in the range $600 to $700, or 10 percent to 20 percent less than comparable Japanese models, Yoon said. By aiming for the high end, both makers hope to avoid the price competition that is certain to engulf lower-end models. The emergence of new makers in Taiwan and mainland China threatens to oversupply the low end, and a sub-$200 retail price is inevitable in the next few months, makers say. Samsung has doubled its annual capacity for DVD players in the last 12 months to about 2 million units, including OEM models. That figure will continue to rise, but only as demand dictates, Yoon said. "I can't specify the rate of increase. We aim to manage volume according to demand," he said. LG Electronics would not reveal its capacity, but spokesman June-ho Ko identified a minimum requirement for prospective newcomers. "By now, a maker should have a monthly output of at least 100,000 DVD players," Ko said. "This should grow dramatically in the years ahead. "To be competitive, the manufacturer should also have its own capability in chipmaking and optical pickup technology," he said. LG Electronics has that capability, Ko said, but he added that most core chipsets are still sourced from the United States. DVD development is focusing on ease of use, Ko said, specifically in the integration of DVD players with other home electronics. "There is a trend toward bringing together [DVD players] with other audio and video appliances," he said. Looking further ahead, Samsung's Yoon expects R&D to focus on recordable DVD, with the firm's first products expected in the next year or two. The added value the function will bring to the DVD player should comfortably override concerns about the extra cost, Yoon said. Looking at other markets, Yoon identified Europe as second behind the United States in terms of potential. Both Samsung and LG are targeting sales this year of 50,000 to 100,000 units to Europe. The comparative lack of software titles is the main factor holding back development of the market, Ko of LG said. "We need to wait a little longer before fully driving into Europe," he said. "There are only about 400 titles available at the moment. We should wait until at least 1,000 titles are available -- probably early next year." The lack of software is also retarding growth in the domestic market, Ko said.