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

To: J Fieb who wrote (37349)	11/20/1998 12:20:00 AM
From: Cameron Lang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Incomplete DVD support in Win 98... techweb.com DVD Developers Wait For Windows Fixes (11/18/98, 7:33 p.m. ET) By John Gartner, TechWeb Key DVD support missing from Windows 98 is hindering growth of the DVD software market, developers say. Microsoft hasn't finished all of the components of DirectShow 2.0, its multimedia API, and needs them to update Windows 98 for full DVD support. A completed DirectShow 2.0 will let hardware developers release DirectShow device drivers to software developers, enabling games and interactive titles to run on any DVD hardware. Michael Bernstein, a senior consultant at Semico Research, said delays in DVD software are putting pressure on hardware manufacturers. "The longer Microsoft takes, the harder it is for OEMs to test the DVD products and get them into their PCs." DirectShow 2.0 shipped as part of the DirectX Media SDK in September and works in tandem with WDM, a 32-bit device driver architecture for both Windows 98 and Windows 2000 (previously NT 5.0). WDM and DirectShow replaced the 16-bit MCI software used in Windows 95. According to Chris Smith, DVD program manager at Creative Labs, Microsoft is not expanding MCI to include DVD and encourage the move toward DirectShow, which doesn't work with Windows NT 4.0. Smith added that a Windows 98 component called "KSOLAY" must be updated before hardware vendors can release WDM device drivers to developers. "This is a key piece of software. It needs to be released so that everyone can switch over from MCI to DirectShow," said Smith, adding that Microsoft has also been reticent to develop an analog overlay video driver needed for DVD drives to communicate with standard video cards. And Sigma Designs, which makes MPEG chips, hasn't been able to release a WDM or DVD-based DirectShow product because of Microsoft. "Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't completed the components needed for DVD and MPEG-2 under WDM and DirectShow," said Marshall Goldberg, product marketing manager at Sigma Designs. As a result, software developers must either write their own DVD software to work with MCI, use the incomplete DirectShow software, or support both. DVD software developers have echoed the need for assistance on developer news groups, posting messages daily about the lack of tools. "Developers who want to create products that play MPEG with all DVD boards will probably be required to support both DirectShow and MCI in their applications, at least through 1999," said Goldberg. DirectShow is incomplete, admitted Kurt Hunter, the product's program manager at Microsoft. "There may be compatibility issues today for authoring DVD applications and device drivers," he said. Hunter said the company is working hard to finish software to let DVD players split streaming multimedia content into its video and audio components. There are only a few DirectShow-compliant DVD titles available now, but things should change next year. "When Microsoft's Encarta 99 ships as a full DirectShow compliant application, people will take notice," said Creative Labs' Smith.

To: J Fieb who wrote (37349)	11/22/1998 3:04:00 PM
From: J Fieb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Western Cable clicks cct-assn.org CableNet is in Hall D, C-Cube is listed in D also No separate listing for DIVI A talk.......A known CUBE parnter and ..... CONCURRENT SESSIONS Anaheim Convention Center The Bleeding Edge: Hi-Tech's Next Wave Room A10 The next generation of boxes will make possible a wide scope of services, from the practical to the visionary. Will you be able to sort out the nifty toys from the revenue generators? Catch the newest range of technology before it hits your business - everything from the latest Internet applications and IP telephony to Video-On-Demand and streaming technology. Moderator: Mark Coblitz Vice President, Strategic Planning Comcast Corporation Speakers: Sharat Israni Director of Engineering for Digital Media Servers Silicon Graphics Jean-François Jezequel General Manager, Business Strategies CANAL+ Technology Steve Perlman President & Chief Executive Officer WebTV David Reed Vice President, Strategic Assessment Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. OpenCable talk...... Open Cable Room AR1 Open Cable means several things and the definition can vary significantly depending on the person providing the definition. One thing is certain however, Open Cable is going to significantly change the way cable television companies provide services. The panel will address some of the likely technical challenges being affected by this initiative. Moderator: Laurie Schwartz Director, Advanced Platforms and Services Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. Speakers: Alex Best Senior Vice President, Engineering Cox Communications, Inc. Henry Derovanessian Vice President Engineering Sony Digital Network Solutions of America Arad Toth CTO Circuit City William Wall Technical Director, Subcriber Networks Scientific Atlanta Excellent list of important programs. A lot is at stake for CUBE/DIVI at this show. More talk about bandwidth and what it can do than COMDEX. I sure hope they are ready......