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


To: Stoctrash who wrote (45531)9/28/1999 2:48:00 PM
From: BillyG  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 50808
 
PRESS RELEASE --HDTV issues

Pappas Telecasting Companies announced today that it will be joining with
other broadcasters in filings with the FCC and with the relevant committees
of the US Senate and the US House of Representatives to inform them of the
serious failings of one aspect of the DTV transmission system adopted by the
Advanced Television Systems Committee ("ATSC") and subsequently by the FCC
in December 1997.

There are many aspects of the system that was adopted that will prove to be
of significant value, technically viable and beneficial to the American
consumer. However, one part of the system, the modulation method, is
seriously flawed.

Recent side-by-side demonstrations in Baltimore, Maryland compellingly
demonstrate that COFDM, used by the European DVB-T System, is receivable
using simple antennas, whereas the current generation of receivers using the
ATSC modulation method, 8VSB, simply don't work well under typical
conditions encountered in urban areas. Said Pappas Telecasting Sr.
Executive Vice President of Planning and Development, LeBon Abercrombie, "we
won't get the replication of our coverage we were promised using 8VSB,
unless someone can come forward now with a receiver that works in urban
areas." And, said Sr. Vice President and Director of Engineering, Dale P.
Kelly, "the difference was astonishing. COFDM worked without any problem,
and 8VSB hardly worked at all under the tested conditions."

In addition to providing improved digital video programming, many
broadcasters are anxious to develop auxiliary applications for the digital
bitstream afforded by the DTV system. These applications may require
portable or mobile capabilities. Broadcasters should not be foreclosed from
participation in the market for digital data delivery to portable and mobile
devices by an ill-advised choice of modulation schemes.

Recent announcements of "miracle equalizer chips" claim to solve the
problems with 8VSB seen in the Baltimore tests. However, to the best of our
knowledge, these 8VSB receiver chips have yet to be incorporated in any
set-top receivers, or even to be tested under real-life conditions. Common
sense would also tell us that similar improvements are likely to be made in
COFDM technology, so that the performance advantage of COFDM may well be
maintained.

Harry J. Pappas, CEO of Pappas Telecasting Companies, said "the real
stakeholders in this issue are the American consumers. The public we serve
today with free over-the-air broadcasting has come to expect a model of
broadcasting that works. Whether it be AM, FM or UHF TV, today's consumers
know they can receive those stations with a good, clear picture virtually
everywhere with relatively inexpensive indoor and outdoor antenna systems.
Since there is no assurance that there can or will be improvements made in
8VSB type receivers, while the current generation of European system
receivers work just fine, we thought it time to expose this 'dirty little
secret.' There are those who may be interested in forcing American
consumers to pay for everything they get on their Television or computer
screen." Pappas went on to say "we are appalled by the demonstrated bias
and unwillingness to adhere to rigorous scientific and ethical methods by
some persons on whom many of us in this industry have heretofore relied."



To: Stoctrash who wrote (45531)9/28/1999 3:41:00 PM
From: BillyG  Respond to of 50808
 
Sample Taiwan statements:

========================================
SanDisk Issues Statement On Taiwan Manufacturing Situation

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1999--Eli Harari, president and CEO ofSanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today issued the following statement: "The latest information that we have is that the damage to the USC and USIC wafer fabs of the UMC Group where we manufacture our 128Mbit and 256Mbit flash wafers has been significantly less severe than originally estimated. Power at the UMC Group has been restored and 90 percent of the fab machinery has already returned to production.

"Initial assessments are that between 8 and 10 percent of the SanDisk wafers in processing will have to be scrapped. We expect shipments of production wafers to resume in the next 2 to 3 days.

"Assuming that the production interruption at UMC Group is contained to less than two weeks, which now appears to be the case, and that there are no significant power interruptions or major new aftershocks, we expect to be able to use our existing inventory of wafers and die bank to make up for the temporary shortfall of wafers in the fourth quarter.

"The other major facility in Taiwan, at SPIL, where we do the majority of our MultiMediaCard assembly is now fully back in production.

"On a personal note, I am relieved that there was no loss of lives or injuries to the people working at UMC and SPIL. These people are courageous, resourceful and highly dedicated. They are working around the clock to make a remarkable recovery under extremely difficult circumstances. We are proud to be their partner."

The matters discussed in this news release contain forward looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as described under the caption "Factors That May Affect Future Results" in the company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.

SanDisk Corporation, the world's largest supplier of flash data storage products, designs, manufactures and markets industry-standard, solid-state data, digital imaging and audio storage products using its patented, high density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is based in Sunnyvale.

SanDisk's web site/home page address: sandisk.com.

CONTACT:

SanDisk Corporation

Bob Goligoski, 408/542-0463

bgoligoski@sandisk.com

or

Nelson Chan, 408/542-0456

nchan@sandisk.com

====================================================
Genesis Microchip Comments On Impact of Taiwan Earthquake

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1999--Genesis Microchip (Nasdaq:GNSS) used today's annual shareholder meeting to answer questions about the impact of last week's earthquake in central Taiwan.

"First, we are deeply concerned about the people of Taiwan," said Paul M. Russo, Genesis Chairman and CEO. "We have a number of employees originally from Taiwan -- plus we have sales reps there -- and though our people are safe, we are worried about some of their family members."

The Sept. 21 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks have affected the entire fabless semiconductor industry, as has been widely reported by industry analysts and the media. The majority of Genesis's chip products are manufactured in Taiwan by UMC and TSMC.

"We believe there will be a temporary disruption in the supply of some of our products in the near term," said Russo, "which may adversely affect both the current (September) quarter as well as the December quarter. But we still expect the current (September) sequential revenue and earnings numbers to modestly exceed those of the previous (June) quarter."

Russo added a number of significant customers are located in Taiwan and they may delay receiving chip products because of issues at their own assembly lines. The company also believes the earthquake may delay some of the new Taiwanese LCD panel plants from coming online and producing LCD modules, which would continue to constrain the growth of the overall flat-panel LCD monitor market in the near term.

"The bottom line is, we believe there will be some short-term negative impact on our business as a result of the earthquake," Russo said. "But we don't anticipate these problems to affect business beyond 1999."

Statements in this press release discussing the potential impact of the Taiwanese earthquake on the business of the Company and its suppliers and customers, including statements about the Company's future financial results, contain "forward-looking" information within the meaning of the United States securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Specifically, the delay in the supply of the company's products may continue beyond the December quarter, revenue this quarter may not exceed the prior quarter, customers may delay receiving chip products longer than the company anticipates, the overall flat panel market may be constrained to a greater extent than the company now believes, and the company's business may be negatively impacted beyond 1999. Other risks and uncertainties that may negatively impact the company's business include, without limitation, the growth rate of the markets into which the Company sells its products; market acceptance of and demand for the products of the Company and those of the Company's customers; unanticipated delays or problems in the introduction of the Company's products; the Company's ability to introduce new products in accordance with OEM design requirements and design cycles; new product announcements or product introductions by the Company and the Company's competitors; availability and cost of manufacturing sources for the Company's products; supply constraints for components incorporated into the Company's customers' products; changes in the mix of sales to OEMs and distributors; incorrect forecasting of future revenues; the volume of orders that are received and can be filled in a quarter; the rescheduling or cancellation of orders by customers; costs associated with protecting the Company's intellectual property; changes in product mix; changes in product costs and pricing; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. These and other important risk factors are more fully detailed in the Company's SEC filings. Statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof and the company assumes no responsibility for updating such information.

Genesis Microchip Inc. (Nasdaq:GNSS) -- an ISO9001-registered company -- designs, produces and markets highly integrated semiconductors for flat panel displays, home theater equipment, projection systems, video workstation gear and dozens of other applications. You can find Genesis chips in products from Acer, Apple Computer, Daewoo, Dell, Fujitsu, IBM, In Focus Systems, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, NEC, Philips, Samsung, SGI, Sharp, Sony, Tatung, ViewSonic and more than 200 other companies.

In May 1999, Genesis Microchip merged with Paradise Electronics to broaden its flat-panel enabling technology with Paradise's mixed-signal integrated circuits. Genesis is headquartered in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, while its U.S. subsidiaries are located in San Jose and Mountain View, California. Further information is available at: genesis-microchip.com.

CONTACT:

Shelton Communications Group

Cathy Grittner/Vickie Gorton, 972/239-5119

or

Genesis Microchip Inc.

Eric Erdman, 905/889-5400