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To: J Fieb who wrote (26262)	12/7/1997 10:49:00 AM
From: Carnac	Respond to of 50808

Could someone in the biz discuss the INTC/Hitachi software and how it might relate to CUBE's decoders and DiVi's boxes. Will hardware beyond the CPU be necessary? Thanks in advance. It means there could be a rush to redesign those graphics controllers with MCP on-chip (ATI, S3, Trident). Mediamanics and Zorand had are going to have to write software too for their broadcast PC soft-mpeg players. (not needed for current DVD). For the settop box, it makes those chips with transdecoders much more attractive because now there won't be any compatibility problems. This could be serious trouble for Bullcansay & company. CHROMAC "May your MCP decimation filter drift your video into a blurry mess."

To: J Fieb who wrote (26262)	12/7/1997 11:01:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

SoftDVD, good enough??????????????????????? zdnet.com PC Magazine -- December 16, 1997 Software DVD: A Good Choice? Compaq's top-of-the-line Presario 4850 uses software rather than a hardware decoder to play back DVD MPEG-2 data. According to the vendor, with a given price point (in this case, $3,000), their customers preferred greater core computing features than what was perceived to be the barely incremental performance advantages of more expensive hardware DVD decoding. Compaq's software DVD solution, called SoftDVD, is a collaboration among Compaq, ATI, Intel, and Zoran Corp., whose CompCore division provided the software. Zoran/CompCore SoftDVD performs MPEG-2 video and Dolby Digital audio decoding, 3-D audio, DVD navigation, and copy protection; meanwhile, ATI's 3D Rage Pro graphics accelerator with MMX optimization adds motion compensation. Both are enabled by Intel's 440LX AGP chip set, which is used with Pentium II processors. Compaq pulls the whole thing together, so users can view full-screen DVD playback on their PCs. According to Compaq, Zoran's MPEG-2 decoder generates video playback at about 17 fps, and the ATI motion compensation adds 6 to 8 fps for an overall speed of 23 to 25 fps. This is similar to the rates achieved with hardware DVD decoders. The greatest concern for users is whether software DVD works well enough. The response is mixed, but most say yes. After testing in PC Labs, we found that reactions were mixed in informal jury testing. Nevertheless, all were surprised at how well SoftDVD performed. Movie scenes with broad panning shots in particular showed slight jerkiness, though several viewers didn't see the breaks in smooth motion until they were pointed out. But even with these minor breaks, many users are likely to be satisfied with SoftDVD performance. Many buyers will likely be happy with SoftDVD, particularly if viewing DVD video is one of several activities for which a computer is intended. Film buffs, on the other hand, may want a hardware solution with incrementally better motion handling. As hardware decoder prices drop within the next two years, software DVD will likely enable lower-end system buyers to enjoy movies. Conversely, premium PC buyers will pay a little extra money for that last bit of performance attainable with hardware DVD.--BB

To: J Fieb who wrote (26262)	12/7/1997 12:08:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

China: Foreign investment in consumer electronics to receive favorable tax and tariff treatment starting in January............................ hkstandard.com Beijing eyes tariff, tax breaks to lure high-tech investors CHINA plans tariff and tax concessions for foreign firms investing in high-technology projects and other sectors given priority by the government, an economic official said on Friday. Foreign firms investing in high- and new-technology projects would enjoy waivers of customs tariffs and value-added tax on imports of equipment starting from 1 January, the State Planning Commission official said. Under the scheme, a 17 per cent value-added tax would be levied on capital goods imported by foreign firms investing in other sectors, he said. That tariff rate on equipment imports would be halved for foreign firms investing in priority sectors, such as agricultural infrastructure development and irrigation, the official said. To encourage fresh foreign investment, China was making policy adjustments on a sector-by-sector basis, he said. The new version of guidelines on foreign investment and tariffs would be issued early next year, he added. The official said China would open its mineral resource exploration, wholesale and retail sectors, and telecommunications industries to foreign investors from next year. The China Securities newspaper, quoting State Planning Commission Chen Jinhua, said that by the end of the century, China would speed up the opening of key sectors, including energy, communications, key raw materials, electronics, cars and petrochemicals. Beijing would also gradually open its finance, trade and other service areas, the minister was quoted as saying. Recent weeks have seen a steady trickle of media reports on tariff policy changes as China's leaders grope for ways to revive foreign-investment inflows. Pledged foreign investment in China dropped a year-on-year 38.8 per cent in September to US$34.92 billion (HK$272.4 billion), official data showed. - Reuters