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

To: 2sigma who wrote (33375)	5/22/1998 11:13:00 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Divx Test Launch On Track For Late May With Fewer Titles IF you have WSJ online you can see for yourself; otherwise: May 22, 1998 Divx Test Launch On Track For Late May With Fewer Titles By ANTHONY PALAZZO and MARK YOST Dow Jones Newswires BUENA PARK, Calif. -- Divx, the rival movie-disk format to DVD, is on track for test-launches in Richmond, Va., and San Francisco by the end of May, officials said. However, there won't be as many titles available for the initial roll-out as previously envisioned. The launch was delayed once earlier this month. "We're working on getting a batch of titles through the process and on the store shelves," said Digital Video Express LP spokesman Josh Dare. "I don't have a list (of titles) I can provide you with right now." The Good Guys Inc. (GGUY) expects to have disks and players from Zenith Electronics Corp. (ZE) on the shelves of 18 San Francisco Bay Area stores by the end of next week, said John Keating, merchandise manager. Executives involved in the launch had been predicting between 50 and 75 movies would be ready with the first batch of Divx-enabled players. Dare said there probably won't be that many, but the titles that are available will include some newer movie releases. However many titles are available initially, Digital Video has the capacity to add up to 25 more titles each week, Dare said. The number of titles "is something that is evolving now, and it will continue to evolve" through a planned national launch in late summer or early fall, Dare said. Digital Video is a partnership between electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) and a Los Angeles law firm. Dare said Divx is aiming to have 100 to 150 titles available on Divx by the national launch, and around 400 before the holiday season. By comparison, DVD already has some 500 titles available. But the number of Divx titles may not be an issue, because Divx players can play both DVD and Divx disks, said Steve Minkel, chief financial officer of Nimbus CD International Inc. (NMBS), which makes both types of disks. While some market experts are worried confusion may keep consumers away from both formats, Minkel said there may be some customers who will buy Divx machines for their versatility even though there are more DVD titles on the market. "It doesn't matter what format 'Barney' is in," Minkel said. "Parents are going to buy it." The Divx format is similar to DVD - a CD-sized disk with enough storage capacity to hold a movie. The disks go through nearly the same manufacturing process, Minkel said, but Divx disks have serialization and encryption built in. These controls, and a telephone-line link built into the player, allow customers to buy disks for one-time use and disposal, or pay higher fees for additional or unlimited viewings. -Anthony Palazzo; 714-739-5538; tony.palazzo@cor.dowjones.com; and Mark Yost; 804-698-7385 have disks and players from Zenith Electronics Corp. (ZE)? No one else would make them?

To: 2sigma who wrote (33375)	5/23/1998 8:45:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Pioneer's DVD-recordable................................ techweb.com The drive offers only disc-at-once recording, as incremental recording is not an option at this time but will be one in the future. DVD-R supports UDF Bridge, a new hybrid file system that supports UDF as well as the older ISO-9660 system used by CD-ROM. Pioneer rates the DVR-S101 at 1.43 Mbytes per second, and it has a 4-Mbyte buffer to avoid buffer underrun. Recording from a hard drive should pose no problem, but copying data directly from another CD or DVD requires a speedy reader to keep up with the writer. The DVR-S101 took about 45 minutes to record 1.6 Gbytes of data onto a disc. That equates to roughly 600 Kbytes per second but nearly half of the 45 minutes testing initial performance and closing out the disc. Commentary The DVR-S101 is not for everyone, considering that it costs more than most new cars. However, cost is negligible for applications where a software house would otherwise have to pay thousands of dollars to have a disc mastering plant prepare a beta DVD. Even though the DVR-S101 cannot yet match DVD's 4.7-Gbyte capacity, there is no substitute for the DVR-S101. Factor in its ease of use, and this product is a real winner. The CRN Test Center at Comdex recommends the DVR-S101 from Pioneer New Media Technologies. DVR-S101 DVD Recordable Drive Price: $16,995