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

To: BillyG who wrote (29600)	2/17/1998 6:36:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Open settop boxes in Europe, can the US be far behind??????????? news.com ÿ <Picture: Category Computing> Satellite carriers contest TV set-top market By Jim Davis Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM February 17, 1998, 2:20 p.m. PT update Advanced TV set-top boxes have another way to connect to the Net, as a satellite standard begins to compete with the cable specification in Europe, possibly heralding a similar push in the U.S. Currently, in the U.S., the cable industry is coalescing around the OpenCable standard, led by CableLabs. This standard mandates that all of the new cable set-top boxes will be interoperable. CableLabs is a research and development consortium of cable television system operators. Some U.S. companies, such as DirecTV, already offer satellite-based Internet connections, but these technologies are proprietary. Europe, however, could provide a sign of things to come in the U.S market for digital broadcasting services. New products and services are emerging based on the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard which covers both satellite and cable standards. Nokia, for example, one of Europe's largest provider of cable and satellite set-top boxes, has signed on Spyglass to add interactive capabilities such as Web browsing and video on demand to its next-generation devices. The advantage for Nokia is that the standards process in Europe applies to both satellite broadcasts and cable service, meaning that with Spyglass technology, it can sell one digital set-top box in each market, saving time and development cost. An Israel-based start-up called ComBox said it is demonstrating a DVB system that will allow companies to offer Internet access through the digital satellite dishes that are becoming a popular way to receive television service. Information is sent using ComBox's WebStream central office equipment, through a satellite, to a pizza-sized dish at the user's home or office. The dish is connected to the company's SatStream modem in a user's personal computer. The company says that information can be downloaded from the Internet at speeds averaging around 1.5 megabits per second, similar to the speeds offered by cable and DSL (digital subscriber line) technology. The equipment is expected to be available by mid-March; no pricing was announced. "With a compatible receiver in every home, it will enable a multitude of new services such as news, interactive gaming, and e-commerce," says Randy Little, vice president of marketing for Spyglass. Such services won't come as quickly to the DBS players in the U.S., though. "The satellite guys are very interested in this next market, but one of the issues is the performance of the 'upstream' [home-to-broadcaster] connection. You might not see them as aggressive in this area until things worked out there," Little says. In the U.S., there are similar products based on proprietary services. DirecPC by Hughes Network Systems, is already on the market. It offers wireless Net access at up to 400 kilobits per second, but unlike the ComBox system, doesn't receive the information through the same dish as the digital television signal.

To: BillyG who wrote (29600)	2/17/1998 6:55:00 PM
From: Don Dorsey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

"Also offering DVD OEM kits in China is C-Cube Microsystems, the dominant supplier to China's booming video-CD OEM market. Michael Wood, senior director of the consumer division, said C-Cube has completed "a reasonably good, selective rollout" of the kit--offered for a one-time fee of $100,000--to five to 10 local manufacturers so far, and that it will target a like number of local companies via a second selective rollout later this year." "Some market watchers are going as far as to predict that China will become the source for the world's lowest-cost DVD players within the next few years. " It's possible that Chinese electronics manufacturers are at the point where Japanese electronics manufacturers were 30 years ago. For a variety of reasons the Japanese were able to produce the lowest cost products, and despite an early feeling that the quality was poor, Japanese products soon dominated the consumer electronics market all over the world. If Chinese companies can grab a good portion of the DVD market outside of China, CUBE would probably be the dominant chip in the world's DVD market. Let's get it going China!

To: BillyG who wrote (29600)	2/17/1998 8:11:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Covington Demoed. Now available in April................................. techweb.com Intel Demos Chips For Sub-$1,000 PC Assault (02/17/98; 7:37 p.m. EST) By Kelly Spang, Computer Reseller News <Picture>Proclaiming the sub-$1,000 PC market a major thrust, Intel CEO Andy Grove gave hardware developers the first glimpse of the company's low-end Pentium II. Speaking at the Intel Developers Forum in San Jose, Calif., Grove demonstrated the Covington processor running a 3-D adventure game. Covington is the code name for a Pentium II 266-MHz processor without any level 2 cache. Intel is moving full steam ahead to address the sub-$1,000 PC market, which Grove termed as a "major thrust for Intel over the course of the last year." Highlighting the chip maker's stepped up commitment to the low end of the market, Grove said, "This basic [PC] segment is now serviced and supplied by the work of 650 engineers as compared to no one a year ago." He said by midyear, Covington processors will be in systems priced between $700 and $1,000. Intel sources expect the processor to be introduced in April. At the other end of the spectrum, Intel officials demonstrated a 3-D rendering program running on a dual Pentium II Slot 2 system. The Slot 2 is expected to be available in systems in June, according to Intel sources. The Slot 2 Pentium for high-end servers and workstations will be larger than Slot 1 and offer VARs two times the system bandwidth, said Grove. Grove said both the Covington class processors and the Slot 2 family of Pentium IIs will each carry their own brand names. Intel has yet to determine those specific brand names. On the mobile side, Grove described a version of the Pentium II with the same frequency and performance as the desktop version of the Pentium II Slot 1, but modified to consume 50 percent less power. The size and weight of the mobile module will be between one-fifth to one sixth less than the desktop Slot 1, while maintaining Slot 1 electrical characteristics. The mobile version of the Pentium II will be introduced in April, Grove said. Wednesday, Albert Yu, senior vice president and general manager of microprocessors for Intel, will give a more detailed roadmap on Intel's processor rollout plans. <Picture: TW>