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

To: Stoctrash who wrote (47963)	12/19/1999 11:46:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

WebTV technology on the run....................... mercurycenter.com Posted at 10:50 a.m. PST Saturday, December 18, 1999 WebTV Box Tours New York Someone diverted secret technology from Microsoft Redmond headquarters BY NOAM LEVEY AND CECILIA KANG Mercury News Staff Writers The box marked WebTV in Microsoft Corp.'s Mountain View mail room probably looked like the perfect gift, a new toy worth a couple hundred dollars that no one would miss. But it was no ordinary box. After it disappeared last week, police investigators were told it held a prototype machine worth a million dollars. And Microsoft wanted it back. They'll get it. A cross-country hunt for the missing piece of high-tech wizardry found it Friday in the Manhattan home of a man who thought he had just received a great Hanukkah present. Microsoft officials, who feared that their next-generation technology had been filched by high-tech rivals, can breathe a little easier. Investigators believe the thief didn't even know what he was stealing. Microsoft's current generation of WebTV boxes, which sit on top of the TV and allow users to surf the Internet from their televisions, sell for about $200 at most retailers. But the VCR-sized box that disappeared could be worth millions, said detective Ted Rodgers, who worked the case out of Mountain View. ``It's like any new technology out there,' Rodgers said. ``It could be the next big thing, and if it's the next big thing and sells, it will generate millions. Or it could flop.' Microsoft spokeswoman Pam Kahl would say only that the missing item was ``a very valuable box from a Microsoft perspective.' According to police, someone with access to the mail room at Microsoft's WebTV facility in Mountain View changed the address label on the WebTV box last week and rerouted it from Redmond, Wash., to New York City. The alarm bells went off when workers at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters received only the cord that was supposed to connect to the box. Searching through United Parcel Service shipping records left by the unwitting thief, investigators learned that the missing machine was shipped to East 96th Street in Manhattan, and Thursday afternoon, Mountain View police alerted their counterparts at the New York Police Department. Investigators from the city's Computer Investigation and Technology unit swept in and confronted an unsuspecting Scott Posner, who told police he had just given the box to his father, who lived 10 blocks south. Samuel Posner hadn't even unpacked it. He handed it over without incident, according to New York police. Rodgers, who also works on Silicon Valley's high-tech crime task force, said the Posners did not say who sent the special gift. But he said investigators are confident this was not high-tech espionage. ``It was just a really stupid theft,' Rodgers said. ``There is no indication there was any kind of conspiracy to steal WebTV technology.' Police are continuing their investigation. There have been no arrests.

To: Stoctrash who wrote (47963)	12/20/1999 8:33:00 AM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

C-Cube Brings Broadcast Quality to Streaming Video Market MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 1999-- Leading Manufacturers of Video Networking Systems Adopt C-Cube Silicon for Newest Generation of Streaming Video Products C-Cube Microsystems (Nasdaq: CUBE) today announced a new single-chip broadcast CODEC for one and two-way video networking applications including the emerging market for streaming video. DVxpert 5120 is the first single-chip MPEG CODEC (encoder and decoder) solution for streaming video over Internet Protocol (IP) and provides the potential for broadcast quality content creation and video playback over narrow, middle and broadband Internet pipes. Leading manufacturers of one and two-way video networking systems including Optibase, Minerva and FutureTel have each developed DVxpert 5120-based products. "Streaming video offers a cost-effective solution for highly visual, global communication," said Ray Newstead, vice president and general manager of C-Cube's Broadband Network Division. "C-Cube is offering the enabling MPEG compression and decompression technology that will allow video over IP to be as crisp and clear as it is on television, creating a new performance benchmark for communication applications." "Optibase selected the DVxpert 5120 after extensive evaluation," said Greg Eisips, director of technical marketing for Optibase. "Its advanced features such as prefiltering and motion estimation deliver on our technical requirements for providing the highest image quality for our customers. In addition, it meets our needs for supporting both MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 as well as low delay for video networking applications." DVxpert 5120 Addresses All Video Networking Applications DVxpert 5120 can be used for both one and two-way enterprise video networking applications, including streaming video over IP, VOD (video on demand), distance learning, enterprise-to-enterprise video training, video conferencing, telemedicine, security/web camera operations and satellite news gathering. Streaming video, the newest of these applications, allows worldwide viewing of live events and speeches (political, business or social), corporate training, worker collaboration, academic lectures, music videos, weather reports, security tapings and sporting events. Image Quality: Bit Rate and Bandwidth, Audio/Video Synchronization DVxpert 5120 provides a higher level of image quality and wider range of bit rate coverage than previously accessible in video networking content creation and distribution applications. The CODEC also allows fully synchronized audio and video for the first time. The CODEC offers scalable MPEG in a single-chip, allowing MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 encoding at varying quality levels for optimum quality at any bandwidth. The CODEC allows MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 compression at bit rates ranging from an ultra-low 56Kbps up to 15Mbps. For narrow and middleband applications the CODEC can compress MPEG-1 video to as low as 56Kbps. For broadband, the chip compresses MPEG-2 video at a rate as low as 1.5 Mbps or as high as 15Mbps. DVxpert 5120 is the industry's first solution for fully synchronized audio and video. The CODEC places a time-code on the audio and video streams. When the two streams merge together for streaming over the Internet, the stamps are linked together for precise matching of sound with movement. DVxpert 5120 Speeds Time-to-Market and Lowers System Costs DVxpert 5120's high integration of necessary functionality for video networking applications simplifies board and system design as well as lowers overall cost. DVxpert 5120 is the industry's first full-duplex, real time MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 encode/decode engine. The CODEC offers video and audio synchronization, transport-layer support for system multiplexing and demultiplexing on a single-chip. Packaged on a compact 308-pin BGA, DVxpert 5120 requires only 8MB external SDRAMs (no external FIFO required) and consumes less than two watts of power. For corporate communication applications, DVxpert 5120 is forecast to enable MPEG-based turn-key or stand-alone desktop video communication systems at the sub $5,000 range, allowing a nearly 50% reduction in the cost of similarly featured systems. Availability DVxpert 5120 is available and shipping now. About C-Cube C-Cube Microsystems Inc. is the industry leader in the development and delivery of highly integrated digital video silicon and systems solutions. C-Cube's Semiconductor Division delivers digital video silicon and systems solutions for the communications and consumer electronics markets. C-Cube's DiviCom Division is a leader in the deployment of digital video networks. C-Cube is headquartered in Milpitas, California with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol CUBE. C-Cube can be reached at +1.408.490.8000 or at c-cube.com. C-Cube's DiviCom Division is based in Milpitas, Calif. and can be reached at +1.408.944.6700 or at divi.com. C-Cube and the C-Cube logo are registered trademarks of C-Cube Microsystems, Inc. DiviCom is a registered trademark of DiviCom, Inc. CONTACT: C-Cube Microsystems Inc. Molly McCarthy, 408/490-8017 (Public Relations) molly.mccarthy@c-cube.com or Steven Horwitz, 408/490-8561 (Investor Relations) steven.horwitz@c-cube.com