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To: Manuel Vizcaya who wrote (48007)	12/24/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

DVD player units to double next year.................... dvdinsider.com DVD Drives Into The Millennium - 12/17/99 According to recent multimedia reports released by Cahners In-Stat Group, DVD player shipments will double in 2000, while DVD-ROM drives will experience lower growth. "Many manufacturers have jumped on the DVD bandwagon, which resulted in the price declines that have driven sales growth," said Michelle Abraham, senior analyst with In-Stat. "In 2000, players will reach the sub-$150 price level which will contribute to continued growth." Abraham added that DVD-Audio will also help propel DVD player sales due to its multichannel sound capability. However, the DVD drive market is still not meeting original expectations. CD-ROM drives will continue to outship DVD-ROM drives until 2002. The popularity of CD-RW drives is having an impact as PC OEMs choose between incorporating a CD-RW or DVD-ROM drive into their PC models. "Rather than make that choice, PC OEMs are eager for combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM drives," said Abraham. In-Stat's research also found: -- The high prices, format wars, and copy protection issues will keep DVD-Video recorders out of the mainstream for several years. -- Price declines, the main reason for the spectacular rise in DVD player shipments, will stall revenue growth by 2003 at close to $5 billion. -- Once combination drives reach $100, they will account for 25 percent of the total CD/DVD drive market. -- There will finally be a significant decline in CD-ROM drive shipments in 2000. CONTACT: Cahners In-Stat Group cahnersinstat.com

To: Manuel Vizcaya who wrote (48007)	12/26/1999 12:04:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Philps is at it again. MPEG-2 audio.................... chinaonline.com Philips and Dolby Compete for China's Digital Audio Coding Standard (7/15/99) The wrestle between Philips and Dolby for China?s digital audio coding standard is intensifying, the July 9 Zhongguo Dianzi Bao (China Electronics) reported. Audio coding technology compresses, decompresses, processes, and represents in code moving pictures, audio and their combination. Philips is promoting the MPEG standard, while Dolby is promoting its Dolby AC-3 standard. Dolby AC-3 has already been chosen to provide digital surround sound with high definition TV broadcasts in the US, the newspaper reported. Dolby has refused to lower its licensing fee to China, according to the article, so Philips is now "making eyes" at China by offering it a lower licensing fee in order to capture the market. Philips recently sponsored a symposium on digital television in Beijing on June 30, and used the opportunity to promote the MPEG audio coding standard. Thomas Boltze, who was a speaker at the symposium, said that MPEG is offering a much lower licensing fee than Dolby AC-3. He also assured the audience that Philips has made great contributions to the MPEG standard and would be able to provide a good deal of support to China, according to the article. Boltze said that MPEG's license fee would be US$1 per soundtrack for quantities from 1 - 100,000, and only US$.20 per soundtrack for orders over 100,000. Moreover, he said the payments would be on a yearly basis, while payments for the Dolby standard would be on a quarterly basis, the newspaper reported. The biggest difference between the Dolby AC-3 and MPEG standard is that the MPEG licensing fee will remain unchanged for many years to come, the newspaper reported. Fees will be linked to sales volume , and will not be affected by variable price indices. Earlier, however, a Dolby representative alleged that Philips is "conservative" about sharing its MPEG technologies with others, adversely affecting the spread of DVD and digital TV in the world, the newspaper said. Competition Between DVB and ATSC is "White-Hot" Meanwhile, competition has also intensified between two of the major bidders for China?s potentially huge digital TV market, in anticipation that at the end of the year China will decide on one standard. The two major players are Digital Video Broadcasting Projects (DVB), which has its strongest supporters in Europe, and the Advanced Televisions Systems Committee (ATSC) standard, which is mainly supported by U.S. firms, according to the article. Although the Chinese government has not formally announced which standard it will use, a large proportion of domestic cable TV now uses the DVB standard, and China?s cable industry will probably adopt it, the newspaper said. If Chinese land-based TV also used the DVB standard, the three modes could organically interact and inter-coordinate, making the entire range of TV formats one large integrated system. This is the primary reason to choose DVB. Despite this probability, the article says that both sides are nevertheless intensifying their bids by making pitches to various government departments, and the competition is turning white-hot. China will conduct an experimental broadcast of digital television China's National Day (October 1). In the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand have chosen the DVB solution, and Australia and New Zealand will start broadcasting in 2001. Meanwhile, Korea and Taiwan have adopted the ATSC solution, and will start broadcasting in 2001. Japan has postponed its decision until 2003. See related article(s):