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To: Steve Reinhardt who wrote (2378)	2/12/1999 2:32:00 PM
From: DiViT	Respond to of 3493

Agreed, only point is that at 1mm units it time to take notice. VCD started out similarly... From the Cube thread... VCD was just a fad? yeah, right. To: DiViT (38910 ) From: John Rieman Thursday, Feb 11 1999 10:01PM ET Reply # of 38921 VCD was just a fad. Cabbage Patch Dolls............................. chinadaily.net DVD market PHILIPS will lose no time to tap China's emerging DVD market as the VCD fad begins to fade, said Frank Pauli, general manager of the electronics company's DVD branch. It estimates that the sales volume of DVD players worldwide will hit 2 million units in the next two years. Philips has introduced a series of DVD players in China, including DVD820, DVD840, and DVD860.

To: Steve Reinhardt who wrote (2378)	2/12/1999 2:35:00 PM
From: DiViT	Respond to of 3493

However... asiansources.com VCD players Posted: Feb. 11, 1999 Upgrades to SVCD format dominate development efforts Makers in the intensely competitive VCD player industry cheered the launch last year of the Super Video CD format, or SVCD. Developed in and endorsed by mainland China, SVCD offered a quick and easy upgrade route from the mature VCD format. Based on MPEG-2 — VCD uses MPEG-1 coding and decoding — Super VCD offers twice the picture quality of VCD, up to 650M storage capacity and a read speed twice that of low-end VCD players. But SVCD players were expected to be little more expensive than existing VCD players, and a deal cheaper than DVD players. Consumers — so makers reasoned — would remain interested in VCD instead of switching to DVD. SVCD provides variable bit rate support, and is backward-compatible with VCD 1.1, 2.0 and Interactive VCD 3.0 formats. Developed by the China National Technical Committee of Standards, it unifies two previously competing video disc standards in China: the Super VCD and the China Video Disc (CVD). SVCD players emerged rapidly following the announcement and now abound in the marketplace, alongside standard VCD players. Prices for both types are low and continually dropping. Sample prices quoted for this report begin at about $45, FOB, and industry pundits forecast a further dip, by more than 10 percent, in the next six months. Meanwhile, makers are also pursuing various enhancements, such as higher picture resolution and surround sound effects.

To: Steve Reinhardt who wrote (2378)	2/12/1999 2:44:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3493

John R. on the Cube thread is on a VCD roll... Good that ESS is focusing on those higher margin products... asiansources.com VCD players 10 percent dip in prices this year Mainland makers say prices are likely to plunge in the coming months. The consensus in Hong Kong is much the same. Wai Kai Electronics and SMC Multi-media forecast a dip of more than 10 percent. Devaluations in many Southeast Asian countries, says Ho of SMC Multi-media, are the major cause of the pricing squeeze. Yanion cut its prices by 25 percent between 1997 and 1998 because of competition from mainland China and Taiwan. The firm's SVCD models may, however, have a more stable pricing, Ho said. Similarly, Tung Da Audio dropped its VCD player pricing from $90 to an average of $65 in 1998. This year might see that pressure abate, says the firm's Yung.