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

To: DiViT who wrote (36547)	10/6/1998 7:37:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Divi partner, Comark.............................. divi.com tvbroadcast.com Being The Technical Translators Ron Merrell, Executive Editor It's been a few months now since Jerry Chase took over the reins of Comark as their new president and chief executive officer. Will the company that led the way to the IOT and Klystrode as an industry standard rest on it laurels, make waves about DTV and HDTV, or will it retreat and wait for the pot at the end of the rainbow: the transmitter binge so long awaited by RF manufacturers? When a new CEO takes over, there are bound to be changes, but in the case of Jerry Chase, the changes are more a case of emphasis on what they can offer now than later. A few years ago, the prediction was that the floodgates for DTV/HDTV transmitters would hit in full force this year. "That's just not the case," insists Chase. "In fact, our customers are looking for NTSC RF equipment, not so much DTV or HDTV. "We're listening closely to the business models of our customers and they apparently are more concerned right now about transitioning the studio to digital." Bad news for Comark and other transmitter manufacturers? Not really. "That's where our CDS division comes in," explains Chase. CDS is a part of the Comark structure that's prepared to deal in strategic alliances with stations than may include RF, but not exclusively. CDS can work with a station's management and engineering teams to design and implement a digital studio, among their many alliance possibilities." With the disappearance of transmitter baby-sitters and the Chief Engineers with First Class FCC licenses, it's apparent that a broadcast industry in transition to DTV/HDTV and UHF is in dire need of its technical translators: the knows-everything, fixes-everything Chief Engineers. "We've had feedback on that problem from our customers," notes Chase. "It's a very real problem. And we're aware that there have been problems in the field when DTV signals have been under test. Specifically, receiving those signals throughout the Grade A contours." And he goes on to say that forming strategic alliances in the face of these needs is all the more important today. "We know digital and HDTV for RF will come," he adds, "but we're looking at the stations needs today. That includes more NTSC products and getting a firm handle on transitioning the studio to digital. We can meet those needs. But overall, we're seeing a very active NTSC market. "In fact," Chase warns, "if you take your eye off the business and pay too much attention to the hype, you're headed for trouble. DTV and HDTV will happen, but it will come as an evolutionary thing, not revolutionary." Meanwhile, according to Chase, Comark is continuing to develop its DTV transmitter products so they stay in line with business models and realistic needs. For example, as regards the declining availability of degreed engineers entering broadcast and formerly licensed engineers still there, he reveals, "that's why we're going to be offering remote diagnostics, so we can work with the engineers on staff." He goes on to say that this capability would include remote adjustments and trend analysis. "We're cranking that up right now. We already have some customers that we're working with on this, and we're looking at making a standard business model out of it." But he insists that rather than guess at what's important, Comark is listening to its customers to hear what they want in diagnostic capabilities. And while Chase has great plans for the future of Comark, he was quick to point out, "Long before they ever heard of Jerry Chase, Comark was a great company with a great reputation. I think what our customers want is for us to take them gracefully to the next step. And don't forget, we get a lot of points backing all those RCA transmitters out there. "Long before I came on the scene, that's what Comark was doing."