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

To: hlpinout who wrote (88694)	1/7/2001 8:49:28 PM
From: hlpinout	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Recordable DVD: Spielberg's nightmare? Apple and Compaq are scrambling to offer the ultimate in amateur moviemaking: the capability to record movies onto DVDs via a computer. By Joe Wilcox, Special to ZDNet January 5, 2001 12:49 PM PT Will Joe and Jane consumer put Steven Spielberg out of work? Could be, if Apple Computer and Compaq Computer have their way. Both companies are scrambling to offer the ultimate in amateur moviemaking: the capability to record movies onto DVDs via a computer. Sound off here!! Post your comment Desktop moviemaking Apple unbundles iMovie DVD begins final assault on videotape DVD decks will play games How to Take Your Movie to the Web How To Upgrade to DVD AAPL: News Profile Chart Estimates Besides movies, the drives also can be used to make audio DVDs. Warner Music released the first DVD audio titles in October, setting the stage for a shift from music CDs to DVDs, which can be spruced up with music videos, games and links to online interactive content. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is expected to unveil new Power Macs next week capable of recording DVDs and CDs, according to sources who warn that these plans could change at the last minute. Compaq (NYSE: CPQ) this week announced a new Presario consumer PC with a combo DVD/CD recordable/rewritable drive. That system ships in March. Digital pictures on a roll Using computers to make and edit movies is nothing new--whether in the home or in a professional setting. Sales of consumer digital camcorders, for example, which shoot movies that can be quickly transferred to a PC for editing, last year swelled to $3.3 billion, or 5.7 million units, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). DVD is seen as the future for movie watching and making because of the format's crisp digital playback and its growing popularity. The CEA describes the DVD player as the fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever. On Friday, the trade association projected $2.4 billion in DVD player sales for 2000, or 12.5 million units sold. But consumers have had limited options for storing and playing back their movies. So the ability to record DVDs at home and then send them to grandma to watch via her DVD player is compelling, say analysts. In fact, PC Data analyst Stephen Baker described DVD recording as an essential technology for reinvigorating computer sales at retail, which in 2000 declined for the first time. "This is the kind of stuff that is going to rekindle demand in the future," he said. "DVD recording absolutely would be a compelling reason to buy a new PC." Both Apple and Compaq have good reason to try to spur PC demand. The drop in PC sales hit the consumer market first, and affected Apple and Compaq more seriously than some other computer makers. Both companies watched inventory on dealers' shelves swell as retail revenue plummeted 30 percent in December compared with last year, according to PC Data. Apple's crop For Apple, DVD recording is a natural fit, particularly since the company already offers movie-editing software on all Macs. Apple's iMovie 2 lets consumers transfer content from a digital camcorder to Macs for editing and transferring to other media, such as a CD or a VHS tape. For some time Apple has also offered DVD-RAM, one of several competing DVD recording formats, as an option on Power Macs. But DVD-RAM is more suitable for data storage than for recording home movies, and the discs cannot be played in DVD players, said Dataquest analyst Mary Craig. "There are just too many compatibility issues with DVD-RAM," she said. Late last year, Apple started evaluating DVD-R (DVD recordable) drives from Pioneer, which the company plans to ship to computer makers sometime in February. Pioneer acknowledged Apple had been evaluating the drives, but would not comment on any product plans. However, sources familiar with the matter said Apple is likely to unveil a Pioneer DVD-R/CD-RW (CD rewritable) drive as an option on new Power Macs during next week's Macworld Expo trade show in San Francisco. The company also is expected to offer DVD/CD-RW drives on some Macs. The DVD-R drives are expected to appear first as a build-to-order option as early as late February. Apple, as part of its policy, would not comment on its product plans. Craig said the reasons for favoring DVD-R over DVD-RAM are obvious, particularly considering DVD-R's wide compatibility with DVD drives and DVD players. "If what we're hearing is true, you should be able to play the (recorded discs) in many players." Apple's DVD authoring software plans are uncertain. But at Macworld, Roxio--the software spinoff from Adaptec--will release a new version of its Toast CD authoring software capable of recording to DVD-RAM and DVD-R/RW discs, said sources close to the company.