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Technology Stocks : Ampex Corporation (AEXCA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: B. A. Marlow who wrote (8145)	5/6/1999 3:06:00 AM
From: flickerful	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17679

RealNetworks Gets Video in 3-D by Leander Kahney 12:30 p.m. 5.May.99.PDT RealPlayer will soon be able to stream live, 3-D video, courtesy of a plug-in that debuted Wednesday. At the third annual RealNetworks conference in San Francisco, Canadian company Isee3D showed off the new video format, which can be viewed with a plug-in and RealNetwork's popular RealPlayer playback software. Isee3D is based on the principle of stereopsis, where the illusion of depth is created by presenting a slightly different image to each eye. The system requires LCD glasses whose lenses alternate quickly between being opaque and transparent. The oscillation is synchronized with the video stream to present different images to each eye. The on-and-off flashing is too fast for the human eye to detect, but it creates a strong 3-D effect, said William Henry, Isee3D's chief technical officer. "It's amazing," he said. "We're showing footage of a praying mantis, and when it moves its mandibles you think its going to reach out of the screen and grab your arm." The technology grew out of research for medical imaging, Henry said, and is considerably more effective than the red-and-blue 3-D glasses commonly used with cinemas and comic books. However, the system requires a high-bandwidth connection to the Net. Henry said that users will need a cable modem or ADSL connection at the least. Isee3D has developed an add-on lens for video cameras that captures live action in stereo before it is converted into a digital stream to be broadcast over the Net. Henry said that Isee3D will sell the LCD glasses at low cost or even give them away. The company hopes to make money on the video-acquisition and server side. The Isee3D plug-in will be available toward the end of the summer. RealNetworks also introduced a plug-in for viewing streaming 3-D text at the conference. Licensed from Intel, the RealText 3-D system will deliver a range of 3-D text, animation, and effects over low- bandwidth connections, RealNetworks said. The technology is based on XML coding and dispenses with the large file sizes of 3-D effects by rendering the model on the user's system instead forcing the user's computer to access it from the server. The RealPlayer G2 plug-in is available for free download and is also available through the RealPlayer G2 AutoUpdate system. wired.com

To: B. A. Marlow who wrote (8145)	5/6/1999 3:45:00 PM
From: Ed Perry	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17679

.................." I t " .................... One thing I am reasonably certain about is that Ampex's efforts will not involve the set top experience. Some of us speculated about this last winter. It seems that the set top delivery is within the purview of the cable providers / portal providers. That is, if an AT&T needs it, it will buy / engineer / manufacture the needed capability so to speak "immediately." Possibly some issues regarding the use of digital technology patents, but of this I know not. More than likely, the Ampex "interactive experience" will involve serious application of streaming tech nology, archiving and on demand interactive. Essentially back end production, storage caching and content provider material. Another thing very likely is, if Ampex can deliver a "wower" within the near future (say the next six months), and as no-one else has, Ampex is building the vertical integration to do it, then whatever it is, this will set the next standard for the Internet animation and interactive video experience. Once "it" is observable and public, and the Internet does this in cyber time space, then everyone will want "it". Here, regardless of how one evaluates the cost of capital expended, the value of the patent portfolio, the present value of future revenue streams, these sums will pale when compared to the high stakes involved with the overall general convergence sums that the telco's and portals are competing for. That is, like the set top, if an AT&T needs it, it will buy / lease / rent the "interactive video experience" If it were Mitsu, they would copy it - sorry, cheap shot, Mitsu apparently did pay up something). CBS is hot candidate for this an "on demand" interactive video experience affiliation. However so is Disney-ABC and GE-NBC. Each of the surplus rich broadcast network providers has a real strategic interest in positioning their organizations for survival and a piece of future Internet profits. Ed Perry