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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Manuel Vizcaya who wrote (41766)	6/5/1999 6:57:00 AM
From: Maya	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Let's analyze the following lines a bit more: At the same time, the costs of producing MPEG-2 (the encoding technology used in Digital TV and DVD video) is dropping dramatically. For example, ATI is shipping several graphics cards that can produce MPEG-2 video in real time, but they require a Pentium III-based PC. Later this year will see the introduction of real-time, IEEE 1394 (FireWire)-enabled MPEG-2 encoding cards costing well under $500 and dropping to the $200 to $300 price range by the year 2000. MPEG-2 is the first "no apologies" video that looks as good as broadcast video (because it is broadcast video, serving as the video compression technology for today's satellite-based video delivery systems), Digital TV, and DVD. 1. Right now the cards require Pentium III implies you don't require a Pentium III with the later models implies ATI will use hardware encoding in the future. Looks like this will eliminate Zoran. 2. The price is cheaper (less than $500) and will come down next year - this is not the case with IBM's, right? As we have seen with Sigma's card, it costs in the $900 range. 3. Video looks as good as broadcast - this is not the case with Sony's, right? As we have noticed with TiVo and ReplayTV, there are quality issues with Sony's chips. This leaves either Cube or Panasonic as the one providing the chip. We know the cost of Cube's chip which is in the range of $75 and Cube already has a relationship with ATI. This simple analysis seems to indicate that it could be a Cube chip. With the price of the card in the $200-$300 range, it should really take off.

To: Manuel Vizcaya who wrote (41766)	6/5/1999 3:15:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Web Enabled DVDs..................................... zdnet.co.uk Wed, 26 May 1999 14:52:59 GMT Jane Wakefield Web-enabled DVD, tipped as the next major advance in the development of the high density storage format, was on show at the first European DVD production conference in London on Monday. In its simplest form, say, a movie with Internet links to associated merchandise/information on the Web or HTML links to high quality audio or video clips embedded on disc. The really cool applications will be Websites that require DVD to activate content. Already available in the US, TV shows like 'Drive On' from Warner Bros. employ DVD to unlock extra episodes and content by downloading 'encryption keys' from the Web. "DVD is the perfect medium for massive amounts of data but the Web is useful to update that data," explains Samantha Harvey creative director of authoring house Abbey Road Studios. Using HTML , producers can hide links to TV programmes or unseen footage on a DVD which can only be accessed when the owner registers online and receives a key. The big studios are already getting behind the idea of Internet friendly DVD: Warner Bros' first high profile Web-enabled DVD is You've Got Mail, currently only available in the US. Users with DVD-ROM can access You've Got Mail fans online with one click from the film. The You've Got Mail Web site has been enhanced with extra material and video and is included on the DVD. Extras include letters between the main characters played by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, video interviews with cast members and a tour of New York's Upper West Side. Other PC friendly disks available in America include episodes of BayWatch, the films Ronin and Mars Navigator and Microsoft's Encarta '99. Universal is to ship Web-enabled DVD "soon" and Bertelsman Media Group will have a Web-friendly audio DVD available in the autumn. Jim Taylor, Microsoft's DVD evangelist believes Web-friendly DVD will help realise the vision of the PC as true multimedia platform and predicts customers will eventually come to expect it on all DVDs as standard. Consumer benefits are obvious according to Robin Wilson, general manager for DVD products at BMG. "It is an excellent way for consumers to get more information about their favourite films," he said.