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

To: Bob Strickland who wrote (29316)	2/10/1998 5:07:00 PM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 50808

After all of the badmouthing Herb has done, I wonder if Alex should respond?

To: Bob Strickland who wrote (29316)	2/10/1998 5:08:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Herbie always has a zinger for Cube. Divx discussion........................ newline.com DIVX PREXY WOOS RETAILERS AT VSDA CONFERENCE (by Brett Sporich) Digital Video Express (Divx) made its first public pitch directly to video specialists during a DVD panel at the VSDA Regional Leaders Conference here. Divx president Paul Brindze shared the dais with eight DVD suppliers, including Universal Studios' Louis Feola as the only Divx ally. Brindze positioned Divx, scheduled to go on sale in test markets in April, as a product that can provide healthy profit margins to retailers. "We're going to keep your inventory costs down, and you'll begin to see profits from day one," he said. At a retail price of $4.50 to $5, Divx discs will return $1 to $1.50 in profit to the store, Brindze said. In contrast, "open" DVD, at $25 to $30 per title, must rent eight to 12 times before a retailer begins to turn a profit, he argued. Other suppliers were quick to answer. After reiterating parent Time Warner's position on the technology--flatly stating, "Divx is a loser for retailers and consumers"--Warner Home Video senior VP of marketing Tom Lesinski told retailers that, by promoting the elimination of a return trip to the rental store, Divx is effectively trying to put them out of business. The Divx purchase price gives consumers a 48-hour viewing period that begins when the disc is activated. Many retailers are wary of Divx because subsequent viewings, or "re-rentals," are billed directly through the player's modem connection. Feola, whose studio has committed to releasing movies on both Divx and open DVD, sought to downplay Divx as a threat or a cause of confusion by characterizing it as "DVD with an option." Panelists, including Feola and New Line Home Video executive VP Michael Karaffa, acknowledged that DVD will not become a mass-market item until player prices fall. Feola predicted hardware prices will drop to "$399 this year and $299 in the not-too-distant future."