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

To: Rishi Gupta who wrote (38230)	1/14/1999 4:14:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

Konka is still evalueting chipsets......................... Chen said Konka is currently evaluating competing HDTV chip sets from STMicroelectronics and Philips Semiconductors, and will decide by the end of March which to incorporate into its HDTV design. CES again................................ edmontonjournal.com Quantum leap in TV technology Jim Bray Special to The Journal Las Vegas This will be the year digital high definition TV (HDTV) finally makes a splash. That's if you believe the cornucopia of HDTV delights at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where they showed everything from AmPro to Zenith, including ultra expensive front projectors that would do a cineplex proud. RCA/ProScan, Panasonic, and Hitachi (and more) featured rear projectors of 60-64 inches -- while higher end (for HDTV!) front projectors from Runco, Vidikron, and Faroudja (to name a few) upped the ante considerably; Daewoo, Sony and others featured 32- to 34-inch "direct view" sets as well. But while the U.S. may be the land of the free, HDTV is anything but: prices range from $2,800 to $70,000 US, putting them out of the range of mere mortals. For now. Virtually all of these sets, which feature 16:9 aspect ratio wide screens, will be available in the U.S. later this year. None of the makers to whom I spoke know when they'll come to Canada because the wonderful people who decide what we're allowed to see haven't approved HDTV. Besides HDTV, there was a plethora of DTV (or "HDTV-ready") sets that work on today's system but are upgradable to HDTV via a "set-top" box. So if you're buying a TV within the next few years, remember, there's a quantum leap in the near future. HDTV looks like film, with no scan lines and a picture so sharp you're tempted to reach into the set -- if the signal source is up to snuff. One of CES' sources was ABC TV, whose equipment problems softened the picture. A live NFL game feed, however, looked spectacular. Most major players also showed conventional and HDTV flat, "plasma" displays, usually around 42 inches diagonally. The "wall hanging" screens of science fiction are offshoots of LCD technology and getting darn good; the price is plummeting, too -- to about $10,000 US for "entry level" units. Sharp continued its walk down the LCD projector path, little sets that are also getting pretty good, though they still look as if you're watching through a screen door and are more suitable for boardrooms than home theatres. DVD Goes Mainstream While we wait for HDTV, one nifty digital format is quickly becoming mainstream. Nearly everyone had a line of DVD movie players (including HDTV ones!) and a few companies, including Pioneer and Panasonic are bringing to market "DVD-RAM" (recordable DVD) machines. Panasonic even had a DVD camcorder that records onto a disc instead of video tape. And now there's DVD Audio. This isn't just CDs on a DVD; it's a new format, and proponents say DVD Audio sounds far more realistic than CDs, and can include more than two channels of sound and toys like interactive lyrics and full motion video. Lower sampling rates and frequencies allow more time on a disc, but I got the impression they're more interested in sound quality and razzle dazzle than extra music. The demo sounded terrific, but there was no "A/B comparison" of CDs with DVD Audio -- though even if there were I wouldn't trust it (trade show demos being what they are). Unfortunately, it seems that current DVD players won't handle the discs. Instead, Panasonic touted "Universal" players, so consumers who've "pioneered" the DVD format by buying early players may be hung out to dry. Competing systems were touted as well: Super Audio CD (SACD) and Advanced Audio Disc (AAD). I wonder, though, if these are advances or products in search of a market. Only time will tell. Personalized TV Get ready for set-top gadgets that could make your VCR obsolete and give you a lot more control over the idiot box. Replay Networks won the Best of Show award for its ReplayTV, a box that uses a hard drive/MPEG 2 encoder combo to record TV without using videotape. It also lets you pause live TV programs (it keeps recording while you pause what's on the screen), and fast forward through commercials.