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To: Maya who wrote (28780)	1/26/1998 4:16:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Digital video is an emerging tech. ET conferance starts Wednesday............................................ multichannel.com SCTE Emerging Tech Lands in San Antonio By LESLIE ELLIS Engineers from cable and vendor companies head to San Antonio this week for the annual Conference on Emerging Technologies, hosted by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers. The technology-crammed event, which runs Wednesday through Friday, attracted upward of 1,300 attendees last year. Preliminary numbers for this year's event were not available at press time, but SCTE president Bill Riker said he expected strong attendance. "At a time when technology is at the root of so many new services, a conference like this is critical" to broadband engineers, Riker said. The mood of this year's annual event will likely be significantly more enthusiastic than the mood last year, when cable engineers shrugged off Wall Street skepticism to immerse themselves in two days of rigorous technical presentations. "E.T. this year is focused on a lot of the turns of events that are going on, with digital video and things associated with that -- there's legal and political implications this year, along with the important technology issues," said Tom Elliot, a visiting executive with Cable Television Laboratories Inc. "We always try to keep E.T. very future-focused, this year with modem updates and digital video developments." In contrast, cable stocks are still soaring this year, amid renewed enthusiasm about bandwidth-enabled technologies. Pre-conference tutorials start on Wednesday, focused on data, digital television and advanced display technologies. Then, on Thursday and Friday, engineers will fill a darkened room to listen to their peers deliver papers on topics ranging from digital television and data architectures to alternative delivery techniques like satellite, LMDS (local multipoint distribution systems), digital MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution systems) and xDSL (digital subscriber line). Elliot will discuss the recent momentum around the industry's OpenCable platform, while other MSO engineers representing Tele-Communications Inc., Cox Communications Inc. and Time Warner Cable will speak, as well.. A strong presentation load will also come from the vendor community, with companies like AT&T Corp., Com21 Inc., Microsoft Corp., NextLevel Systems Inc. (to be renamed General Instrument Corp. next month) and Scientific-Atlanta Inc. on the docket. On Thursday, Michael Nelson, director of technology policy for the Federal Communications Commission, will present his thoughts on regulations and broadband, as this year's keynote speaker. Nelson said last week that he was eager to attend the conference, as well as to give the keynote speech, because, "I'm eager to hear about what is going on at the leading edge of technology -- cable modems, digital TV and fiber optic technology."

To: Maya who wrote (28780)	1/27/1998 12:43:00 PM
From: DiViT	Respond to of 50808

Creative Technology..... ---------------------------------- Creative sez: they have 90 pct share of the PC-DVD market... Hmmm, Message 3220459 ------------------------------------ Creative Technology to slow acquisitions, conserve cash ÿ 01/25/98 AFX (AP) Copyright 1998 AFX News; Source: World Reporter (TM) ÿ Creative Technology Ltd said it will slow its acquisition programme and conserve cash given the current difficult economic situation. Creative chairman Sim Wong Hoo said the company will still take advantange of good acquisition opportunities when they arise although any such acquisitions are likely to be small. "Cash is king - We will spend money in a prudent way. Otherwise we will just walk away (from acquisition opportunities)," Sim told a group of analysts at a briefing after the company's quarterly results. Creative also has little urgency in making more acquisitions following its 130 mln USD buyouts of Cambridge Soundworks, Ensoniq and Netmedia of OPTI, he said. The company has about 376 mln USD in cash, of which 90 pct is in U.S. dollars. Company officials said the cash is largely held in short term deposits. Sim said the company has continued to outperform even in the current deteriorating economic conditions. In terms of local currency, Creative's six months net profit was up 114 pct at 214 mln SGD, with sales up 23 pct at 1.16 bln SGD, he said. Revenue in the Asian economies fell 28 pct year-on-year in the second quarter, with Indonesia and Thailand the hardest hit. Sales in these countries were down 50 pct year-on-year, officials said. Sales in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong also dropped, while New Zealand saw a slight dip. India, Vietnam and the Middle East were regions that registered higher sales. Revenue from Europe was up 19 pct for the second quarter, while that of the U.S. rose 5 pct. Sales from the U.S. would have risen by close to 10 pct if not for the slowdown seen in Latin America, which was also affected by the Asian crisis, Sim said. Looking ahead, Sim said that "times are going to be tough" and that the company is prepared to "rough it out for the next couple of years." He said sales in the third quarter are likely to be flat, but with a potential 5 pct or slightly more upside. Despite tougher economic times ahead, Sim said the company is looking forward to "a promising year." Sim said the company is now well-covered in all segments of the audio market from the low-end to top-quality range, all of which have been made possible with its recent acquisitions of Ensoniq and OptiSound. The company is selling to the Original Equipment Manufacturer segment, particularly the second and third-tiered manufacturers. On Creative PC-DVDs, Sim said sales were below his expectations, but were estimated at a "respectable five-digit" in per month. However, he said Creative has made a headstart in the PC- DVD market with a 90 pct share. Competitors have been holding back their products, as the DVD market has been slow to take off, he said. However, Sim said he is optimistic the PC- DVD market will take off in the second half of this year. Referring to the company's Graphics Blaster, Sim said the company has increased its U.S. market share to 12 pct from 2 pct over the last eight months. Sim said he expects to maintain the company's gross margins in the low 30 pct by striking a balance between its lower margin products like PC- DVD and Graphics Blaster products and higher-end audio products. "If you want to increase sales on DVD and graphics, margins will go down -- which is exactly what we want to do." "Of course margins are better in audio - And we hope to achieve a balance," he said.