Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: DiViT who wrote (50276)	11/9/2000 12:51:45 PM
From: Peter V	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 50808

Don't look now, but we are up almost a point today, in a horrendous tech downturn. Volume is only average, so I wonder what is up. This won't come close to making up my loss today in BBY, but I'm trying to find something positive here.

To: DiViT who wrote (50276)	11/9/2000 5:34:45 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Worlds smallest MPEG-2 encoder......................... electronicnews.com Vweb Claims Smallest MPEG-2 Video Encoder Chip Electronic News Nov 09, 2000 --- Vweb Corp.’s first product is the world’s smallest MPEG-2 video encoder chip, using less than half of the on-board memory and less than half the gates of competing products, the company said. The chip, dubbed the VW2000, is an MPEG-2 chip capable of delivering its video output over a range of networks, including the Internet as well as in standalone consumer devices. The chip uses 4Mbits of SDRAM, has a 32-bit SDRAM interface and has less than 500K gates. Other chips use a minimum of 8Mbits of SDRAM and have more than 1 million gates, Vweb said. The VW2000 also has a proprietary patent-pending motion vector search scheme, producing a smaller die size and faster searches than other chips. It has less than 16Kbytes of microcode. The chip’s rate control tracks 60 different parameters, which delivers a more consistent group of pictures size and adapts to scene changes quickly. “The VW2000 is the first chip that answers the diverse and exacting needs of the evolving digital video and audio markets,” said Sho Long Chen, Vweb’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “The simplicity, compact size and affordability of our chip enables consumer electronic manufacturers and other customers to quickly and easily bring more reliable products to market. In addition, our product adds a network-centric architecture which has not been seen in any chip to date.” The two-year-old company has eight patents for its motion estimation, rate control, and SOC technologies. The company said it plans to become a leader in MPEG SOC solutions for digital video distribution over the networks. The chip is ideal for various applications including streaming video with multicasting technology, video on demand, video conferencing, digital camcorders, digital servers, personal video recorders, DVD play and recorders, Internet Appliance, Internet video creators, set-top boxes and video capture cards, Vweb said.

To: DiViT who wrote (50276)	11/10/2000 4:42:27 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

SAST, a sometimes C-Cube customer......................... globalsources.com Shenzhen SAST forecasts blooming of DVD industry Shenzhen SAST Electronics Co. Ltd focuses on the research and manufacture of laser videos, fine machinery, electronics, software and hardware. The company's key product lines include VCD players, SVCD players, DVD players, home theater speakers and amplifiers and integrated receivers/decoders. SAST has recently developed digital cameras and video disc recorders. The company's sales were valued at $200 million in 1999, and an increase of 10 percent is expected for 2000. Liu Xueyi, general manager, told Audio & Video about the company's plans for the future. How was business for SAST in 2000? Our output of SVCD and DVD players increased rapidly in the past 12 months. We sold 100,000 DVD players in 1999, and in 2000 we produced 300,000 units. We hope to manufacture more than 500,000 units in 2001. The A/V line in mainland China is very competitive. What is your competitive strategy? We're taking the high-tech road. I believe offering high quality and value-added products at a reasonable price is the key way we'll remain competitive in the long-term. We've been upgrading product design and adding new features to make our products unique. Our DVD player supports Dolby Digital technology, super anti-shock and a resolution of more than 500 lines. We also place great emphasis on the quality of our products. We've invested more than $1.2 million in order to establish an ISO 9002 quality management system. What are the key trends in the VCD/DVD player industry? Super VCD players with support for games, education and MP3 functions are very popular right now. Video disc recorders will add new impetus to the line, as they can download TV programs or transfer programs from videocassettes to VCDs. We began to produce a recordable super VCD player at the end of 2000, and we'll produce a recordable DVD player (DVR) in the first half of 2001. These products will offer a higher resolution and more features. What are your development plans for 2001? The market share for VCD and SVCD players is decreasing, while the market share for DVD players is increasing. We expect DVD players to dominate the market in the coming years, so we'll invest heavily in the design and production of DVD players. Our future DVD players will have TV screen protection functions and intelligent functions. We are also considering portable DVD players and mini-component hi-fi DVD systems. What are your export plans for 2001? The market demand from Europe and North America for DVD players is estimated at 10 million sets. With mainland China's entry into the WTO, exports of DVD players will increase slightly. In 2001, we hope to double our exports since our DVD players have won approvals from CE, UL, FCC and FDA. Contact: Liu Xueyi, general manager Shenzhen SAST Electronics Co. Ltd Tel: 86-755-2402605 Fax: 86-755-2264477 E-mail: sast@globalsources.com Web: www.sast-dvd.com