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

To: Ed's Head who wrote (27749)	1/8/1998 8:46:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

Philips Semiconductors Announces TriMedia Programmable Digital TV Reference Platform; First Public Demonstration at Winter Consumer Electronics Show WINTER CES -- Booth No. 1285 LVCC LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 1998--Philips Semiconductors TriMedia(TM) Product Group announced that it will demonstrate the first in a series of TriMedia DTV Reference Platforms. The first platform is a complete reference design for developing Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) TV sets, set-top devices and PCs, supporting all 18 ATSC formats from standard-definition video to wide-angle, high-definition video. In addition, the platform can be easily programmed to provide custom features and to support additional applications such as video email, video telephony, Internet access and communications. The TriMedia DTV Reference Platform includes both hardware and software to allow manufacturers to quickly develop ATSC television sets, set-top boxes and PC-TVs. In addition, the programmable architecture enables manufacturers to easily add new features and support emerging services such as program guides, interactive advertising, web content, games and video telephony. The first manufacturers to announce use of the TriMedia DTV Reference Platform are Philips Electronics Sound & Vision Group and Samsung Information Systems America. "With its standards-based, open architecture, the TriMedia DTV Reference Platform has the power to handle HDTV video/audio decoding as well as the flexibility to process advanced interactive services," said Dirk Logie, general manager, DTV Product Sector for Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia Product Group. "We are demonstrating our commitment to establish the TriMedia processor as an industry standard by partnering with leading TV/set-top box manufacturers and establishing a common framework to support new digital services." "The DTV market is still evolving throughout the world so there is a clear need for a programmable solution like the TriMedia DTV Reference Platform," said Doug Dunn, chairman and CEO, Philips Consumer Electronics. "We chose to standardize on the TriMedia platform because it gives us the flexibility to design devices that support today's standards, as well as emerging interactive services the industry plans to implement. Philips has been a pioneer in TV technology, and DTV provides us with yet another opportunity to provide exciting new services associated with the TV." Benefits to Manufacturers The TriMedia processor's high-performance, programmable architecture and its ability to support additional features make it an ideal architecture for DTV. Additionally, it allows manufacturers to provide a full range of products based on a single architecture that can be easily upgraded with software to meet changing market requirements. Additional reference designs will add functions, provide a higher level of integration, support new standards such as conditional access, and incorporate higher performance TriMedia processors. Functional Description The TriMedia DTV Reference Platform includes a network interface module (NIM) using the recently announced Philips VSB (vestigial side band) chip that provides all channel-decoding functions from tuning to transport stream generation. The TriMedia processor, along with special function chips, provides audio and video source decoding (high-level MPEG-2, AC-3 and ProLogic audio, closed captioning, etc.). In addition, the processor supports remote control functions and a graphical user interface. The TriMedia design also provides hardware to support existing National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) broadcast signals and image enhancement algorithms to improve NTSC video quality. Software Components Philips provides a turnkey DTV software application so manufacturers can bring products to market quickly and easily. In addition, because the TriMedia processor is easy to program, developers can add custom features or incorporate software modules for applications -- such as communications and video telephony. To support developers, the Reference Platform includes the TriMedia Software Development Environment (C/C++ compiler, debugger, optimization tools) and the pSOS+(TM) real-time operating system. Philips Semiconductors Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia Product Group was established in 1994 and is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. The mission of the product group is to bring to market high-performance, programmable multimedia processor technology that will power the next generation of multimedia products at an affordable price. The TriMedia Product Group's website is trimedia.philips.com Philips Semiconductors, Inc., a subsidiary of Philips Electronics North America and an affiliate of Philips Electronics NV, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by regional customer applications labs. Additional information on the Philips Semiconductors can be found at www.semiconductors.philips.com or by calling 800/914-9239 ext. 1468. Note to Editors: TriMedia is a trademark of Philips Electronics North America. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Philips Semiconductors Jodi Guilbault, 408/991-2332 jodi.guilbault@sv.sc.philips.com or Miller/Shandwick Technologies Robin Foster, 650/962-9550 rfoster@miller.shandwick.com

To: Ed's Head who wrote (27749)	1/8/1998 3:24:00 PM
From: Rarebird	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 50808

Ed, your reading of the charts is determined by your $ invested. My reading, at this point, is not determined by financial considerations. Cube is still in a major downtrend and needs to break 22.5 decisively to reverse course. The chances of that happenning are slim. Be smart and get out before the Ice Cube turns on you.

To: Ed's Head who wrote (27749)	1/8/1998 4:20:00 PM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

Fed economist sees minimal Asia effect on U.S. STAMFORD, Conn, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of New York Senior Economist Rae D. Rosen said on Thursday that Southeast Asia's financial woes should not greatly hamper U.S. economic growth in 1998. Rosen told reporters after a speech that New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will be even less affected by Asia than other regions of the U.S. including the west coast. ''Connecticut and New York are not really driven by exports,'' she said. ''Asia as a whole, including the powerhouses of Japan and China, only account for 22 percent of (U.S.) exports,'' she said. Rosen said that while U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth will likely slow to 2.0-2.5 percent in 1998, ''To say that it's (because of) Asia is really an oversimplification.'' She said her views on the U.S. economy were personal and did not necessarily reflect official Fed policy or projections. Rosen said the national economy was "very healthy." ''The state of the economy is far better than anyone would have envisioned two or three years ago,'' said Rosen. ''It's well-balanced, there's no accumulation of unwanted inventory. The rates of inflation are low, the unemployment rate is low. It's a very healthy economy today.'' GDP growth of around 2.5 percent this year looked ''very sustainable, given our current supplies of labor and capacity,'' Rosen said. The slower growth expected in 1998 is due mainly to a slowdown in exports, Rosen said. ''But the slowdown has as its genesis the appreciation of the dollar. The dollar appreciated from June of '96 to June of '97, so we already had signals that there would be an economic drag due to net exports. Then the Asian problems added to that.'' Asked to comment on concerns over possible U.S. deflation, Rosen said: ''People become concerned about deflation because they're aware of it in the goods sector. They're aware of what's happening to prices for manufactured items. There is no doubt that (with) what's happened in terms of world competitiveness, we are seeing pressures to contain prices, and maybe see prices decline. ''But when you look at how the consumer spends the dollar, it breaks out to about 40 percent goods, and 60 percent services. So the dominant part of expenditures is the service market, and it's a little bit more difficult to bring international pressures to bear on (the price) of services.'' She said there was no indication of disinflation or deflation in U.S. service prices. Rosen said her region -- New York, New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut -- showed ''no sign of slowing'' in 1998. She gave no specific growth projections. ''Public and private restructurings are mostly over, and services and retail trade are the engines of growth,'' she said.'' Both New York State and Connecticut benefit from ''vibrant'' economies in their downstate regions, she said. The region has kept inflation in check since 1993, making it easier to attract and retain businesses, Rosen said. ''What's remarkable is that the rate of gain in (personal income) has kept pace with the nation, because we have well-paid, high-skilled jobs,'' she said. Connecticut and New Jersey's median household incomes of $42,119 and $47,468 respectively were well above the U.S. average of $35,492, she said. She said New York City's burgeoning movie-production industry should have a spillover effect in Connecticut and New Jersey, creating related jobs such as video editing and other media services.