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: coopie who wrote (41136)	5/15/1999 2:09:00 AM
From: Black-Scholes	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

Coopie - You flatter me. I did not start any takeover rumors. That Talk has been "ebbing and flowing" since I've been following this stock. See the on-line Forbes article a month ago and the follow-up article last Monday. As far as me using "smoke and mirrors"? I think the strong majority of my postings have been dedicated to the fundamental analysis of CUBE. I have stressed all along that CUBE is undervalued from many perspectives. It remains so. And regarding Merrill? That was/is something that I heard was coming soon among other upgrades. In general, I use the term "strong Buy" to describe the highest rating for a security. I apologize if I haven't committed to memory each brokerage houses' arcane terminology for securities grading.

To: coopie who wrote (41136)	5/15/1999 7:55:00 AM
From: Maya	Respond to of 50808

Rarebird was horrible. BS is gentle with words. Rumors having been flying esp. at Forbes for the past several days. He did mention Merrill and Barron's. But aren't you lurking for such gossips/rumors. Without these the thread had become stale. Here's another old Forbes article that may be of interest. Look at what Cube has done in these four months to break the set-top box: Chips ahoy! By Regina Joseph nvestors seeking a toehold in the complex digital television business could choose from among any number of companies. Cable companies, telcos, hardware manufacturers and even broadcasters have attracted scrutiny as eagle-eyed bargain hunters search for financial winners in the coming DTV explosion. Given that digital television is already well under way in Europe, and that the commonality of the euro will go far to help make American investments in European companies easier and less risky, the clever investor would do well to consider the companies whose output affects digital television in every region of the globe. While that may sound like a tall order considering the competing electrical standards of different countries, one central aspect of DTV technology may actually unlock the door to underrated value. When contemplating how to go about establishing compression standards for the transmission of digital pictures, engineers wisely understood that a single global standard was paramount. As a result, the MPEG-2 compression specification was universally adopted as the singular standard for transmitting digital images. While audio encoding remains bedeviled by different standards, the picture standard is a key factor in developing the digital set-top receivers used in viewing digital TV. This means that, although the U.S. is committed to an HDTV format and Europe is using a standard definition television format (SDTV), any MPEG-2-compliant format in the U.S. standard can be delivered in Europe and vice versa (with, of course, certain technical modifications). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though set-top boxes and digital services may now be used in the most populous areas of the U.K., less than 10% of the country's viewing households have ponied up for some form of digital service. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The upshot of this is that the integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers who produce MPEG-2 chips are the crucial linchpin behind all the hardware, cable transmission and content that make up digital television. Admittedly, semiconductor stocks--for the most part--have taken investors on a rocky ride over the course of the last three years. But as the market gears up to undergo the transformation effected by DTV, the chipmakers may prove to be a solid bet in an uncertain and complicated field of players. Three IC manufacturers control the perception of being the traditional semiconductor firms in the DTV MPEG-2 market: the Netherlands-based Philips Semiconductors (nyse: PHG); French-based STMicroelectronics (formerly SGS-Thomson) (nyse: STM), and Milpitas, Calif.-based C-Cube Microsystems (nasdaq: CUBE). Philips, with $723.6 million in income in the third quarter of 1998, has aroused much interest in its latest specification for an MPEG-2 digital set-top board, known as the "STB Concept." It has partnered with STMicroelectronics to create a chip that will be compliant with all European DTV recommendations and, even more importantly, what's known as a "COFDM one-chip front-end." Aside from the technical jargon, what you need to know is that COFDM is considered the gold standard for flexible transmission of digital images. Philips' partner in this technology, STMicroelectronics, is recognized as the world's leading supplier of MPEG-2 decoder integrated circuits and digital set-top circuits; its net income in the third quarter of 1998 was $101.6 million. STM's entry into the DTV board sweepstakes is called Orion, which represents STM's first attempt at cracking the U.S. digital cable market. The board features an all-format decoder for U.S. digital TV that STM hopes will find its way into the architecture of General Instrument's DCT-5000 set-top (expected to be one of the most widely used digital cable set-top boxes in the country). Two American companies are seeking to break into the DTV market. On the traditional IC side, C-Cube Microsystems has announced the creation of a digital set-top platform, called the AviA@TV, which has received the support of manufacturers like Sony (ADR: SNE), Pioneer (ADR: PIO) and Canal Plus (cac: CLP). Even more exciting, C-Cube has created the platform to work within two-way cable networks--the holy grail of interactive television. Beyond the three traditional players lurks another American semiconductor firm, Broadcom (nasdaq: BRCM). Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Broadcom activity was previously heavy in the production of what's known as "front-end" technology. But the company has turned its attention to producing MPEG-2-based chip sets and boards for digital set-top receivers, resulting in the production of its BCM7010 Set-Top Box Decoder. Designed to enable low-cost set-top box architecture, the BCM7010 supports all North American cable specifications and offers seamless compatibility with the full range of Broadcom's front-end products. It is this kind of versatility that led Broadcom to tally a record $52.5 million in revenue for the third quarter of 1998, which represents a 467% increase over the $9.3 million in revenues reported forbes.com