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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (26240)	4/6/1999 10:02:00 AM
From: marginmike	Respond to of 152472

How about releasing movies straight to a cable box rather then videos?

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (26240)	4/6/1999 10:03:00 AM
From: SKIP PAUL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

According to Internet Movie database there were over 5000 movies released in 1998 worldwide.

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (26240)	4/6/1999 11:20:00 AM
From: Bux	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

The end line cinemas save on the manpower and time to market and to a lesser extent, the transportation costs (Would those cost savings be large enough to be passed on to the consumer? I dont think so especially given the price trends of the past several years) and, the cinemas have to spring for a much more expensive projection system (or lease one, whatever) so the bottom line returns are less. I don't follow you here. You mention three ways digital cinema save money. 1) Manpower and time to market. If a studio has hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in the production costs they are losing the interest or other appreciation that capital might otherwise enjoy and/or paying interest on some of the production cost until box-office receipts meet these costs. 2) Transportation costs. This is easy to understand once it is realized that traditional reels weigh hundreds of pounds and must be shipped securely. 3) You didn't mention the cost of production of traditional reels which is substantial since one copy needs to be made for every theatre that will offer the movie on opening week. You then ask if these savings are large enough to be passed on to the consumer? I don't get it. Digital Cinemas offer savings directly to the studios, why would they pass any on to the consumer? If anything, they would charge more for having a superior movie. Here is the rub, say there are 50 (?) 'major' films released each year and there a 10K (?) cinemas. Is that a level of business to grow Q's bottom line? I dont think so. Why limit digital cinema to the top 50 selling films? Once a theater has the required equipment, that equipment will be used for all movies shown in that theatre with a corresponding increase in benefits. Less popular movies may benefit more since they show fewer times at each theatre with a corresponding rise in shipments using old-fashioned reels. Digital Cinema will effortlessly clone each movie thousands of times, using Qualcomms proprietary coding algorithms, and send them round the world in a digital stream travelling faster than the proverbial speeding bullet. But theaters are just the tip of the iceberg. Piracy is a growing problem with pay cable. Pirate set-top boxes proliferate. Some estimates in Canada say there are two pirates for every paying subscriber. It has become such a problem the cable companies have taken to offering "free pizza" on a pay channel but instead of a pizza the unsuspecting pirates get busted. Qualcomms state of the art coding algorithms can be used to make these set-top boxes secure from piracy. The potential reduction in piracy is worth millions annually. With the advent of digital television, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Qualcomm offering major benefits to this huge industry as well. George Gotch, mind if I call you Clowey Amanda for short? Your vocabulary, intellect and lack of style is surprisingly familiar. Clowey, take my advice and cover your short sale now. Otherwise you might get hurt again. Bux

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (26240)	4/6/1999 11:50:00 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 152472

One of the major advantages of digital transmission is marketing costs. The Studios used to release over a period of time to various "tiers" of theatres. They went to the "wide" release to compress their marketing into a two week period and spread it over a lot of theaters. This is major money, They are spending as much on marketing now as making. Imagine "Star Wars XX" in 10,000 theatres the first week worldwide! Enormous, immediate, return with "zilch" marketing cost compared to today. Then imagine the real theaters of the future. Small rooms in malls containing 50 wired and enclosed seats capable of giving you a real "feely" movie. You walk in, set down, get wired up, and have sex with your favorite movie star. We are almost there now. Try the theatres in the "Dave & Busters" complexes in the new entertainment malls, and your are experiencing the movies of the future. All of the above will never be as big a money maker for Q as the Cell business, but it will add a hell of a lot to the bottom line!