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

To: Alex Dominguez who wrote (26223)	12/5/1997 6:28:00 PM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

Alex, the fact that Innovacom says its so, doesn't mean it's true! The patent was filed in 1992. That means it is not enforceable (and may be invalid) with respect to any settop design or two way cable design that existed in 1992. I worked in cable TV in the early 80s -- attended the Western Show, NCTA Convention, etc. -- and there were one and two-way settop box designs. Companies had video compression systems then, although they were not as good as MPEG2. The point is that it is not likely that the Innovacom patent filed in 1992 is any type of pioneering patent. Just my opinion -- the marketplace and courts will decide that issue. Who have they licensed it to? No one yet -- you can be sure that they will issue press releases when and if they do. As far as I can tell, the patent has been sold to only one company (Innovacon) for 3 million shares of stock. How much is that worth, and to who?

To: Alex Dominguez who wrote (26223)	12/5/1997 10:42:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

DTV, it's coming, it's big. I think you agree................................... usatoday.com 12/05/97- Updated 11:50 AM ET Presidential panel studies digital TV WASHINGTON - It is almost as if broadcast television is being reinvented. The new system is called digital TV, and a presidential panel is trying to determine how it should differ from what Americans see on their screens now. The presidential commission, meeting Friday, continued work on determining what broadcasters owe the public in return for using free channels, worth billions of dollars, for digital TV. Given the panel's diverse members, reaching a consensus will be a challenging task. Panel members include public and commercial broadcasters, children's activists and academics, who have often been at odds. Still, "I'm actually fairly bullish at this point that we may be able to do something here," said American Enterprise Institute scholar Norman Ornstein, who co-chairs the panel with CBS Television President Leslie Moonves. The panel's recommendations are not expected before next fall, instead of June as originally planned. In two years, some of the nation's largest broadcasters must begin offering digital broadcasts, which create superior pictures and sound and much more channel space than existing analog signals. Eventually, all stations must make the switch to digital. Under current rules, broadcasters have obligations to meet in return for using analog channels, among them airing public-affairs and educational children's programs and providing cheaper air time to political candidates. At issue with the presidential panel is how the existing obligations should transfer to the digital world, and what new obligations should be imposed with digital's arrival. Vice President Al Gore, for instance, wants free political air time and more shows geared toward children. Broadcasters dislike both suggestions. Ultimately, the Federal Communications Commission, which is keeping a close eye on the panel's work, will decide what the new responsibilities should be. "We think the broadcasters can do more and more creative things to promote democracy, the needs of children, the disabled, and in particular give the opportunity for direct contact with the public for people with important opinions who have been unable to obtain access in the past," such as third-party political candidates, said Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm. He is to testify before the panel. Even though stations will each have to spend millions to convert to digital, Schwartzman contends that broadcasting is a healthy business and that stations can afford to do more for the public. NBC President Robert Wright will discuss before the panel "the business realities of the digital world, and he's going to examine how public interest obligations have worked in the past and how they might work in the future," his spokeswoman Beth Comstock said. Media Access Project's Schwartzman said broadcasters should be given a list of obligations to choose from but must in the end include political free air time. Having such flexibility to fulfill any new obligations was a point made by other public interest groups and commercial and public broadcasting representatives. Paul Taylor, executive director of Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition, which wants free air time, proposed that TV stations contribute free air time to a national time bank. Candidates would obtain vouchers from the Federal Election Commission to purchase time. "I would consider the day a disappointment if we got sort of opposite ends of the continuum staked out, and we ended up with kind of extremes expressed without having a real sense of where we can find common ground," Ornstein says. Digital TV allows broadcasters to squeeze more video and data into existing channel space, giving them lots of options. They could: use it to provide high definition, which offers more defined pictures than standard digital. offer additional TV channels for sports or movies, or stock quotes and other data transmitted to home computers for free or for a monthly fee. offer a combination of the two. By The Associated Press