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

To: John Rieman who wrote (27820)	1/8/1998 8:49:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

"people will think of DVDs as a replacement for their CD players"... Industry Outlook: INFORMATION: FOCUS: DIGITAL VIDEODISKS MIXED SIGNALS ON DVDs By Sebastian Moffett in Tokyo 01/12/98 Business Week Page 89 (Copyright 1998 McGraw-Hill, Inc.) Japan's consumer-electronics giants think digital videodisks (DVDs) will be a smash hit. They are like audio CDs but store entire movies. Their sound and graphics are tops for ordinary TV. A version of DVD designed for computer storage has begun to replace CD-ROM drives on high-end PCs. The trouble is, shoppers aren't snapping up DVD players. The Electronics Industry Association of Japan predicted sales of 600,000 units in 1997. But only half that many were sold, and U.S. sales are also slower than expected. Does anybody really need a DVD ? Some consumer-electronics analysts in Japan are skeptical. ''The only good point is that sound and picture quality is better [than on VHS]'', says Masami Fujino, a senior analyst at the Tokyo office of Jardine Fleming Securities Ltd. In fact, the technology has three marks against it: First of all, the players don't record. So videophiles can't swap out their current VCRs. Second, the selection of films is limited. Movie studios say there are 500 titles out. But not all new films are released on DVD . Third, there's a problem with standards. In the U.S., an alliance that includes Circuit City Stores, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Thomson, and several film studios is pushing a rival DVD format called Divx, which stands for digital video express. These disks, which could go on sale next summer, will be only partly compatible with DVD . Toshiba Corp., DVDs' biggest promoter, says it's not worried. Koji Hase, head of Toshiba's DVD division, notes that it took audio CDs three years to reach the sales level that DVD achieved in less than a year. Compared with past consumer-electronics launches, he says, '' DVD sales are very promising.'' Hase blames the DVD problems on weak marketing. Now, manufacturers are planning a TV ad blitz. And both Toshiba and Matsushita--owner of the Panasonic brand--will soon place DVD products in Japan's largest network of video and CD rental stores. Eventually, Hase says, ordinary DVDs could go rental in the U.S. as well. Sooner or later, analysts say, DVDs will catch on. ''When the price comes down far enough,'' says Reinier Dobbelman, an analyst at SBC Warburg Dillon Read Inc. in Tokyo, ''people will think of DVDs as a replacement for their CD players.'' But didn't I just buy one of those?

To: John Rieman who wrote (27820)	1/9/1998 7:45:00 AM
From: CPAMarty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

John, David, Fred, etc. your comments please Subject: Re: HDTV doesn't matter Date: Thu, Jan 8, 1998 15:35 EST From: GeoStks Message-id: Don't waste anymore posts on HDTV as it relates to CUBE. It doesn't. Cube is in the business of encoding and decoding compressed digital video signals. The advent of HDTV has no direct effect on their prospect for success. All digital signals need to be decompressed (decoded) when used in analog, digital or HD television. A set top box decoding a digital signal from cable, satellite or ASDL will provide most mid/high end analog TV's with 3x the resolution available from VHS or standard signal. Here are the developments to watch that have a direct effect on CUBE's propects: 1) VCD deployment in Asia. This is DVD's older, less powerful brother that is a hot seller in China. CUBE is da man in this business. It's cheap and contains a lot of titles. Based on MPEG 1 it's easy to dump a nice VHS movie onto disk and sell pirated copies until the cows come home. Perfect for this culture. Sales are now bleeding into Korea and other PACRIM markets. Attempts are being made to upgrade thinking to DVD but it appears the tight control on titles and security are not appealing. 2) Set top box deployment anywhere. This is right in CUBE sweetspot. Decode digital cable, satellite or phone company digital stream. When you see Next Level buddying up with Divicom or Zenith announcing a gazillion unit order that untilized CUBE parts - that's the time for woody alert 3) DVD technology in PC. Not so much for the ability to play DVD titles but to utilize the encodong/coding technology to store data. 4) Consumer DVD players. Not as big a factor as you may think but could be. Samsung has jumped on the CUBE bandwagon but most of the 1st and second generation players we have seen in stores incorporate a proprietary chipset made by the manufacturer (Sony Toshiba, etc.). However, to get cost in line with consumer needs all will have to utilize a cost efficient single chip solution al la CUBE and others. Big numbers down the road. 5) CUBE also has good markets in professional video, teleconfrencing and security/survillance but these will not provide the massive jump start like any of the above, Hope this helps

To: John Rieman who wrote (27820)	1/9/1998 9:40:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

Philips, Samsung develop software to convert HDTV to standard NTSC LAS VEGAS--During the Consumer Electronics Show here, Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia Product Group and Samsung Information Systems America disclosed they were developing software to covert high-definition television signals into standard-definition signals for viewing on TV sets using the existing NTSC format. Samsung intends to use the software algorithm, ported to Philips' Trimedia processor, in new digital TV products, which will be introduced in the fourth quarter 1998. The software will convert HDTV signals, as defined by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), for TVs using the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) format. The result, said the two companies, will be improved picture quality compared to other NTSC-based television systems. Philips plans to offer the capability to other digital TV manufacturers. "Samsung, working with Philips TriMedia Product Group, will provide its customers a TV set that will convert high-definition digital video into a format which can be displayed on a lower cost standard-definition screen," said Dirk Logie, general manager of the DTV Product Sector for Philips' TriMedia Product Group, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Samsung recognized the need for a product that would make the transition to ATSC DTV affordable. We look forward to seeing leading TV and set-top manufacturers like Samsung leveraging the programmability and flexibility of the TriMedia processor to make the benefits of DTV available to everyone." A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted at 8 a.m. EST/5 a.m. PST, 1/9/98