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: DiViT who wrote (39344)	3/19/1999 3:14:00 PM
From: J Fieb	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

If you want to do 480P, 720P AND 1080I looks like you'll need to get a bunch of the engines and add the HDC 106 to tie them all together... Amazing that they sold them. Maybe DIVI makes it look too easy. With that Harris thing they know it must be HD. Hard to belive that they would rather buy that thing just 'cause they have bought from them for years before and it has always worked. Harris could probably buy MV400s from DIVI and stick them inside that bigger box,have higher margins. No one would have to know! COMARK/DIVI has had some success. Are wins like Harris's suggesting that people want systems and don't pick the best individual components? Will DIVI need more vertical integration?

To: DiViT who wrote (39344)	3/19/1999 5:09:00 PM
From: DiViT	Respond to of 50808

Part 3................................ While C-Cube has maintained a meaningful technology lead over the larger manufacturers, it is uncertain that it will be able to sustain its leading market position if any of those companies makes a concerted effort to advance its own digital compression technology. C-Cube's primary intellectual properties are its mixed-signal integrated circuits for encoding and decoding MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 digital video, and its complementary products for compressing and transmitting digital video, without perceptible image degradation. The comparison between digital and analog video is somewhat analogous to the comparison between digital (CD) and analog (tape or LP) audio, except that the enormous amount of data required for video necessitates a compression format such as MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. Digital formats for video are expected to supersede analog video over the next ten years, in accordance with the FCC's HDTV broadcast mandate as well as the growing popularity of other digital video delivery systems. The MPEG-2 format (MPEG-1, an older, inferior standard, is primarily supported by C-Cube in its older VideoCD player products in the Asian markets) has become a de facto standard for consumer-grade digital video, used in DVD, DBS (Digital Broadcast Satellite), and the more recent HDTV standard. MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 compression work by compressing not only the individual pictures that comprise a video signal, but by combining a series of similar pictures and dramatically reducing the amount of information required to store or broadcast them by encoding only the differences between the pictures. While most major electronics manufacturers have internally developed MPEG-2 decoding solutions for their own digital video products, C-Cube's solutions have been preferred by independent manufacturers (e.g., Chinese OEMs of VideoCD players, computer add-in board manufacturers), and, in some cases, even by the electronics giants themselves, particularly for minimizing power consumption in their portable products. The rating is further supported by C-Cube's relatively strong financial position, with $208 million in cash and equivalents and good coverage of current liabilities, evidenced by a cash ratio of 2.9. Factoring in the capitalization of the company's operating leases, debt to total capitalization was only 19% as of December 31, 1998. The company's strong balance sheet reflects to some degree C-Cube's status as a fabless semiconductor manufacturer. The company is assured of manufacturing capacity through 2001 under a contract with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). There is an additional foundry arrangement in place with Matsushita Electronics of Japan. The company's FY1998 inventory turnover was 10.3 times, and its return on assets, based on EBIT and adjusting for rents and capitalized leases, was about 17% C-Cube Microsystems Inc., headquartered in Milpitas, California, is a provider of powerful, highly integrated, standards-based digital video compression solutions. REUTERS

To: DiViT who wrote (39344)	3/20/1999 11:13:00 AM
From: j.m. walsh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

<<OK, someone has to ask... If it's so big clunky and expensive, why didn't Divi get the Biz then?>> === There's more to selling than smaller cheaper better. Lucent has the majority of the ATSC Broadcast HD encoders sold to terrestrial broadcasters; they are sold thru an established Harris (Transmitter) channel. Their box has been on the air since November. Divi has a great opportunity to win in the second round(on air Nov 99) with the new HD MV400, but it has not been shown yet, much less delivered and worked on air. This "delay" into this relatively small market is not all bad. Coming in now with a smaller faster box - at new lower market price - gives customers a choice now that many have had "mixed" experiences of getting competitors' first boxes on air. There are bigger opportunities in other markets; and much bigger growth opportunities in doing what the big boys do - acquisitions. Any suggestions? JMW