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

To: BillyG who wrote (48251)	1/13/2000 2:41:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Cube customer picks up the Pace... digitalbroadcasting.com{1E4ED04C-C901-11D3-9A84-00A0C9C83AFB}&Bucket=Latest+Headlines UK DTV Rollout Fuels Pace Earnings 1/12/00 Europe's largest digital set top box manufacturer, Pace Micro Technology (London), posted a 53% increase in profits for the latest quarter (ended December 4, 1999). The company reported profit before tax and exceptional items of £12.7 million (US$20.8 million), up from £8.3 million (US$13.6 million) for the same period in 1998. Business within the UK represented over 90% of Pace's revenues, and the company was able to take advantage of the launch of free set-top boxes by BskyB and ONdigital and of the initial roll out of digital cable services by CWC, Telewest, and NTL. As a result, turnover increased by 58% from 1998 to US$258.6 million. Pace attributes the improved returns to the accelerating growth of DTV in the UK and competition between satellite, cable, and terrestrial transmission. Pace provides the integration technology that enables the customers of each of these systems to receive DTV services. Overseas business for the company, however, was depressed. In Latin America, economic difficulties slowed sales, and in European markets, new products were delayed by component shortages. While performance in Latin America will take time to improve, Pace increased revenues in Europe over the second half of last year and won a new contract to supply Canal+ with at least 100,000 units next year. In the US, Pace gained its first cable contract with Time Warner Cable for a minimum of 750,000 units over the next three years. For the remainder of this financial year, Pace expects a continuation of the pattern of the first half of the year with further rapid deployment of the home gateway in the UK. Margins will remain under pressure as a result of the competitiveness of the market.

To: BillyG who wrote (48251)	1/13/2000 4:18:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

DVD sales, the Medium of the Millennium, to double in 2000............................ dvdinsider.com DVD Entertainment Group Coins DVD ?Medium of the Millennium? - 1/10/00 Enjoying even greater sales than expected in the all-important fourth quarter, DVD-Video was hailed as the most successful consumer electronics product launch ever. Figures compiled by the DVD Entertainment Group (formerly DVD Video Group) based on retail and manufacturer inventory levels revealed at CES estimate that hardware player sales sold through to consumers since the format launched have reached more than 5 million players in North America (United States and Canada). Industry executives named DVD-Video the ``Medium of the Millennium' and boast that DVD-Video is the fastest-growing new packaged media format launch in history with close to 5.4 million DVD-Video players shipped to retail since the format launched nationally in the United States in fall 1997. The outlook for next year is equally promising. The DVD Entertainment Group estimates that hardware shipments will double to 8 million DVD-Video players in 2000. And, based on the success of the format exceeding all previous forecasts that number could be even higher. The group also estimates that the installed base will more than exceed 10 percent of U.S. households, a benchmark of success for a consumer electronics product. The surge in hardware sales is a positive boost for retailers. In 1999, DVD-Video hardware represented more than $1 billion in retail sales. This includes stand-alone players only and does not include DVD-ROM drives or other home theater products. ``With over 5 million players in consumer homes, DVD-Video has clearly reached mainstream acceptance,' said Emiel N. Petrone, chairman, DVD Entertainment Group, and executive vice president - worldwide, Philips Entertainment Group. ``The future for home video is here. `DVD is the Medium of the Millennium.' There are now nearly 70 DVD Video player models marketed under 30 different consumer electronics brands. DVD Video players are widely available at mass merchants, electronics specialty stores, over the Internet and many other locations throughout the United States. In only its third year in the marketplace, DVD-Video player prices have declined significantly. According to Intelect ASW, the average price sold for a DVD-Video player was $298 in November, down 30 percent from $428 at the same time last year. Some players and models are available for less than $200, making the format accessible to the mass market. The DVD Entertainment Group estimates that DVD-Video brought in revenue of more than $2 billion for Hollywood studios and music labels in 1999. According to figures compiled by Ernst & Young on behalf of the DVD Entertainment Group, nearly 100 million DVD movies and music videos shipped in 1999. In the fourth quarter alone almost 50 million DVD movies and music videos shipped to retail. This figure represents virtually the same amount that shipped in the first nine months of 1999 and is a 400 percent growth over the same period in 1998. Since the format's launch, software shipments have reached more than 130 million units, according to the DVD Entertainment Group. And, the DVD Entertainment Group expects the industry to double its 1999 sales by shipping at least 200 million DVD movies and music videos in 2000, representing $4 billion in revenue for the studios and music labels, approximately half of the total revenue generated from the VHS sell-through. ``This year we began to see initial shipments of 1 million software units,' said Paul Culberg, president, DVD Entertainment Group, and executive vice president - worldwide, Columbia TriStar Home Video. ``Titles like 'The Matrix' (Warner Home Video), 'Titanic' (Paramount Home Video), 'Saving Private Ryan' (DreamWorks Home Entertainment), 'The Mummy' (Universal Studios Home Video) and 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me' (New Line Home Video) all had initial orders of 1 million units shipped to retail. Clearly, DVD-Video is here to stay.' With all the major movie studios and music labels supporting the DVD-Video format, there are more than 5,000 titles now available. The DVD Entertainment Group predicts that number to swell to more than 8,500 next year.