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

To: BillyG who wrote (24454)	10/27/1997 9:58:00 AM
From: Stoctrash	Respond to of 50808

Today so far: Block activity is slim ta none. Mr. Rocker ...good spot to cover some?

To: BillyG who wrote (24454)	10/27/1997 1:20:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

STB uses IBM I think. But things change so fast... IBM AND COMPAQ TAKE DIFFERENT MPEG-2 ROADS: SOURCE SAME GRAPHICS AND DVD DRIVES ÿ 09/15/97 Multimedia Week (c) 1997 Phillips Business Information, Inc. ÿ IBM Corp. [IBM] is banking on the notion that when it comes to DVD customers will pay more for better video quality. To that end, the company has included hardware MPEG-2 decoding in two of the three DVD desktops (S62 and S6S) in the fall line. The company is expected to announce availability of the DVD desktops, as well as the rest of the line, on Sept. 15. Two of the models (S62 and S6S, priced at $3,099 and $3,299) will come with hardware decoding and a third model (S6H) will feature software decoding and sell for $2,999. The models with hardware decoding include an add-in card from STB Systems Inc. with an MPEG-2 chip from IBM Microelectronics. For software decoding IBM went with Mediamatics Inc. To date, IBM is the only PC manufacturer selling through retail that has shipped a DVD desktop with hardware decoding. Compaq executive's decided to go with a software MPEG-2 decoding solution from Zoran Inc. [ZRAN] to keep the cost of its DVD Presario down and gain market acceptance for the untested technology. The software option allowed Compaq to "give customers a much larger hard drive and memory than we feel our competitors will be able to deliver at the same price points," said Scott Holder, Compaq's manager of desktop marketing. Compaq's first two DVD PCs (models 4840 and 4850) will sell for $2,699 and $2,999. On the graphics and drive front, the Presario and Aptiva models share characteristics. Both lines feature double-speed drives from Hitachi Ltd. and ATI Technologies Inc.'s 3D Rage Pro with AGP support and motion compensation. IBM is working to deliver a direct competitor to Compaq in October. IBM's L71 DVD desktop will come with a 300 MHz Pentium II and very similar specs to Compaq's 4840. Tentative pricing for the model is $2,699; however, Compaq is likely to drop the price late in the fourth quarter. (IBM, 914/766-3419; Compaq, 281/514-0484.)