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To: Rarebird who wrote (27132)	12/28/1997 11:00:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

The road for Asia is Digital................................. asiansources.com Digital technology puts consumer electronics on the road to recovery <Picture>Commercial debut of DVD players, other digital products revives markets, paves way for mass assembly in Asia Contents THE DRY spell has finally broken in the consumer electronics industry. And rescue came from a likely source: DVD. Much-anticipated since the fall of 1996, DVD players finally came onto the US market early last year. With 200,000 units sold in the first six months of 1997, DVD has already eclipsed the initial sales of videocassette recorders and compact disc players. DVD is not the only spot of good news. Sales of analog products also climbed, perhaps as a ripple effect of the push to digital. The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) is reporting increased sales of projection TVs, VCR decks and camcorders. In the first seven months of 1997, sales of audio equipment to US dealers was close to the end-year total for 1996, at $3.94 billion. Factory sales of video hardware totaled 26.7 million pieces for the first eight months of 1997, higher by 1 million units than the volume shipped during the same period in 1996. Plus, VCR sales were on their way to passing the 14 million mark set the previous year. Digital TVs, digital satellite and digital radio; new technologies and selling strategies. What role for Asia's suppliers in all these, and what implications for sourcing strategies in 1998? - Asian Sources Electronics, January 1998

To: Rarebird who wrote (27132)	12/28/1997 11:20:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

A DVD in every US home by 2000????????????????????????? asiansources.com DVD players US DVD industry poised for takeoff WHILE SALES of DVD players in the United States have failed to take off as much as retailers would like, advocates of the technology have almost blind faith in the success of the line. They base their optimism on the growing awareness among US consumers of the technological advantages DVD players have over LD players or VCRs, the most obvious of which are the better picture and sound quality. Most retailers remain confident that DVD players will boost the consumer electronic market, and dismiss the early lack of soft-ware as a teething problem that will resolve itself in time. Organizations like the DVD Video Group (DVG), a nonprofit trade association comprised of major DVD hardware manufacturers and software producers, have come out expressly to promote the line. And more companies are responding by producing titles for DVD. By the end of 1997, DVG estimated more than 600 DVD titles would be available on the market. Software blues Most retailers agree that the more titles there are in the DVD format, the more popular the players will become. Hardware is not a problem, they say, with the big brand names driving the market. "The industry has been preoccupied with hardware, but [the hardware] is fine right now," said Ken Findlay, owner of All Brands Electronics, a retail store in Little Falls, New Jersey. DVD consumers are looking for state-of-the-art features and finding them, Findlay said. "Sony and Pioneer models are in constant back order," he explained. "There are shortages in the higher end." Consumer profile Most of the current crop of consumers are electronically aware individuals who like to be first on the block with the new technology. But while mainstream consumers have yet to buy into DVD, Findlay believes it is only a matter of time before they do so. For one, prices are coming down, so affordability will no longer be a problem. "And as long as software is available, consumers will be willing to purchase DVDs," he stressed. Like Findlay, Richard Stanton, owner of DVD City, also finds demand is outstripping supply for Sony models. DVD City is a supplier that does 90 percent of its business on the Internet and the rest through a small retail store. The higher-end Sony models top out at around $1,000, but they have a lot of different jacks on the back allowing them to be more compatible with other technology. Stanton is also finding success promoting the Toshiba brand name. Models SD2107 and SD3107 feature a picture zoom option that enlarges up to four times. These models also have a color stream feature that provides high clarity as well as built-in karaoke. Stanton thinks the problem of insufficient software will soon be solved as Hollywood appears to have bought into DVD. "The software market is finally catching up with the hardware market," he said. Taking the CD path DVG spokesman Rob Williams estimated that there were more than 275 titles on DVD in October, and that there will be more than 600 by the end of 1997. "It does take time," he said, pointing to the fact that DVDs were just introduced at the beginning of 1997. When CDs were first introduced, All Brand Electronic's Findlay explained, few people bought the players until their favorite album was available in that format. Once consumers realized they could purchase all their favorite albums on CD, CD player sales skyrocketed. Similarly, while the DVD market is growing, many consumers are holding off on their decision to buy. Findlay believes people are questioning if DVD technology will stick around or be replaced by another technology. However, in recent months, more movie studios have developed movies for DVD and more music videos are available in the format. Many video stores are also now offering DVD discs in addition to VHS cassettes. "Once every major title is on DVD disc, consumers will have no reason not to purchase DVD hardware," Findlay said. "As soon as the consumer realizes that he will be able to view his favorite movie in an absolutely better format than he has ever seen before, there will be no stopping him from buying a DVD player." And once the software can be rented, why would anyone want to buy videotape again? Findlay predicts DVD will take over many of the other markets. Consumers will have them in computers, video/audio central units, cars, planes and portables. "It will become the common source from which we will receive all our information," he said. DVD City's Stanton is equally optimistic. He believes that in a very short time, possibly by the year 2000, there will be a DVD player in every American household. The DVD provides a better picture, with better sound quality and many more choices as far as programming goes. The only drawback is that one is not able to record on to it, he said. VCR and DVD complementary Findlay doesn't foresee nonrecordability as being a long-term problem, either. He estimates that the technology will be here in just a couple of years, and then the LD, CD and DVD war will be similar to the VHS versus Beta wars, with the losers becoming obsolete. Findlay is banking on DVD winning that war. DVG's Williams believes that for the time being, the market will be similar to the tape cassette/CD market. CDs are nonrecordable, so cassettes still exist. "It's not necessarily an either/or market. It might be VCRs and DVDs," Williams stated. He is also optimistic about recordable technology emerging for DVDs in approximately three to five years. "Laser disc consumers were some of the very first people to jump onto the bandwagon," he explained. "But overtaking the VCR market is something that you look at in the long term."

To: Rarebird who wrote (27132)	12/28/1997 11:25:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Korea's second generation DVDs. All Cube customers...................... asiansources.com DVD players <Picture> Korean chaebols move into second-generation DVD supply EXCEPT FOR their Japanese rivals, Korean electronics makers lead the pack in Asia, with many DVD manufacturers well on their way toward the development and production of second-generation models. With domestic sales slow, the range from Korea is largely targeted at the overseas market. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) forecasts a sharp increase in demand in 1999 for DVD players. Samsung sells its products to China, Australia and Southeast Asia. LG Electronics began exports of DVD players in late 1997 to China and the United States. Despite the line's lackluster debut on the local market last year, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) forecasts a sharp increase in demand in 1999 for DVD players - rising to 1.2 million units - and DVD drives - to 2.5 million drives. The industry's upbeat outlook is reflected in the frenzied competition among local makers to outdo one another in coming up with new releases this year. Among the firms launching second-generation DVD players is Samsung Electronics. Unlike the ones it introduced during the first half of 1997, the new models use one instead of two key chipsets. The company's lineup has also been expanded to include DVD/LD players and multisystem players. The firm has also announced a portable DVD player, compatible with CRT TVs and projection TVs for home use, and with HMDs (head mounted displays) for outdoor applications. Demonstrated at the October Korea Electronics show, the 0.9kg, 200-by-160-by-55mm unit is more compact than those of Toshiba or Matsushita, the firm claims. LG Electronics has also begun mass production of its second-generation red laser devices for DVDs. Featuring 650nm electronic waves and 5mW power consumption, they endure for more than 5,000 hours at a high temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Monthly production is now 70,000 pieces, and is expected to expand to 250,000 pieces at the end of the first quarter of 1998. Recordable, high-power versions will be available within the year. Most recently, LG Electronics' focus has been on the Divx (digital video express) technology. It has launched Divx DVD players for Zenith's Inteq collection, which it hopes to export to the United States this year. Although these DVD players are highly expensive due to the required reading boards and security devices, the company is confident that consumers will eventually buy the products because of the low price of Divx titles. Consumer reaction to the system, which prices discs at around $5 apiece, but which requires the use to phone - and pay - for authorization to view, has been mostly negative, however. DVD drives and boards Kasan Electronics Co. Ltd has introduced a new-generation DVD board with improved graphic functions. The firm is targeting OEM sales to major PC makers. One of the world's first producers of DVD boards for PCs, Kasan now also makes the world's first six-channel DVD boards. Called Jammin DVD 6, the boards support the six-channel Dolby AC-3 specifications, the de facto international audio standard for DVD. Dooin Electronics Co. Ltd has released its second series of DVD boards, featuring MPEG audio and decoder in one chipset.

To: Rarebird who wrote (27132)	12/28/1997 1:34:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

They got the Zoran AC-3 decode wrong again! The Dell Dimension-DVD will blow you socks off, and it's cheaper than software..................................... msnbc.com REVIEW: Dell Dimension XPS D300-DVDFor a direct price of just $2,879 fully loaded, this machine is a huge bargainBy Carol Venezia, PC Magazine ZDNETIf your holiday wish list includes a new Pentium II PC with a second-generation DVD-ROM drive, you can start your shopping at www.dell.com. On Tuesday, Dell Computer Corp. announced the availability of Dimension XPS D300-DVD, a 300-MHz Pentium II PC complete with DVD-ROM drive, hardware DVD decoder, and Altec Lansing USB-controlled surround-sound speakers-among many other goodies. And for a direct price of just $2,879 fully loaded, this machine is a huge bargain.ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿLIKE OTHER PCs in the Dimension line, this model comes completely stocked with everything you'll need for some serious computing. To the system's 300-MHz Pentium II processor with 512K integral L2 cache, Dell adds a gargantuan 8.4GB IBM Ultra ATA hard disk, 32MB of synchronous DRAM, a 56-Kbps X2 modem, and a 17-inch (15.9-inch viewable) Trinitron 0.26-dot-pitch monitor. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿBut that's certainly not all you'll find inside this machine. Graphics are provided by an STB Velocity 128 AGP card with 4MB of VRAM, driven by the nVidia RIVA 128 accelerator. If you're a 3-D game maven, this board will knock your virtual socks off. In our most recent roundup of home PCs, a Dimension XPS D300 - an Editors' Choice - with the same card was one of the top performers on our ZD 3D WinMark 98 tests. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThe Dimension's DVD subsystem starts with a Hitachi GD-2000 DVD-ROM drive. This drive is a second-generation model, which means that-unlike with first-generation drives-you'll be able to read all CD-ROM formats, including CD-Recordable disks. The drive spins DVD disks at 2X speeds, while standard CDs operate at 8X/20X variable speeds. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿFor decoding MPEG-2 and AC3 (Dolby Digital audio) signals, the Dimension uses a Quadrant International CineMaster C-1.2D card, a PCI board that talks to the machine's graphics accelerator card via a pass-through cable. Full-screen, 30-fps MPEG-2 video decoding is performed by C-Cube Microsystems' single-chip ZiVA DS-C decoder, while AC3 audio is handled by a Zoran chip. The ZiVA chip is compatible with all DVD standards, and offers NTSC/PAL DVD video decoding, CD-ROM data decoding, as well as full VideoCD 2.0 compatibility. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC... ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThe Dimension's audio subsystem starts with a SoundBlaster AWE64 audio card hooked to the Quadrant CineMaster card. To handle AC3 audio from DVD-ROM disks, the CineMaster board decodes the Dolby Digital signal, downmixes it to a two-channel signal through the SoundBlaster card, and plays it out as Dolby ProLogic Surround Sound via the included Altec Lansing ACS-495 USB-controlled speaker system. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThis three-speaker set features two 10-watt satellites plus a 24-watt subwoofer. These speakers will operate in stereo mode, but the default operation is four-channel ProLogic sound (left, right, center, and surround). And while you will find push-button and rotary controls on the right satellite for manual speaker operation, you won't find a power switch. That's because the speaker system will power down into standby mode after 30 seconds without an audio signal. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ...VIA USB ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿIf you're tired of spinning the wrong dial to adjust speaker volume and subwoofer bass levels, or double-clicking on that Windows 95 speaker icon (which provides limited functionality at best), you'll love the included ACS-495 Speaker Management Software. This software allows you to control and adjust audio levels on-screen, through the USB port. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿHere's how it works: The ACS-495 speakers plug into the subwoofer, and the subwoofer plugs into a jack on the Dimension's sound card, just like a regular analog three-piece speaker system. But unlike other setups, this system's subwoofer has an additional wire connection to the PC's USB port. It's this USB connection that allows you to control system sound through the Speaker Management Software's on-screen graphical interface. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿMake no mistake, however: These are not USB speakers. There's still a multiple-wire tangle involved with their setup (although all plugs are conveniently color-coded to ease the process), and you can't daisy-chain any other USB devices off the subwoofer. But once you see how easy it is to control and adjust audio through this setup, you probably won't care about the jungle of wires that it creates behind your desk. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThe Speaker Management Software is completely graphically driven. So adjusting left and right surround, the left and right satellites, and the center channel is as easy as clicking on and sliding the controls up and down. There's also a master volume slider, as well as a mute button. And although the Help files are extensive, the software is so intuitive that you probably won't need them. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThis software interface is also fully user-customizable. You can define settings for either stereo or ProLogic surround-sound mode. There are also quick-access radio buttons for defined music, game, and movie sound settings, as well as three more miscellaneous user-definable presets. The software is also very easy to access: Just spin the volume knob on the right satellite and the interface pops up on screen. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAll of this innovation in an unassuming gray minitower case may sound great, but you're probably wondering just how this setup performs with a DVD movie. Well, wonder no more: It's fabulous. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿDuring testing with the DVD version of the movie "Legends of the Fall," playback was simply flawless. Audio was clear, crisp, and vibrant, with resonant bass tones. Video playback went off without a hitch-no jerky movements due to dropped frames were evident throughout the entire movie, even during wide-angle, fast-moving pan shots. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿWe played the movie in full-screen mode and easily controlled playback through Dell's on-screen DVD interface. The icons on this interface are a bit esoteric, but if you hover your mouse briefly over each button, a short function descriptor window pops up to help. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ SOFTWARE VS. HARDWARE DVD ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿIn PC Magazine's Dec. 16 First Look of a Compaq Presario 4850 with a DVD-ROM drive, we noted the Presario 4850 relies on software to decode MPEG-2 video and AC3 audio signals. This system provides a good point of comparison between software and hardware DVD, as it, like the Dimension, is a 300-MHz Pentium II PC. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThe Presario was able to play back all of the DVD titles that we threw at it. However, we did witness jumpy and jerky motions due to dropped frames in slow motion and in wide pan shots. While we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of playback, it didn't quite match the quality of the hardware-aided DVD playback of the Dimension machine. This is because the maximum frame rate that the Presario can achieve is 25fps (through software decode and motion compensation conducted by the system's graphics accelerator), while the Dimension's CineMaster board can handle 30fps completely in hardware. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAnother drawback to software DVD is that it uses all of the CPU's bandwidth. Conversely, the Dimension's CineMaster board only uses an average of 20 percent of CPU bandwidth during MPEG-2 video decode. Granted, if you're watching a movie, it's highly unlikely that you're going to be doing anything else. However, if you're using a DVD software title, you'll likely have trouble running anything else at the same time on a fully software-DVD-decoded system. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿUntil now, the argument for software DVD has been cost: Hardware DVD typically adds a few hundred dollars to the price of a PC. But while the Presario 4850 and the Dimension XPS D300-DVD both cost close to $3,000, the Presario's price doesn't include a monitor (a 17-inch Compaq monitor will cost you an additional $700). ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ STELLAR SUPPORT ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿIt's no secret that Dell's Web site is the best in the business for ordering a PC online. But with the competition hot on its heels at every turn, we weren't surprised to find new offerings at the site. The vendor now has its own Active Desktop Channel for Internet Explorer 4.0, which will (if you allow it) push Dell news, as well as product and software updates, right to your desktop. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿDell customers can also build their own Web-accessible, personalized service and support page via their service tag number. Through this page, you can link to 80,000 items of troubleshooting information, as well as BIOS and driver updates. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ THE BOTTOM LINE ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿIf DVD is what floats your boat this holiday season, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better buy than the Dell Dimension XPS D300-DVD. The only gotcha here is DVD software: There isn't any included. So while you're waiting for your new machine to arrive, we'd suggest picking up a couple of titles, so you'll be ready to test-drive after setup. But when you've got a DVD disk and you're ready to rock, you'll be blown away by this machine's roll. ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿDell Dimension XPS D300. Direct price: $2,879 with 300-MHz Pentium II CPU, 32MB SDRAM, 8.4GB hard disk, Hitachi GD-2000 DVD-ROM drive, Altec Lansing ACS-495 speakers, 56K X2 modem, 17-inch monitor. Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, TX; 800-388-8542, 512-338-4400; www.dell.com.

To: Rarebird who wrote (27132)	12/28/1997 2:30:00 PM
From: CPAMarty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

I read Albert Edwards' interview in Barrons yesterday before i posted my question to you. Mr Edwards sounds like someone from Joe Grandville's camp. I read everthing in Barrons with caution, keeping in mind the self interest and perspective of the source. The intro to the interview reads "An Interview With Albert Edwards ~ Many a lesser man has been permanently scarred by the experience, but not Albert. We're referring here to the several-year stint, fresh from the university, that Dresdner Kleinwort Benson's global strategist put in as an economist with the Bank of England. But the observation also describes Albert's not-so-near escape from the stir he created among some of his firm's sovereign clients, back in '95, when he called the "Asian miracle" nonsense. The firm scrambled to keep its brokerage licenses in the then-booming region, and Albert reined in his prose, but didn't alter his position. (He also, wisely, left traveling to the Far East to others while the politicians fumed.)" However, there are others who are warning of an earnings shortfall in 1998. The question that i have is what will causel the earnings shortfall in United States equities? I note that Albert Edwards, in his interview, doesn't elaborate on this detail. The point in my previous post to you was, given the tendency of companies to preannounce, and blame forces they cannot control for earnings dissapointments (like retailers blaming the weather) why do you think that the asian effect is not already priced in? I would be interested in what you think will cause the shortfall in earnings for U.S. equities!

To: Rarebird who wrote (27132)	12/29/1997 12:47:00 PM
From: DiViT	Respond to of 50808

Cube customer... Record, Edit, and Play Back MPEG -1 Videos With Snazzi English, David 01/01/98 Computer Shopper Page 298 (COPYRIGHT 1998 Ziff Davis Publishing Company) Copyright 1998 Information Access Company. All rights reserved. Snazzi Dazzle Multimedia 45738 Northport Loop W. Fremont, CA 94538 888-436-4348 Fax: 510-476-1313 www.dazzlemultimedia.com Requires: 133MHz Pentium or faster processor recommended; 16MB RAM; available PCI slot; DirectDraw-compatible graphics card recommended; Windows 95 Mfr. Est. Price: $399 Looking to jump into digital video, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg for a professional-quality solution? Dazzle Multimedia's $399 Snazzi may fit the bill. It's a PCI-based expansion card that can hook up to any NTSC or PAL video device equipped with a composite or S-Video connector. It offers real-time MPEG -1 processing, still-frame and motion-video capture, computer-to-video output, and an excellent selection of video-related software. With Snazzi, you can grab video sequences from your camcorder, digitally edit them, and then copy the edited videos back to tape. The card's MPEG -1 encoder chip compresses video and audio in real time using a 200:1 compression ratio (each minute of MPEG -1 video takes up about 10MB of hard drive space). Because Snazzi's MPEG -1 video is limited to 320x240 pixels with NTSC devices, its visual quality--when expanded to 640x480--isn't as good as a typical VHS tape. It does, however, look surprisingly good when displayed at the native resolution. The still-frame capture works like Play's Snappy Video Snapshot device and can grab images as large as 1,600x1,200 pixels. The built-in audio input can sample at 44.1KHz or 48KHz, providing CD-quality stereo sound for your MPEG -1 videos. We tested both the still-frame and motion-video modes using an S-VHS camcorder, S-Video cables, and standard audio cables. Both modes worked without a hitch--on both input and output--without any dropped frames in the resulting MPEG -1 videos. One word of warning, however: If your video card doesn't support DirectX's DirectDraw drivers, the MPEG -1 playback may slow down or drop frames, especially when displayed at 640x480. Potential users should check the company's Web site for a list of DirectDraw-compatible cards that support Snazzi's full 30-frame-per-second display. Snazzi's generous software bundle includes Amigo (for video, audio, and still-frame capture; and MPEG -1 playback), Cinax iFilmEdit Video Editor (for editing MPEG -1 video with a rough IBP-frame precision), Ulead MediaStudio Pro 2.5 Video Edition (for editing videos with an exact I-frame precision), and TransCode (for conversion of MPEG -1 and AVI file formats). You also get Kai's Power Goo SE and Adobe PhotoDeluxe, as well as various applications for morphing images, setting up video conferences, creating video screen savers, attaching video files to e-mail, and recording video-based CD-ROMs with a CD-R drive. If you don't mind the MPEG -1 quality, Snazzi has everything you'll need to capture, edit, and output your video files. The software bundle itself is worth more than the $399 price, making this an especially good value for video enthusiasts.