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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: waitwatchwander who wrote (32511)	2/17/2003 3:31:39 PM
From: Mr. Sunshine	Respond to of 197344

<<I think they got into Digital Cinema for the FUN ..... I agree. And that is one of the reasons that I am asking about it! QCOM has so many exiting technologies. QCT and QCL of course are the most exiting, and by far have the most potential to make the big bucks, but sometimes it seems like we have said everything that can be said (at this time) about those. It is fun to speculate about the other enterprises that are or will provide some supplemental income, such as Omnitracks, Digital Cinema, Government contracts, Wireless Knowledge, etc..

To: waitwatchwander who wrote (32511)	3/4/2003 1:02:37 AM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 197344

Texas Instruments unveils new chip for digital projectors newsobserver.com By P.J. HUFFSTUTTER, LOS ANGELES TIMES Monday, March 3, 2003 7:30PM EST (TMS) - Texas Instruments is expected today to unveil a chip to power a high-end digital cinema projector, one that some filmmakers and Hollywood studio executives say may finally meet their minimum resolution requirements. Raising the bar on digital image display, the chips will allow for a projector to display 2K resolution, or a minimum of 2,000 lines of resolution on a theatrical screen, said Doug Darrow, business manager for Texas Instrument's Digital Light Processing Cinema Group. Texas Instruments declined to say how much its 2K chips will cost. The chips are expected to be in full production by the third quarter of this year. Cinematographers and studio executives who saw a recent demonstration of the new projector say they were impressed, but they warned that a lack of technical standards over resolution quality will continue to be a major hurdle blocking the adoption of so-called d-cinema. Yet Texas Instrument's 2K chipset is being launched as testing is being done by Digital Cinema Initiatives, a consortium of seven major movie studios to establish technology standards and build a business model that would make it profitable to distribute digital films electronically. Industry sources say DCI is developing a specification requiring that d-cinema projection begin at least at 2K resolution. DCI officials declined to comment on their progress or on Texas Instrument's new chip. So far, Texas Instruments has emerged as a dominant player in d-cinema theaters, primarily because of the Dallas-based semiconductor company's aggressive push to put machines using its chips in at least 150 theaters worldwide. Yet these projectors currently fall below the 2K resolution line. And the company is facing increased competition from Japanese rival JVC. JVC's high-end chips are being tested by Eastman Kodak Co., which has been demonstrating to studio executives a prototype of its own 2K digital projector. The technology promises to rid movies of visual problems, including wear that affects celluloid prints over time, scratches and other flaws caused by mechanical projectors. And by eliminating film, studio executives say they could save up to $1 billion in annual print production and distribution costs. Yet the conversion costs are considerable. A 2002 research report by Credit Suisse First Boston estimated it would cost $5.5 billion to install digital projectors in 37,000 U.S. theaters. ------------------------------------ TI will demonstrate the prototype system to exhibitors and industry insiders at ShoWest 2003, March 3-6 in Las Vegas, NV. uemedia.com

To: waitwatchwander who wrote (32511)	3/4/2003 1:07:57 AM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 197344

Kodak Announces Cinema Operating System uemedia.com By Staff Mar 3, 2003, 11:22 PST Eastman Kodak Company announced the availability of its digital-based Cinema Operating System (COS), augmented by a full menu of technical and support services. The Kodak system enables the industry to increase advertising revenue and enhance the movie-going experience with more entertaining pre-show content. "Our operating system allows exhibitors and screen advertisers to schedule and deliver pre-show entertainment and advertising over a digital network to all screens in a megaplex or multiplex," said Kodak Digital Cinema Operations manager Sean Lohan. "We anticipate making the first commercial installations during the second quarter of 2003." Kodak, which announced the system's availability at the annual ShoWest Conference (running Mar. 3-6) for motion-picture distributors and exhibitors, is also offering a complete menu of training, technical support and other services. These include automatic software updates, preparation and distribution of customized pre-show entertainment, and advertising from various sources. "The Kodak networks installed in cinemas will provide the 'backbone' for digital cinema projectors when industry standards are established and projectors are proven to be economically feasible," Lohan said. Kodak is successfully testing its digital operating system at Warner Village, Fulham Broadway, a Warner Bros. International theatre in London; The College Point Multiplex Cinemas, a National Amusements theatre in New York City; and Cinema Mediage, a Toho Company Ltd. Theatre in Tokyo. During the next several weeks, the operating system will be installed at the Chinese Six, a Mann Theatres multiplex in the heart of Hollywood, and also at a multiplex in Shanghai. The tests include preparation and delivery of advertising content from National Cinema Network (NCN) and Pro Motion Slides in New York, Sunrise in Tokyo, and Pearl & Dean in London. "Exhibitors, advertising suppliers and audiences who are participating in the tests are intrigued by the possibilities," Lohan said. "Our menu of services includes site surveys, installation, training, technical services and support, and delivery of high-quality pre-show content." The Kodak COS includes proprietary Kodak software, a main server, a network connecting all screens in a multiplex, with a mini-server and digital pre-show projector in each auditorium. The content is received and stored in the main server and distributed to the various screens, as well as to monitors in the lobby. The Kodak system also can be used to cue theatre automation and connect the master screening schedule, so pre-show content can follow individual movies. "The Kodak system is built on an open platform, so we can deliver advertising and other content from any ad supplier exhibitors choose," Lohan said. "We can handle everything from MPEG-2 encoding to play list assembly, duplication, and distribution of content. With the approval of participating exhibitors, we'll provide their suppliers with the 'affidavit of play' to certify that ad content ran as scheduled." The system will be supported by Kodak's worldwide service team. "A service plan is part of the sale of every Kodak system," Lohan said. "We have designed our system to be powerful and durable with built-in redundancies, remote diagnostics, and field serviceable parts. We provide one phone number to call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All of our service plans include automatic software updates." Lohan stresses that the Kodak Digital Cinema Operating System is scalable and will enable exhibitors to plug-in cinema grade digital projectors in the future. "We are currently focusing on pre-show applications because this is the service that the market is developing now," Lohan says, "but our goal is to build long-term relationships between Kodak, ad suppliers, motion picture distributors and exhibitors. We are providing a solution the industry can use profitably now and grow with in the future." Kodak is located at Palace Room 3 at Bally's at ShoWest. For more information, visit the Kodak website at www.kodak.com/go/dcinema.