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

To: BillyG who wrote (45684)	10/2/1999 11:23:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

AT&T didn't order those 2M GI settops.................. multichannel.com October 01, 1999: AT&T Sits Tight on Modem Order Denver -- AT&T Broadband & Internet Services officials said Friday that there were no immediate plans to announce significant new orders for cable modems and digital set-top boxes. The MSO was responding to unconfirmed media reports that it was ready to announce orders of up to 2 million digital set-tops and 1 million cable modems from the soon-to-merge General Instrument Corp. and Motorola Inc. Those reports raised eyebrows among some observers, who questioned why AT&T Broadband would boost its commitments for such consumer gear at a time when the cable industry generally wants to migrate to a retail-dominated environment for the equipment. The MSO said further orders were probable, although such purchases would be spread out over years and would likely be aimed at fostering new distribution channels such as retail. "There aren't necessarily any needs in that particular area," AT&T Broadband spokeswoman LaRae Marsik said. "As we look to expand our distribution channels to retail, there will be opportunities for additional equipment orders. It's just a matter of when, where and how much." - 10/01/99

To: BillyG who wrote (45684)	10/2/1999 4:26:00 PM
From: VidiVici	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

I already helped them out with their math yesterday... heh. It should be interesting to see how they're going make any money.

To: BillyG who wrote (45684)	10/2/1999 9:19:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

VCD in Hong Kong...................... globalsources.com Cover story: Video CD players Hong Kong: Price-cutting cripples VCD supply VCD players have moved into what is probably terminal decline in Hong Kong. Although the mainland supply market is now past its nadir of chaos, the cottage industrialists that swarmed into and out of the line have taken their toll, driving prices way below the point where the SAR's manufacturers can remain profitable. More and more Hong Kong makers are leaving VCD player production. A handful of firms remain optimistic, and suggest that undeveloped markets, portable players and SVCD can potentially keep the line viable for another three to five years. See "Hong Kong rethinks to fill the years before DVD" for their strategy on continuing production. For most, however, the tale of the price war of the last couple of years reads like a horror story, and one on which they will be happy to close the book. Price-cutting in extremis Mainland China's cottage industry grew up to serve rampant demand in the domestic market, but ended up having repercussions on the broader international supply market. According to marketing director Sam Ho of Hong Kong's Yanion Co. Ltd, small-scale suppliers were able to gain a foothold in the line by buying cheap kits and casings locally in the mainland, and assembling them for sale without having to carry the burden of development costs or other overheads. They were easily able to undercut Hong Kong's prices ? in just the last year, Yanion has had to lower quotes by about 25 percent, Ho said. Shinco International AV Co. Ltd has also had a rough ride. According to assistant marketing manager Helen Tong, the Asian financial crisis exacerbated the effects of the surge of VCD players from the mainland's cottage makers, swamping the market. The pressure to cut prices to secure sales was intense, Tong said ? prices fell 30 percent through 1998, and have come down a further 15 to 20 percent this year, supported in part by falling component costs. Shinco has successfully cleared its stocks this year, however. "We pulled our prices even lower than the small makers in mainland China," Tong said. "Lots of the cottage factories have had to close down." This amounts to something of a Pyrrhic victory for Shinco ? with prices now too low for profit, it has had to discontinue its VCD players to concentrate instead on SVCD. Skyworth (Group) Co. Ltd also reports a 15 percent price drop this year, and senior marketing manager Tony Mak expects a further 5 to 10 percent drop before the end of the year. Some mainland makers are still as much as 30 percent cheaper, despite these price reductions, he said. Marketing executive Albert Au-yeung of Welton Electronics Ltd concurs. The selling price for a single-disc, console-type VCD player can be as little as $25 apiece in the mainland, he said. Welton Electronics has lowered its prices 30 to 50 percent, Au-yeung said, and can go no lower. Its own three-disc player is only $55 apiece, FOB Hong Kong, and a mini hi-fi player $115, but the firm hopes merely to clear its stock and quit the line. It will concentrate on hi-fi audio in future, Au-yeung said. Aowa Electronic (Hong Kong) Ltd pitches the price of mainland players even lower, at $20 for a basic cottage model. For that, you may even get a fake, big-name casing, spokeswoman C.C. Cheng said. With prices down 20 percent this year already, Aowa sees no room for further reductions. To top it off, output is down 10 percent this year, Cheng said.

To: BillyG who wrote (45684)	10/3/1999 9:00:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Ulead/TI announce support for DV editing PCs............. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ULEAD SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TO INTEGRATE DV SOFTWARE SUPPORT FOR IEEE-1394 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Filed: Monday, September 20, 1999 8:05 AM EST TORRANCE, Calif., Sep 20, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Ulead Systems, Inc., a leading developer of Web graphics and video editing tools, today announced that it is the first company to complete and ship video editing software for the IEEE-1394 Open Host Controller Interface OHCI-Lynx chip from Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN), worldwide leader in 1394 Solutions. For the past several months, Ulead worked closely with TI and Microsoft Corp. to ensure its award-winning VideoStudio 3.0 DV software has the most comprehensive support for IEEE-1394 DV than any other program in the sub-$100 consumer video editing category. By bringing both broad and targeted support of IEEE-1394 devices into its software, Ulead's new version of VideoStudio allows video hobbyists and enthusiasts to control DV camcorders from their PC, and directly capture audio and video data from DV sources. "We've worked hard to create a low-cost, high-value, 1394 solution for the PC that works directly with PC and consumer software like Ulead's VideoStudio, resulting in TI having the largest market share for 1394 serial bus solutions. We will enable over 8 million computers with 1394 in 1999," said Larry Blackledge, Worldwide Bus Solutions Business Manager at Texas Instruments Inc. "We believe VideoStudio will drive significant user demand for digital video products supporting IEEE-1394." Ulead VideoStudio is already leading the category in technology innovation. Earlier this year, Ulead announced support for C-Cube's DVxplore MPEG-2 encoder/decoder solution and a bundling deal with the new Pyro Digital Video 1394DV solution from ADS Technologies. As the consumer digital video market continues to develop, Ulead's strong relationships ensure that it will lead the way in incorporating the best technologies from the best companies for the consumer. "With advanced technologies like TI's OHCI-Lynx chip, the industry is quickly delivering the kind of video hardware products consumers need for rapid market growth and adoption," said Dr. Liming Chen, president of Ulead Systems, Inc. "Once the ground work was laid for bringing high quality video into the computer, Ulead quickly chose key players to work with, making sure our software products are the best available." The OHCI-Lynx chip-level interface is supported directly by consumer versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems, including Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition. Support for TI's chip-level interface will be available for corporate customers in the Windows 2000 operating system. In addition, Ulead has worked with Microsoft to ensure compatibility of its software with the DV capture, device control and codec software drivers supplied by Microsoft in Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows 2000. "Microsoft is pleased to see collaboration between Ulead Systems and Texas Instruments to speed the delivery of camcorder-ready PCs to consumers," said Carl Stork, general manager Windows Hardware Strategy and Evangelism at Microsoft Corp. "We are continuing to provide strong support of IEEE-1394 devices, such as 1394 storage and other device types, as well as DV. Most recently, we built DV support into Windows 98 Second Edition, based on the Microsoft Windows Driver Model (WDM) driver and DirectShow streaming technologies. This provides a seamless connection between OHCI-compatible hardware, such as TI's OHCI-Lynx chip, and software packages supporting Windows standard APIs, such as Ulead's VideoStudio." TI leads the industry in market share and advanced 1394 Link and PHY developments, shipping nearly 100 percent of the 1394 technology in today's computers and roughly 70 percent in consumer electronics. The TSB12LV23 OHCI-Lynx chip reduces costs by 30 percent and power by 83 percent compared with the previous solution, and it interfaces to PCI or CardBus. "This solution is part of our aggressive technology leadership in 1394 and CardBus for the PC," continued Blackledge. "Available now, this link and our TSB41LV02, two-port, 400-Mbit/second PHY sell for sub-$10 in volume. Our next generation OHCI-Lynx and PHY will allow us to deliver a sub-$6 total 1394 solution to PC OEMs in the first half of next year." Ulead VideoStudio 3 has the right mix of features for this target market. The company's experience in video editing software with MediaStudio Pro 5.2 translates to a well-researched, easy-to-understand user interface and a mature engine. VideoStudio 3 offers several unique features. A VideoWizard introduces beginners to the video editing process and users can create simple movies in VideoWizard alone. Its proprietary SmartRender(TM) technology means that video frames which are not edited are not decompressed and recompressed, just copied. This significantly improves performance and quality. Final projects can be saved as video email or Multimedia Greeting cards, added to Web pages and saved back to DV camcorders. About Texas Instruments 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, further complemented by close to 300 third-party DSP solutions providers. 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 and digitalization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's business 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 and ti.com . About Ulead Systems Ulead Systems, Inc. develops innovative video, imaging and Web graphics applications to help users communicate their ideas effectively and creatively to audiences around the world. The company's award-winning products include Ulead PhotoImpact, Ulead VideoStudio, Ulead MediaStudio Pro, Ulead Photo Express, Ulead COOL 3D, Ulead COOL 360, and Ulead Face Factory. Ulead also supports the burgeoning Web graphics community with a robust Web site and a cutting-edge line of WebUtilities software products that focus specifically on Web graphics and animation design. For more information on the company, its products and services, please visit Ulead's Web site at ulead.com . NOTE: Ulead and the Ulead Systems logo are registered trademarks of Ulead Systems, Inc. Ulead PhotoImpact, Ulead VideoStudio, Ulead MediaStudio Pro, Ulead Photo Express, Ulead COOL 3D, Ulead COOL 360 and Ulead Face Factory are trademarks of Ulead Systems, Inc. OHCI-Lynx is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated. All other names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. SOURCE Ulead Systems, Inc. (C) 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. prnewswire.com CONTACT: press, Jill Ryan of McLean Public Relations, 650-685-3850, or jill--ryan@mcleanpr.com, for Ulead Systems, Inc. WEB PAGE: ti.com ulead.com GEOGRAPHY: California Texas INDUSTRY CODE: CPR MLM ENT SUBJECT CODE: PDT Copyright ¸ 1999, PR Newswire, all rights reserved.