Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Stoctrash who wrote (37657)	12/5/1998 11:52:00 AM
From: J Fieb	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

Frede, Some nice new content getting tested....... techweb.com Interactive Cable TV Test Citigroup says it will test the delivery of financial services over interactive cable TV next spring. WorldGate Communications Inc., which provides Internet access, E-mail, and hyperlinks from cable TV to the Web, has signed a letter of intent to develop a hyperlink to Citigroup's Internet banking, brokerage, and insurance services. Citigroup formed a separate pact with TVN Entertainment Corp. to jointly develop similar financial services to be delivered via TVN's digital cable-TV infrastructure. Frede, should we buy some Quantum? techweb.com Sony, Quantum ally on new technique -- Drive can store TV shows Terry Costlow Anaheim, Calif. - Sony Corp. and Quantum Corp. last week demonstrated a storage technique that stores TV shows on a hard drive, saying it could lead to a new type of consumer audio/visual technology. The move heralds an effort by Quantum to expand into consumer electronics, underscored by the creation of a Consumer Electronics Storage Business Unit. The drive from Quantum Corp. (Milpitas, Calif.) is also the first public demonstration of Sony's i.Link interface, which is Sony's moniker for 1394 with digital-content protection. The i.Link specification was also unveiled last week. The drive technology, which was developed with input from Sony's U.S. Research Lab, debuted at the Western Cable Show. For Quantum, the technical demonstration was tied to the public announcement of its newest business unit. "We've been looking for a way to get into consumer electronics," said Jeff Klugman, director of marketing at Quantum's Consumer Electronics Storage Business Unit. "This isn't the only thing we're doing in consumer electronics. We're working with other companies and the ATA interface. We'll have more announcements coming before the end of the year." Quantum feels that disk drives provide much more capability than other storage techniques. With the growing number of broadcast channels, Quantum said, viewers often find it difficult to locate, record and watch shows in a decreasing amount of spare time. A drive's quick data-retrieval times provide more options. "Since the disk drive is a random storage device, unlike tape drives and VCRs, it provides you random access to content," Klugman said. "You can also access two video streams simultaneously, to record and play back at the same time, record two programs at once. Other technologies aren't fast enough to let you do two things at once." Rapid capacity increases and equally swift price declines make it possible to think about a new type of recording device for broadcasts, Quantum said. "The disk drive is the enabling technology. The increase in capacity and the decrease in cost make it possible to use drives in this application," Klugman said. "Drives can now record up to 20 hours at relatively low prices. You need about 2 Gbytes' capacity for every hour of MPEG content at MPEG-2 data rates." Quantum and Sony are showing the technology on a 19-Gbyte, 5.25-inch Bigfoot drive, which Quantum said offers the lowest cost per Mbyte of any disk drive. While Sony and Quantum are enthusiastic about the technology, they're uncertain how quickly it will take off. Klugman noted that last week's exhibit was not a product announcement, though that may come quickly.

To: Stoctrash who wrote (37657)	12/8/1998 5:39:00 PM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Satellite Subscribers To Get Interactive TV zdnet.com By Karen J. Bannan December 8, 1998 3:11 PM ET OpenTV Inc. and Source Media's Interactive Channel this week formed an alliance that will bring interactive television to satellite television subscribers. Currently, both companies operate in the cable television arena. This is the first time either has ventured into the direct broadcast satellite market. Under the agreement, Interactive Channel will supply an interactive programming guide, Internet content and access, e-mail and local programming that includes "yellow pages" directories and entertainment guides. The programming will be ported to OpenTV's operating system and distributed to satellite subscribers, company officials said. "Television operators win with this alliance as well, because they will be able to offer content from a brand name developer using the OpenTV platform that can be sent to viewers using a digital interactive television system," said Jan Steenkamp, chief operating officer of OpenTV. There are currently more than 3 million digital satellite subscribers in the U.S. OpenTV is expected to deploy its operating system next year to more than 1.8 million EchoStar Communications Corp. subscribers, an OpenTV spokesman said. [Probably using DiviCom equipment.]