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Macrovision Solutions (MM)

Macrovision Solutions (MM) (MVSN)

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Closed November 28 4:00PM
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MVSN Latest News

AnalystChoice.com Brings You the Best Complimentary Research Report on MVSN, MICC, JDSU, ILMN, FNFG and COCO

NEW DELHI, INDIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/16/09 -- Analyst Choice has combined some of the best financial and technical minds worldwide to bring you an array of free quality equity research and...

CANAL+ Group Joins Macrovision’s EPG Patent Licensing Program

Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:MVSN), a digital entertainment technology leader, today announced that CANAL+ Group, a leading pay-TV operator in France, has signed a...

WallStSense.com Fundamental & Technical Coverage of ARNA, UCBH, OSCI, MVSN, CELG and AINV

NEW DELHI, INDIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/02/09 -- W.S.S. is an online community with a dedicated team of analysts who are providing free in-depth research on North American equities. Our analysts...

Free Growth Strategy Report on V, SNV, MXB and MVSN by MaybachFinancial.com

LONDON -- (Marketwire) -- 06/12/09 -- Shareholders of Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV), MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MXB) and Macrovision Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: MVSN) looking to get...

Macrovision Licenses Interactive Program Guide Technology and Patents to Sony

Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:MVSN) today announced Sony has licensed interactive program guide (IPG) technology and patents from Macrovision. The multi-year...

Macrovision Licenses Its G-GUIDE Mobile & Related Intellectual Property for One-Segment Broadcasting to Japan’s Three Major...

Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:MVSN) announced today that it has now licensed its intellectual property related to its G-GUIDE Mobile Interactive Program Guide (IPG...

Macrovision Announces Intent to Change Name to Rovi

Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: MVSN), a digital entertainment technology leader, today announced its intention to formally change its name to Rovi. The Rovi brand is...

Macrovision Solutions Corporation Reports First Quarter Financial Performance

Macrovision Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: MVSN) announced today, on a GAAP basis, first quarter 2009 revenues of $111.2 million, compared to $30.3 million for the first quarter...

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MVSN Discussion

View Posts
screamineagle screamineagle 16 years ago
Thanks.
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ProfitChaser ProfitChaser 16 years ago
FWIW S-8 today for 21,800,000
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screamineagle screamineagle 16 years ago
Is no one interested in this juggernaut?
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screamineagle screamineagle 17 years ago
Well, looks like they are still making some money.
This is one of the most radical direction changes I've ever seen on this level. Evidently nobody sees a future in DRM?
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screamineagle screamineagle 17 years ago
It has, indeed.
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mrfence mrfence 17 years ago
What a long strang trip it's been...
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screamineagle screamineagle 17 years ago
So, now they're gonna buy Gemstar, TV Guide International?
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screamineagle screamineagle 17 years ago
Looks like the SP has taken a hit.
Shareholders don't like the new move??? Is this a chance to get in at a good price? Or will it continue to tank?
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screamineagle screamineagle 17 years ago
Wow, looks like they've gotten out of the software business altogether. Sold for $200M.
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screamineagle screamineagle 17 years ago
So what is MVSN into these days? Have they also given up on anti-piracy for audio?
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kenco kenco 18 years ago
Hope you were able to catch the ride up to offset the SCMI investment.


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kenco kenco 18 years ago
MVSN has been on fire the last 10 days, up almost 25%
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t d j t d j 19 years ago
Coldplay's new CD has rules: No MP3s, no DVD players, no car stereos

Coldplay's latest CD X&Y comes with an insert that discloses all the rules enforced by the DRM they included on the disc. Of course, these rules are only visible after you've paid for the CD and brought it home, and as the disc's rules say, "Except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return or refund," so if you don't like the rules, that's tough.
What are the other rules? Here are some gems: "This CD can't be burnt onto a CD or hard disc, nor can it be converted to an MP3" and "This CD may not play in DVD players, car stereos, portable players, game players, all PCs and Macintosh PCs." Best of all, the insert explains that this is all "in order for you to enjoy a high quality music experience." Now, that's quality.

I wonder how Coldplay feels about their fans getting all these rules set down for them by the music label? I wonder if most fans who read these rules will be wise enough to blame corporate, or whether they'll just decide to dig up a band whose label treats them like customers, not crooks? It's amazing how the labels always seem to come up with new ways of screwing artists: if they're not cheating them out of royalties, they're systematically alienating their fan-base. Link (via Digg)

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/01/coldplays_new_cd_has.html
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t d j t d j 19 years ago
"We were able to circumvent the technology and rip a perfect copy of ['Madagascar'] using a free DVD ripper downloaded from the Internet," Piper analyst Gene Munster wrote in a recent report.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2005/11/22/macrovision-dvd-ripping-1122markets03.html?partner=yahootix
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bleuduece bleuduece 19 years ago
Wonder if MVSN will hold $15.00?
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bleuduece bleuduece 19 years ago
This time last year MVSN traded @ $25.55
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bleuduece bleuduece 19 years ago
This time last year MVSN traded @ $27.40
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joethelion joethelion 19 years ago
Worlwide problems spell over staffing issues.

get out NOW and SELL SELL SELL.

The long term can only be sunk down with Amoroso and his cronies
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screamineagle screamineagle 19 years ago
Yikes! MVSN getting hosed!
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bleuduece bleuduece 19 years ago
This time last year MVSN traded at $24.50
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sahd3g sahd3g 19 years ago
LOL. Kenco. MVSN is getting hammered....I never checked this board before...no wonder you are so bearish on SCMI....you must be buried up to your eyeballs in declining MVSN shares?

MVSN really could be looking at a class action lawsuit from investors losing money. What happened to their projected watershed year for CD copy protection? LOL, SCMI got it.

MVSN projected "margin compression" earlier this year...MVSN sure got that right!!!


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amx8559 amx8559 19 years ago
Kenco, Just for you!


Local Technology Company Strikes Gold with America’s Best Selling Music CDs!
Gold, Platinum, or Double-Platinum selling CDs from Dave Matthews, Foo Fighters, The Backstreet Boys and Velvet Revolver all include content protection and enhancement technology called MediaMax™

For Local Release

Phoenix, AZ July 1, 2005 – Technology developed by a small Phoenix-based technology company has been discovered by some of the world’s biggest selling musical artists.

The company, SunnComm International (OTC: SCMI), took on the challenge to develop technology that, once placed on an audio CD, would limit the number of CD copies the consumer could make. Quietly at work in offices located at the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix, the reception to its technology by artists and record companies has been anything but quiet. Today, MediaMax can be found on some of the top current Billboard hit releases including “Never Gone” from The Backstreet Boys and “In Your Honor” from Foo Fighters, which just last week, debuted at #2 and #3 on the charts, respectively. Both releases are already well on their way to becoming Gold-selling CDs!

“MediaMax’d” Dave Matthews Band release “Stand Up” has hit Gold and is on its way to becoming a Platinum-selling album as well. Velvet Revolver’s “Contraband” reached the #1 spot on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart and has achieved Double-Platinum status by selling more than 2 million units. Other Gold, Platinum and Double-Platinum selling albums include Anthony Hamilton’s Platinum CD, “Comin’ From Where I’m From” and J-Kwon’s Gold Album “Hood Hop.”

SunnComm, along with its marketing arm, MediaMax Technology (OTCBB:MMXT), have worked to include its technology on over 100 commercially released CD titles across more than 30 record labels. “Our technology is successful because our small company is primarily composed of people who love music,” says Peter Jacobs, SunnComm’s prez. “MediaMax adds some incredible features to a standard CD while it guides people into becoming more responsible when it comes to the number of additional copies of the CD they can make. Our ultimate goal is to have people looking for the MediaMax name or service mark on CDs they consider purchasing.”

Both SunnComm International and MediaMax Corp. earn royalties for every disc manufactured containing its proprietary copy management and enhancement software. In just five years, SunnComm International Inc. (OTC:SCMI) has become the leader in digital content enhancement and security technology for audio compact disc media. MediaMax was recently featured nationally on The Howard Stern radio show.



ABOUT SUNNCOMM:

MediaMax is mastered directly on the audio CD and is accessible using a personal computer. SunnComm was the first company to commercially release a content-protected audio CD co-developing and utililizing an early version of the Microsoft Windows Media Data Session Toolkit, and was the first company in America to commercially release a copy-managed audio CD (www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/jan03/01-20SessionToolkitPR.asp). Bonus features include on-board press kits, artist-related promotions, videos, song lyrics, artist bio page, photo gallery, web links and tune-sharing capability through SunnComm’s MusicMail™ functionality. For more detailed information about the company, its vision or philosophy, personnel, partners, and customers, please visit the company's Web site at www.sunncomm.com, or call the Company directly at (602) 267-7500. For additional information or investor relations please contact:

Company contact:
Peter Jacobs
602-267-7500
peter@sunncomm.com Investor contact:
Investor Relations
602-231-0681
press@sunncomm.com



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MADMMAX MADMMAX 20 years ago
Kenco , Your one sick puppy !!!!!

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MADMMAX MADMMAX 20 years ago
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=3m&s=SCMI.PK&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=mvsn+qtig.ob
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
I'll dance Kenco!

AMX
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
Kenco, I guess this is how it's done?

TIA
Amx
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
February 24, 2005, 12:00 PM ET

Sony BMG Boosts Copy-Protected CDs

By Ed Christman, N.Y.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is stepping up the rollout of what it calls "content-enhanced" copy-protected CDs, according to company executives.

The move began with the Chieftains' album "Live From Dublin," released Tuesday (Feb. 22). Upcoming albums that will receive the treatment are from Kasabian (March 8) and Susie Suh (March 29).

Sony BMG expects that by year's end, a substantial number of its U.S. releases will employ either Sunncomm's newly enhanced MediaMax or First4Internet's XCP to address piracy concerns. No matter which technology a CD uses, it will include extras such as photo galleries, enhanced liner notes and links to other features.

"What matters the most to us is the consumer experience," Sony BMG Sales Enterprise co-president Jordan Katz says. "Both technologies offer playability across all standard players, including CD players, boomboxes, DVD players, PCs, Macs, car stereos, videogames and clock radios."

Katz says the company wants to alert the industry that it is implementing the content-protection technology, because extensive consumer research indicates widespread customer acceptance of it.

BMG has used MediaMax on a number of titles, including Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" and Anthony Hamilton's "Comin' From Where I'm From." In all, it has shipped more than 5.5 million content-enhanced and protected discs, which have met with extremely positive consumer reactions, according to Katz.

The albums coming out now and in the immediate future will allow for three copies to be made. "We haven't set on what the number of copies should be, other than there should be a limited number; it shouldn't be infinite," Katz says. "Our research shows that the consumer thinks that's fair."



ABOUT SUNNCOMM:

In just five years, SunnComm International Inc. (OTC:SCMI) has become the leader in digital content enhancement and security technology for audio compact disc media. 2004 was a year of milestones for SunnComm including Anthony Hamilton’s “MediaMax’d” CD “Comin’ From Where I’m From” recently achieving platinum status. Last year, Velvet Revolver’s “Contraband” CD reached the #1 spot on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart becoming the world’s first number one CD to include content management. “Contraband” has achieved double-platinum status by selling more than 2 million units. Additionally, SunnComm’s technology has appeared on many other best-selling albums in 2004, some of which have gone gold. Last year ended with MediaMax implemented on more than 75 commercially released CD titles across 25 record labels generating over 10 million CDs, making it the U.S. market leader in copy control and enhancement technology.

MediaMax is state-of-the-art technology which features SunnComm's proprietary On-the-Fly Technology™ - giving the consumer a legal method of making licensed duplicate copies of the CD music they purchase without the record label needing to include a 2nd set of songs on the CD in a protected format. MediaMax also includes SecureBurn™ - SunnComm's extraordinary new technology that inhibits copying a copy of a MediaMax CD.

MediaMax is mastered directly on the audio CD and is accessible using a personal computer. SunnComm was the first company to commercially release a content-protected audio CD utilizing an early version of the Microsoft Windows Media Data Session Toolkit, and was the first company in America to commercially release a copy-managed audio CD (www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/jan03/01-20SessionToolkitPR.asp). Bonus features include on-board press kits, artist-related promotions, videos, song lyrics, artist bio page, photo gallery, web links and tune-sharing capability through SunnComm’s MusicMail™ functionality. For more detailed information about the company, its vision or philosophy, personnel, partners, and customers, please visit the company's Web site at www.sunncomm.com, or call the Company directly at (602) 267-7500. For additional information or investor relations please contact:

Company contact:
Kimberly Faulkner
602.267.7500
kimf@sunncomm.com Investor contact:
Investor Communications Consulting
602-231-0681
investor@sunncomm.com
MediaMax CD3, On-the-Fly Technology, PromoPlay, TuneShare, MusicMail, Secure Burn and SunnComm are registered and/or trademarks of SunnComm International, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
I came across some interesting Stock information on Macrovision. If anyone subscribes to Investors Busines Daily,you can research this information for yourself, or you can subscribe. It says the "Relative Price Strenth" as only being average, middle of the road, on a scale of 1= Worst to 99 = Best, The rating is a (54). Also listed as "Industry Group Relative Strength A= Being Best, E=Being Worst.They got a ( D+ ) What do you think happened here ..LOL This doesn't sound good for the folks over at MSVN ...Looks like the (leading industry groups) are not ready for Macrovision Yet...
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
Kenco, I agree with you here this isn't looking good for MVSN at all!!! None of your posting says anything about Macrovision being part of the big picture for copy protection.

AMX
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
Posted by: kenco
In reply to: None
Date:3/16/2005 11:32:00 PM
Post #of 421

Sony???????? Sony BMG Reaches Online Music Deal with Snocap

Thu Mar 3, 5:40 PM ET Technology - Internet Report



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Snocap, a copyright management and filtering system, on Thursday said it reached a deal with Sony BMG Music Entertainment to facilitate authorized distribution of its songs on peer-to-peer services.



It is the second major music label deal for Snocap, which is the newest venture of Shawn Fanning, the creator of the once-renegade song-swap service Napster (news - web sites) that turned the music industry upside down by introducing millions to the concept of free, unauthorized downloading.


Napster has since been relaunched as a legitimate subscription service.


Fanning launched Snocap in December, touting it as an effort to turn the threat of still popular peer-to-peer services into an opportunity for music companies and artists.


Back then, Snocap announced a deal for Vivendi Universal SA's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music Group to license its catalog.


Terms of the latest deal were not disclosed, but Sony BMG, jointly owned by Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites) (6758.T) and Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites) (BTGGg.F), said it already began registering its content with Snocap's copyright management interface, which seeks to set business rules for tracks distributed on peer-to-peer sites.


By using audio fingerprinting technology to identify and track music, Snocap hopes to give consumers authorized options on par with file-sharing services. Music company EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) has also said it was talking with Snocap.
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
Kenco, I guess what your saying is Macrovision is out the CD copy protection business?
How does this effect the bottom line at MVSN? Do you see a lot of downward pressure on MVSN stocks to a new low? If I held MVSN stock are you suggesting I sell now before it's to late? Will they also use this technology on DVDs and Gaming software as well?

TIA
AMX
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amx8559 amx8559 20 years ago
Posted by: kenco
In reply to: None
Date:3/16/2005 11:31:14 PM
Post #of 19605

Sony???????? "The Sequel" Sony Protects CD's with First 4 Internet



New CD copy-lock technology nears market

By John Borland
http://marketwatch-cnet.com.com, marketwatch-cnet.com.com/New+CD+copy-lock+technology+nears+market/2100-1027_3-5492395.html

Story last modified Thu Dec 16 04:00:00 PST 2004




A new kind of copy-protected music CD will likely hit U.S. shelves early next year, as record label Sony BMG Music Entertainment experiments with a technology created by British developer First 4 Internet, according to sources familiar with the companies.
Several major music labels have already used a version of the British company's technology on prerelease compact discs distributed for review and other early-listening purposes, including on recent albums from Eminem and U2.

The releases for the retail market, expected early in 2005, will be the first time the Sony music label issues copy-protected CDs in the U.S. market, although the company's other divisions have done so in other regions. BMG, Sony's new corporate sibling, has been more aggressive, with a handful of protected CDs released last year.

"We have always focused on a high level of protection, but we've waited until there aren't any playability issues."
--Mathew Gilliat-Smith,
CEO, First 4 InternetA Sony BMG representative declined to comment on the plans. First 4 Internet Chief Executive Officer Mathew Gilliat-Smith confirmed that his company plans to release a consumer version of its technology with one major label in the United States, but he declined to identify the label.

Gilliat-Smith said his company has been waiting to improve its technology. Better-known companies Macrovision and Sunncomm have seen sporadic--and sometimes controversial--use of their products on CDs released around the world.

"We're not keen to rush," Gilliat-Smith said. "We have always focused on a high level of protection, but we've waited until there aren't any playability issues."

The new Sony BMG experiments are a further sign that copy protection on music CDs may be moving closer to the mainstream U.S. market. The practice is much more common in European and Asian markets.

For several years, the major record labels have sought a way to protect CDs against unrestricted copying and "ripping," or transforming songs into files such as MP3s that can be swapped widely online. Early experiments proved unpopular, prompting reports that the discs could not play in certain kind of stereos, or might even damage computers.

The past year has seen resurgent signs of interest from the major labels, however. A watershed moment in the United States came when the BMG-released Velvet Revolver album reached the top of the industry's sales charts, despite being clearly marked as copy-protected. Industry insiders said that helped assuage some boardroom concerns about potential consumer backlash.

Questions remain about the appropriate technology to use, however. The copy protection from Sunncomm, used by BMG in the United States, could be fairly easily disabled simply by pressing a computer's Shift key while the CD was loading, for example. That issue has been fixed in the company's most recent version of its products.

It also may be a tricky job to make rules associated with copy-protected discs match those associated with songs purchased from online stores such as Napster or Apple Computer's iTunes. Those stores allow their customers to burn CDs that can then be copied without restriction; by contrast some labels want to limit the number of times a copied CD can be duplicated again--a technology called "secure burning."

First 4 Internet's entry into the market marks a potentially new twist on the basic technology, however. The company got its start by offering a tool to identify pornographic images in Web sites and e-mails, and selling the technology to Web-filtering companies for their own products.

The company has been working on the disc-protection technology since 2001, following conversations with the EMI record label, Gilliat-Smith said. The technology wraps ordinary song files in strong encryption, but in a way that still allows regular CD players to read them. Another part of the disc contains data files that help improve protection.

The company has worked particularly closely on prereleases in the U.S. market with Universal Music. First 4 Internet's U.S. representative said the copy-protection technology has been included on a number of extremely high-profile CDs while in the review and demo stage, without being broken.

"Could it be broken? I'm sure that somebody must be able to do it," said Graham Oakes, the head of Los Angeles-based Ezee Studios, which represents First 4 Internet. "But is there a generally known hack that has been put on the Net, or have any of the record label IT people found a hack yet? No."

Analysts remain skeptical that labels will ultimately launch copy-protected discs on a widespread level in the United States, citing continued consumer opposition and the delicate technological balancing act between strong protection and universal compatibility with CD players.

"If there's something that isn't going to play in every CD player that's out there, it's going to create a backlash," said Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg. "If it's easy to defeat, then that doesn't bode well for why you released it in the first place."





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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Macrovision's Q4 2004 Earnings Release and Analyst Conference Call Scheduled for February 28, 2005
Thursday February 24, 8:00 am ET


SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2005--Macrovision Corporation (Nasdaq:MVSN - News) announced today that the Company will distribute its Fourth Quarter 2004 Earnings Release on February 28, 2005 at 4:30 p.m. ET. This will be followed by an open investor/analyst conference call from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ET.
Investors and analysts interested in participating in the conference are welcome to call 800-218-0713 (or international +1 303-262-2075) and reference the Macrovision call.

The conference call can also be accessed via live Webcast at www.macrovision.com or www.fulldisclosure.com (or www.streetevents.com for subscribers) on February 28 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Approximately 1-2 hours after the live Webcast ends, the on-demand Webcast of Macrovision's earnings conference call can be accessed until March 7, 2005.

Investors and analysts interested in listening to a recorded replay of the conference are welcome to call 800-405-2236 (or international +1 303-590-3000) and enter passcode 11024324#. Access to the replay is available through March 1, 2005. The conference call script will be posted on the Company's website approximately 48 hours following the call and will be posted for 30 days.

About Macrovision

Macrovision develops and markets digital rights management ("DRM"), copy protection, and software value management technologies for the consumer software, enterprise software, home video and music industries. Macrovision holds a total of 134 issued or pending United States patents and 915 issued or pending international patents, and continues to increase its patent portfolio with new and innovative technologies in related fields. Macrovision has its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California, with international offices in the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul. More information about Macrovision can be found at www.macrovision.com.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Macrovision Corporation
George Monk, 408-743-8600 (Investor)
Ir-info@macrovision.com
Miao Chuang, 408-562-8451 (Media)
mchuang@macrovision.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Macrovision Corporation
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screamineagle screamineagle 20 years ago
REAL NEWS!!!!


QuietTiger Inks Deal with Top Hits and Mediaport to Place the MusicATMs in Nationwide Retail Locations
Wednesday February 23, 3:59 pm ET


PHOENIX, Feb. 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- QuietTiger, Inc. (OTC BB:QTIG.OB - News) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Top Hits Entertainment, and Mediaport Entertainment to include SunnComm's (Other OTC:SCMI.PK - News) MediaMax content protection and enhancement technology within specialized un-manned music vending machines. The MusicATM(tm)s are to be installed in retail locations throughout the U.S.



Mediaport's MusicATM will provide customers with an extensive content choice and unparalleled convenience via an unmanned, automated point-of-sale kiosk. The MusicATM provides the equivalent content of a 60,000 square foot music store within 6 square feet of retail floor space. The patent pending process allows a music buyer to purchase full-length music CDs, create their own labeled compilation CDs or download entire albums or specific tracks to a portable music player in as little as 30 seconds.

Customers will be able to purchase their CDs with MediaMax content management and enhancement technology, which provides additional bonus content including advertising and marketing opportunities. A unique component of the technology allows identification and protection at the track level, respecting the individual content management requirements of various major and independent record labels on a track-by-track basis. The partnership will benefit from Top Hits' (http://www.tophitsmusic.com) existing widespread retail network and Mediaport's (http://www.mediaport.com) proven MusicATM hardware. The combined efforts of this enterprise will penetrate the lucrative mid level retail segment providing a great value to consumers while offering a viable alternative to handling physical media.

Todd Rosenbaum, Executive VP / COO of Top Hits Entertainment, pointed out, ``the partners are already in the final stages of approval for pilot programs with two major retail organizations. If all goes as planned, a rollout to thousands of stores is anticipated by Q4. I feel that we have the perfect partners and technology in place to benefit from several opportunities that Top Hits has worked for many years to develop.'

Top Hits Entertainment CEO, Carl Rosenbaum added, ``We have been actively working the in-store kiosk plan for several years now. We have worked with and tested many different systems and finally found Mediaport, a company that has a complete turnkey solution. Along with QuietTiger, we have a complete product (including lyrics, photo albums, and many other value-added features.) We can now offer our customers a system that will meet all of their expectations, from burning music to advertising along with the potential of doing so much more.'

``Never before has a music organization had the customers, technology, assets and partners to capitalize on the un-manned music kiosk business,' declared Bill Whitmore, President/CEO of QuietTiger. ``Placement, ease-of-use and advanced technologies are only a part of this equation. Music availability from the major and independent record labels and enthusiastic acceptance from high-profile retail locations are also key ingredients. The partners in this enterprise, along with QuietTiger's (http://www.quiettiger.com) extensive contacts across the music industry, will guarantee access to all of these necessary components to success. Our goal is offer a system that will consistently generate revenue while adding an unparalleled value proposition for consumers while respecting the wishes of the artists, labels and publishers.'

ABOUT TOP HITS ENTERTAINMENT

The combination of 35 years of music retail experience and distribution provides the Top Hits management team with the expertise needed in creating the right music selections for their customers. From their first display unit in 1994 at an Amoco corner gas station in Chicago to adding major corporate accounts like Walgreens, CVS and Eckerd, Top Hits now has over 15,000 displays across the country and has been taking the non-traditional music market by storm.

Top Hits Entertainment's programs have been created to provide music selections based on each of their customers location. Their demographic research allows them to put the right songs in the right places while they are at the peak of their demand. Knowing that most people love a good song, and at the same time understanding that only a small percentage of the population shops music as a destination, Top Hits found a way to make it easy for everyone to own that song they like so much.

Their retail experience provides an in-depth understanding of their customers needs along with the ability to offer programs that will generate music sales.

ABOUT MEDIAPORT

Mediaport Entertainment, Inc. was founded in early 2002 with a vision, to be ``The Music ATM' -- giving customers infinite content choice, easy technology solutions, and unparalleled convenience. As the first company to deploy unmanned point-of-sale music kiosks, Mediaport leads the industry by providing the content of a complete retail music store. Mediaport's patent pending process allows a customer to purchase full-length music CDs, create their own compilation CDs, or download specific tracks to an MP3 player in minutes.

About MusicATM(tm)

MusicATM is the world's first unmanned point of sale kiosk. It lets users build high quality compilation CDs or download to their MP3 player from convenient locations within minutes. The MusicATM gives the customer a full service music store at locations that meet their fast-paced lives. CDs have the artist name and song titles printed on the face, while MP3 users receive complete meta data with the song at the time of their download.

About Mediaport's Web Site

Mediaport's website, http://www.mediaport.com is playing an integral role in the Company's rollout efforts and has the features that consumers expect from an online music store. By leveraging the versatility of the Internet, Mediaport has been able to extend the boundaries of one-channel music marketing by creating a real-time link between our website and the MusicATM network. This allows them to market, monitor, and provide a ``click and brick' solution that utilizes both channels' strengths in a way that addresses two industries needs - decreased theft and increased sales.

ABOUT QUIETTIGER

QuietTiger, Inc. (http://www.quiettiger.com) with its international reach, implements the delivery of digital content security products for the music and entertainment industry. With established long-term industry contacts throughout the world, the company understands the challenges surrounding digital content management and protection. The QuietTiger team of professionals has spent more than 50 years in the music and movie industry. QuietTiger is the exclusive sales and marketing arm for SunnComm's MediaMax suite of products.

For additional information about the company, its vision, philosophy, partners, and customers, please visit the Company's Web site at http://www.quiettiger.com or contact:



Company Contact: Investor contact:
William H. Whitmore, Jr. Investor Communications Consulting
602-267-3800 602-231-0681
bill@quiettiger.com press@quiettiger.com

ABOUT SUNNCOMM

In just five years, SunnComm International Inc. (Other OTC:SCMI.PK - News) has become the leader in digital content enhancement and security technology for audio compact disc media. 2004 was a year of milestones for SunnComm including Anthony Hamilton's ``MediaMax'd' CD ``Comin' From Where I'm From' achieving platinum status and Velvet Revolver's ``Contraband' CD reaching the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart becoming the world's first number one CD to include content management. ``Contraband' also achieved double-platinum status by selling more than 2 million units. Additionally, SunnComm's technology appeared on many other best-selling albums in 2004, some of which have gone gold. The year ended with MediaMax implemented on more than 75 commercially released CD titles across 25 record labels generating over 10 million CDs, making it the U.S. market leader in copy control and enhancement technology.

MediaMax is mastered directly on the audio CD and is accessible using a personal computer. SunnComm was the first company to commercially release a content-protected audio CD utilizing an early version of the Microsoft Windows Media Data Session Toolkit, and was the first company in America to commercially release a copy-managed audio CD (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/jan03/01-20SessionToolkitPR.asp). Bonus features include on-board press kits, artist-related promotions, videos, song lyrics, artist bio page, photo gallery, web links and tune-sharing capability through SunnComm's MusicMail(tm) functionality. For more detailed information about the company, its vision or philosophy, personnel, partners, and customers, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.sunncomm.com, or call the Company directly at (602) 267-7500. For additional information or investor relations please contact:



Company contact: Investor contact:
Peter H. Jacobs Investor Communications Consulting
602-267-7500 602-231-0681
peter@sunncomm.com press@sunncomm.com

MediaMax CD3, MediaMax Technology, On-the-Fly Technology, PromoPlay, TuneShare, MusicMail, Secure Burn and SunnComm are registered and/or trademarks of SunnComm International, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

This news release contains predictions, projections and other statements about the future that are intended to be ``forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of l995 (collectively, ``forward-looking statements'). Forward-looking statements relate to various aspects of the Company's operations and strategies, including but not limited to the effects of having experienced significant losses in the past and the risk that the Company may incur losses in the future; the Company's limited liquidity and significant indebtedness; its sales forecasts for future periods not being attained and the risk that the Company will not conclude additional revenue-generating license agreements covering its content protection and enhancement technologies; the Company's marketing, product development, acquisition investments, licensing and other strategies not being successful; possible future issuances of debt or equity securities; the possible incurrence of significant patent litigation expenses or adverse legal determinations that find our patents not to be valid; new business development and industry trends; the possible need to raise additional capital in order to meet the Company's obligations and most other statements that are not historical in nature. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are described in cautionary statements included in this news release. In assessing forward-looking statements, readers are urged to consider carefully these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release, and the Company disclaims any obligations to update such statements.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: MediaMax Technology Corporation


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kenco kenco 20 years ago
jrinphx, I would not want to be accused of "coloring", which we all know I will, that persons words so I will not summerize it, besides, I dont have a copy of it right in front of me for accurate reference since I dont get the magazine, I only had it read to me over the phone last night, besides, as I pointed out, it will supposedly be available online at the MIX magazine website any day, of course if you are that curious, you could always run down to your nearest book store and buy the mag, its in the new Feb 2005 issue.
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jrinphx jrinphx 20 years ago
So instead of childishly posting about it here and on "your" QTIG board, why don't you give us your best effort on conveying the content? Or is that asking too much for you to act like a responsible citizen here?
JR
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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Sunncomm Mediamax has a glowing, ROTFLMAO!!!, review in the Feb. issue of MIX magazine, my son just read it to me over the phone so I dont have anything that I can post, he tells me that it should be available on Mixonline.com in a few days.
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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Macrovision: Top Dog Of Copy Protection


Macrovision: Top Dog Of Copy Protection

John Dobosz, 12.02.04, 1:09 PM ET

Stock Of The Week

NEW YORK - Michael Ozanian, editor of Forbes Earnings Quality Report, recommends buying shares of Macrovision, the Santa Clara, Calif., developer of copy protection and electronic licensing and rights management technologies.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2004, sales climbed 38% to $122.5 million, while net income increased 10% to $20.9 million. Greater demand from customers, especially DVD marketers, boosted revenue, while higher research and development costs resulted in a smaller jump in earnings. Macrovision (nasdaq: MVSN - news - people ) shares are up 22% in the past year, closing Dec. 1 at $27.49, or 30.8 times expected 2004 earnings of $0.89 per share. The company's market capitalization is $1.35 billion.

Macrovision makes its money by licensing its technology to Hollywood studios; independent video producers; hardware and software vendors; music labels; consumer electronics, personal computer and digital set-top box manufacturers; and digital pay-per-view and video-on-demand network operators. Although still substantially below its all-time high of $107 hit in late 2000, MVSN is still up 1,130% since its March 1997 initial public offering.

"Wall Street loves this stock because MVSN's technology is embedded in virtually all of the DVD recorders entering the market and in the 280 million DVD devices installed throughout the world," says Ozanian. "MVSN's copy protection and rights management technologies have also been utilized on over 6 billion DVDs and VHS cassettes, 200 million CD-ROMs and 150 million music CDs."

Ozanian recommends Macrovision because of the company's strong financial performance as well as the investments it's making to keep its market-leading position.

"At the end of 2001, the company was spending 9% of sales on R&D. Last quarter it plowed back 17 cents of each dollar of sales into R&D," observes Ozanian.

He adds, "When a high-tech company like MVSN boosts R&D spending, it is in effect sacrificing current earnings growth for future earnings. But that is the best way to create the new products it needs to stay ahead of its competitors, and it also shows that the company has good earnings quality, because it has not been padding its current earnings by skimping on R&D."

In coming quarters, Macrovision plans to roll out several new products, including a peer-to-peer file-sharing content management service.

Ozanian is comfortable with the company's valuation based on its growth and notes that its P/E ratio is slightly below that of the Nasdaq 100 Trust (nasdaq: QQQQ). Ozanian's 12-month price target on Macrovision is $31 per share.

http://www.forbes.com/investmentnewsletters/2004/12/02/cz_jd_1202gurusow.html?partner=yahoo&refe....


Of course their figure for music CDs is incorrect and should be 400M (refer recent Macrovision PR) not 150M. Macrovision's volume share of protected music CDs worlwide (excluding Sony who use their own protection) is 98.5% with 400M CDs protected. SunnComm has approximately 1.5% of the worldwide market with 6M CDs.

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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Interesting Analysis on MediaMax...
Yes. But unlike MediaMax where the user can simply press the Shift Key (thus bypassing SunnComm's active protection)and access the first session CD-Audio tracks, if they press the Shift Key with CDS-300, they still cannot access the CD-Audio because of the passive protection (of course that is still to a certain extent hackable, but does require technical competence).

SunnComm are in a bind with MediaMax. Without effective passive protection their active protection is bypassable using the shift key. The only solution is for them to add passive protection like CDS-300, but that puts them back years, as they are effectively starting on the road that Macrovision, TTR and Midbar have been concentrating on for the last few years. All the good passive protection solutions are covered by patents from Midbar, TTR and MVSN (which are now all owned by Macrovision).

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screamineagle screamineagle 20 years ago
"William Blair & Company, L.L.C. has received compensation for investment banking services from the company within the past 12 months, or expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services in the next 3 months.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a market maker in the security of this company and may have a long or short position."

Gee, I wonder if this has anything to do with their "rating"?
LOL!

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kenco kenco 20 years ago
William Blair & Company Initiates Coverage of Macrovision Corporation With Outperform Rating

CHICAGO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- William Blair & Company today announced
that it initiated research coverage of Macrovision Corporation (Nasdaq: MVSN)
($26.26), the industry leader for copy protection, digital rights management,
and software licensing technologies designed to deter casual pirating and to
control electronically the use of digital content and software, with an
Outperform rating and company profile of Aggressive Growth.
Analyst David Farina and Associate Analyst Ralph Schackart estimated that
the company, which an estimated 65% share of the DVD market, 90% of the
digital set-top-box market, and 70%-plus share of the software electronic
licensing market, would generate pro forma earnings per share of $0.88 in 2004
and $1.01 in 2005.
"We believe the current macro environment is favorable for the company's
copy protection and digital rights business, given that U.S. businesses lose
$250 billion per year as a result of piracy, worldwide piracy rates are
increasing, and the Internet is an unpluggable content-distribution hole,"
Farina said. "In our opinion, these fundamental macro conditions paint a
compelling picture for Macrovision's de facto industry-standard technologies,
which are highly proprietary and recurring in nature."
"We believe Macrovision has one of the world's most dominant copy-
protection patent portfolios," Schackart added. "Its portfolio includes more
than 164 domestic and 864 international patents -- issued or pending --
covering copy-protection technologies, video scrambling, and audio scrambling.
In addition, Macrovision's portfolio includes patents that prevent
unauthorized parties from developing processes or devices that could be used
to circumvent copy protection. This comprehensive patent portfolio, coupled
with the company's willingness to enforce its patents (Macrovision has never
lost an enforcement case), makes Macrovision an extremely proprietary software
company."
William Blair & Company, L.L.C. ( http://www.williamblair.com ) is a
Chicago-based investment firm, founded in 1935, offering investment banking,
asset management, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and
private capital to individual, institutional, and issuing clients. We place a
high value on the enduring nature of our client relationships, the quality of
our products and services, and the continuity and integrity of our people.
William Blair & Company has offices in Chicago, Hartford, London, San
Francisco, Tokyo, Vaduz, and Zurich.
William Blair & Company, L.L.C. has received compensation for investment
banking services from the company within the past 12 months, or expects to
receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services in the
next 3 months.
William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a market maker in the security of this
company and may have a long or short position.
For important disclosure information regarding the firm's rating system,
valuation methods and potential conflicts of interest, please visit:
http://www.williamblair.com/pages/eqresearch_home.asp?uid=757
Additional information is available upon request.
William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a member of the National Association of
Securities Dealers, CRD number 1252.

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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Macrovision Increases Market Leadership with 4 Billion Protected Music Tracks; New Technology Enhancements Enable Universal Playability and Controlled CD Burning

SANTA CLARA, Calif. November 18, 2004-Macrovision Corporation (Nasdaq:MVSN, the global market leader in content protection and digital rights management ("DRM") technologies, announced today that its CDS(TM) technology, the most widely adopted music CD content protection solution, has shipped on over 400 million music CDs worldwide, protecting over 4 billion music tracks. Over 22 major and independent music labels worldwide and 20 resellers have utilized the CDS technology on over 4,000 titles since 2002. Macrovision also introduced significant technological advances in its new CDS-300 platform that dramatically enhances consumer flexibility while transparently maintaining maximum protection for labels and artists.

Unauthorized CD ripping on PCs leads directly to exponential distribution and downloading on the Peer-to-Peer ("P2P") networks and illegal file-sharing continues to be the major threat to world music sales. With over 700 million unauthorized music files moving between PCs at any given time, worldwide music sales are down 7 percent in 2003, and 14 percent in three years, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Macrovision addresses this growing threat by delivering solutions that massively decrease supply of unauthorized files (CD ripping) and inhibit access (peer-to-peer file sharing downloads) by combining CDS-300's rip control with an effective P2P Anti-Piracy service.

The new CDS-300 is pro consumer and pro content owner. It features the best CD rip protection on the market while giving consumers one click capability for music portability (DRM copies) and backup flexibility (Controlled Burn CD copies). CDS-300 is transparent across CD, DVD and PC audio systems, and provides the same high standards for CD audio quality adopted by worldwide manufacturers and preserves 100% of the audio fidelity (16-bit/44.1 kHz).

"The key to a successful CD media management solution is a transparent consumer experience with effective content protection. Macrovision has architected the new version of CDS-300 to better serve both the music content owners and their consumers," said Steve Weinstein, executive vice president and general manager of Macrovision's Entertainment Technologies Group. "For the past 18 years, Macrovision has worked in partnership with the leading content companies and consumer electronics and PC manufacturers to develop and deploy technologies that provide an optimum balance between compatibility and effectiveness. CDS-300 is built with the same commitment to deliver solutions to meet our customers' evolving business demand, and it is backed by our global customer support resources."

CDS-300 is compatible with Microsoft's Windows Media(R) DRM solutions and is designed to support other third-party DRM vendors. For more information about CDS-300 features and benefits, visit www.macrovision.com/products/cds/cds300. For a list of compatible portable devices, visit a href="" TARGET="_blank">
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kenco kenco 20 years ago
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 1 —
Q3 2004 Earnings
Conference Call Script
November 1, 2004
Bill Krepick – CEO
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Macrovision’s Q3 2004 earnings conference
call. I am here today with Ian Halifax, our CFO. Dan Stickel, EVP of our Software
Technologies Group, and Steve Weinstein, EVP Entertainment Technologies
Group, are also joining us to answer any questions you may have after I discuss
our operating results for the third quarter of 2004. As you’ve seen in our
earnings release of today, we delivered record third quarter revenues, pro forma
operating income, and pro forma earnings. This was the first quarter which
included the results of our InstallShield® acquisition. In addition to delivering
record revenues we made substantial progress with our integration of
InstallShield during the quarter in all functional areas: engineering, customer
support, professional services, sales, marketing, finance, and IT/IS. I’ll speak
about our operations and trends in the market after Ian discusses our Q3
financial results.
Ian Halifax – CFO and EVP, Finance & Administration
Thanks, Bill.
Before I discuss the Company’s Q3 2004 operating results and our Q4 guidance
released earlier today, I would like to remind you that all statements made
during our conference call, that are not statements of historical fact, constitute
“forward-looking statements” and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results
could vary materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements are described in our Forms 10-K and 10-Q, other
periodic filings with the SEC, and our press releases.
A replay of this conference call will be available for one week through Webcasts
located on our Investor Relations website at
www.macrovision.com/company/investor/financial_news.shtml,
www.streetevents.com (for subscribers) or www.fulldisclosure.com.
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 2 —
The following financial information and the financial statements released earlier
today reflect the inclusion of acquired companies, including InstallShield, which
was acquired on July 1, 2004. Therefore, Macrovision has presented pro forma
reconciliation income statements to show earnings before amortization of
intangibles from acquisitions, in process research and development write-offs,
amortization of deferred stock-based compensation and gains and impairment
losses on investments, in order to reflect the ongoing operations of the combined
companies, as well as net income. We believe that this presentation may be more
meaningful in analyzing the results of operations and income generation.
As stated in our earnings release, consolidated net revenues for the third quarter
of 2004 were $48,859,000 reflecting a 57% increase from $31,216,000 in the
third quarter of 2003.
Overall, revenues from our video technologies, which include copy protection for
DVD, videocassettes, and digital pay-per-view, increased 19% to $23,954,000 in
the third quarter of 2004 from $20,106,000 in the third quarter of 2003.
DVD copy protection revenues were $18,296,000 in the third quarter of 2004,
compared to $15,926,000 in 2003, an increase of 15%. During Q3 we recognized
approximately $1.7 million of revenue from studio volume replicated during the
first two quarters of 2004. We were not able to record these revenues in the
quarter in which the volumes were replicated as a result of prolonged contract
negotiations.
Third quarter copy protection revenues from videocassettes were $794,000 in
2004 compared to $1,335,000 in 2003, a decrease of 41%, driven by the
ongoing shift from the VHS format to DVD.
Digital pay-per-view copy protection revenues for the third quarter of 2004 were
$4,864,000, an increase of 71% from $2,845,000 in Q3 2003.
Revenue from the Company’s music copy protection products was $2,011,000,
reflecting a 61% increase over Q3 2003. We continue to see our business coming
from Japan and Western Europe. Our Q3 revenues included a large up-front
technology license for the delivery of our controlled burning feature to an
international e-music store operator, as well as initial Hawkeye revenues.
SafeDisc® revenues for our PC games business were $1,307,000, a 10% increase
over Q3 2003.
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 3 —
Revenue from the Company’s software products was $21,484,000 in the third
quarter of 2004, compared to $8,678,000 in 2003, an increase of 148% resulting
from new license transactions and renewals of existing contracts, as well as the
impact of a full quarter of revenues from the InstallShield acquisition, which were
in line with expectations.
Other revenues were $103,000.
Gross margin for the third quarter of 2004 was 88% (excluding amortization of
intangibles from acquisitions), which reflected a 7 percentage point decline from
Q3 2003 due to the impact of the lower gross margin of InstallShield business.
Pro forma operating income (before amortization of intangibles from acquisitions,
in process research and development write-off, amortization of deferred stockbased
compensation and gains and impairment losses on investments) for the
third quarter of 2004 was $16,737,000 or 18% higher than the third quarter of
2003, which was $14,191,000.
Pro forma earnings for the third quarter of 2004 were a record $11,193,000 or
21% higher than the third quarter of 2003, which were $9,288,000.
Net income for the third quarter of 2004 was $1,324,000. Net income includes
non-cash, non-operating charges we exclude from our pro forma earnings
calculation such as the charges from the InstallShield acquisition, other prior
acquisitions and the write-down of our investment in Digimarc Corporation.
Amortization of intangibles from acquisitions was $2,627,000 (including
amortization of acquired patents from TTR). In-process research and
development write-off was $5,400,000. Impairment loss on our Digimarc equity
investment was $5,298,000, with a related $1,343,000 one-time tax impact.
Our pro forma operating margins were 34% of revenues in Q3 2004, reflecting a
6 percentage points drop from Q2 2004. This resulted from the strategic
investment initiatives we are making in R&D and Sales & Marketing, and the
impact of the InstallShield acquisition and related integration efforts. We expect
that our operating margins will rebound to approach 40% in the fourth quarter as
our fixed costs are absorbed by our seasonally higher fourth quarter revenues.
Pro forma diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2004 were $0.22, up
16% from the $0.19 recorded in the prior quarter a year ago. Diluted earnings
per share for the third quarter of 2004 were $0.03.
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 4 —
Interest and other income was $755,000 for the quarter, reflecting a decrease of
10% due to our lower cash position.
Our cash position remains strong, even after funding the $76 million InstallShield
acquisition. The total of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, restricted
cash, short-term investments and long-term marketable investment securities
balance as of September 30, 2004 was $224,062,000.
The accounts receivable balance as of September 30, 2004 was $31,105,000.
DSO (days’ sales outstanding) was 58 days as of September 30, compared to 73
days in the prior quarter a year ago.
Deferred revenue was $15,437,000 at the end of the third quarter, compared to
$10,257,000 in the third quarter a year ago, an increase of 51%.
We are projecting revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004 to be in the $50-$53
million range, with pro forma EPS of $0.25-$0.27. For the full year 2004, we
anticipate revenues of $172M-$175M, with pro forma EPS of $0.88-$0.90. These
projections include the impact of InstallShield acquisition for the second half of
the year, combined with our view of the trends in DVD copy protection
penetration and pricing, as well as our belief that we closed some deals in Q3
that had been anticipated for Q4.
Now, let me turn the microphone over to Bill who will discuss the significant
highlights of the quarter and the trends in our various businesses and markets.
Bill Krepick - CEO
Thanks, Ian.
Our Entertainment Technologies business unit had very strong 21% year-overyear
revenue growth in Q3. DVD continues to be the dominant business in this
sector – contributing 2/3 of the division’s revenues. DVD copy protection
revenues grew 15% Y/Y which, as in prior quarters, is below the overall industry
shipments’ Y/Y growth of 33% projected by Understanding & Solutions, a leading
entertainment industry market research firm. Our results reflect the impact of
price discounting and loss of market penetration as certain studios have moved
away from 100% usage to a title-by-title copy protection policy. We expect this
trend to continue in the future and you should not be surprised to see certain
blockbuster titles released to the market without copy protection. We have talked
about this phenomenon in prior conference calls, and our strategy to bolster
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 5 —
revenue growth in the packaged media video segment of our business is to
combine our anti-piracy technologies into what we call the “ActiveReach™” suite
of anti-piracy solutions – which include DVD copy protection, Hawkeye™ peer-topeer
file sharing content management services, and Ripguard™ anti-ripper
protection. Looking ahead to Q4 we anticipate that our DVD business may
increase 5 to 10% above our Q3 results due to the factors above. We are not
expecting to see the results of selling our solutions as a product suite until early
in 2005.
Before moving to discuss our PPV copy protection business, I am pleased to
announce that we have just signed a multi-year renewal with HBO Home Video
that includes copy protection on 100% of their DVDs and VHS cassettes.
Our PPV copy protection business was exceptionally strong as we recorded $4.9M
in revenues – mostly from set top box royalties, but we also signed a number of
new $100,000+ international manufacturer licenses during the quarter. One
North American cable operator activated our copy protection in their video-ondemand
(VOD) network and has experienced no adverse consumer reaction. We
believe that two other U.S. cable companies will activate our technology by the
end of the year in support of ‘day/date’ trials for the simultaneous release of
home video and VOD movies. We are encouraged by these moves toward copy
protection activation on VOD.
The quarter was important also because we received our first revenues from our
Hawkeye P2P file sharing content management service from an independent
record label and a major Hollywood studio. We continue to support a number of
trials with both the movie studios and record companies. We expect revenue for
Hawkeye will be modest for the balance of this year as there are a number of
competitive contracts in place with the record labels that extend through
12/31/04 that will be difficult to replace.
During the quarter four major studios conducted further testing on RipGuard, our
anti-ripper solution for DVDs. Our RipGuard product is designed to be the
technologic antidote to PC-based software ripper products that are used to make
unauthorized copies of DVD movies. During the quarter we completed our
RipGuard replicator production tool, and are prepared to support a limited
number of replicator production sites in Q4. Assuming we get studio orders, full
scale RipGuard production could commence in Q1 2005.
We announced that TiVo® and ReplayTV® had signed license agreements with us
for our ACP-E content management solution, which is a simplified rights
management solution for DVR/PVR devices and home media center PCs. Various
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 6 —
hard drive content management rules such as allow temporary storage and
playback for 24 hours, or allow storage for 7 days, etc. can be embedded in our
DVD and PPV copy protection data streams. Most digital set-top boxes,
DVRs/PVRs, and home media center PCs can be modified with simple firmware
downloads that will allow content owners to control the storage and playback of
PPV and VOD programs on DVR/PVR type set-top boxes and home media PCs.
We expect that this product will open up more hardware licensing opportunities
with PCs and Internet protocol devices.
Our SafeDisc® PC games copy protection business was up slightly, 10% for Y/Y.
We were gratified to see that our advanced Hack Protection (API) based security
solution helped Electronic Arts keep the hackers at bay for a full three weeks
following the release of their popular Sims2 game. We believe we have shored up
our value proposition during the year.
In the audio market, we delivered our CDS-300™ Version 7. This version of the
product has both an ‘active’ and a ‘passive’ copy protection solution, a built-in
Microsoft® DRM, and a proprietary Macrovision controlled burning feature. We
generated $2 million in audio-related revenues in Q2 – comprised of our CDS
copy protection royalties, a small amount of Hawkeye revenues, and a large upfront
technology license for the delivery of our controlled burning feature to an
international e-music store operator. We have three record labels in Europe that
have committed to deploying it in the Q4. In the U.S., the RIAA issued an
industry vision and specification for the record labels’ ideal copy protection
solution. We believe that our V7 meets most of the criteria.
Turning now to our software business, Q3 was the first quarter when we included
the results from our July 1 acquisition of InstallShield. Our respective customers
appreciate the fact that we now have increased the breadth of our Software
Value Management™ solutions and are building a one-stop shopping experience
for ISVs and enterprises to help them more efficiently package, license, install,
update, and administer their software applications. Our combined product
portfolio has resulted in an unrivaled software value management product line.
All these factors helped us deliver record $21.5M in revenues in Q3.
During Q3 we spent considerable time and effort integrating InstallShield, and
among other things, now have a trained sales force that is beginning to sell
products from both companies. In addition, our product development teams have
now completed our first joint InstallShield/Macrovision product integration
incorporating the “Try-and-Die” feature of our FLEXnet™ Product Activation
software in one of the InstallShield Installer products. This “Try-and-Die” feature
will be introduced later this week to software developers who buy the
MVSN Q3_04_ConfCallScript_11-1-04FINAL.DOC — 7 —
InstallShield Installer – ‘Premium Edition’. We expect customer feedback
regarding the “Try-and-Die” feature to help us fine tune our subsequent
integration of the full scale Product Activation feature next year. I am proud of
this product development accomplishment because it showed how well three
engineering teams in Chicago, the UK, and Santa Clara could work together to
incorporate new features and merge InstallShield heritage and Macrovision
products under compressed development schedules.
Other items of note during Q3 included an announcement with Microsoft that
they will be making a special version of our InstallShield AdminStudio™ available
to all Microsoft SMS customers, seeding the market for our full-fledged version.
We also began getting traction with our new FLEXnet Manager™ product, aimed
at enterprise users of FLEXenabled™ applications, closing several deals, the
largest being several hundred thousand dollars. And we continued to see strong
growth with the InstallShield Update Service™, in particular closing a multihundred
thousand dollar deal with a leading ISV. Both the FLEXnet Manager and
Update Service product have had average selling prices in the past in the
$20,000- $40,000 range.
Finally, we worked hard in Q3 preparing for our annual SoftSummit industry
conference which brings together leading ISVs and enterprises to discuss the
latest trends and best practices in software value management and electronic
licensing. We had record attendance, up 40% over 2003. Sponsor participation
was up over 100%. Speakers from General Motors, Microsoft, Peoplesoft, IDC,
McKinsey, and other leading companies contributed to the broad appeal of this
conference for all ISVs and enterprises. We believe the success of SoftSummit
mirrors our success in establishing thought leadership with FLEXnet as the
premier electronic licensing and electronic license distribution platform, and
extending our franchise to a leadership position in the software value
management space.
We thank you for your continued support, and now we’ll take any questions.
# # #

http://www.macrovision.com/company/investor/pdfs/MVSN_Q3_2004_confcallscript.pdf

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bleuduece bleuduece 20 years ago
SunnComm Delivers Technology that Protects and Enhances Music Delivered by Self-Service Kiosks

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2004--SunnComm International, Inc. (OTCBB: SCMI), advances its leadership position in digital content security and enhancement for optical media by announcing today that it has designed technology intended to limit the copying of CDs dispensed from self-service kiosks. Kiosks are taking the consumer market by storm. It is expected that the purchase of popular music mixed onto audio CDs could drive more retail customers to self-service kiosks than any other product sold by the self-service machines. Industry experts, IHL Consulting Group, reports that $128 billion was spent by North American consumers in 2003 on all consumer kiosk transactions. IHL Consulting further projects that continued growth from consumer demand will approach $1.3 trillion by 2007.


"Self-service kiosks are popping up everywhere, and the deployment of these systems is expected to grow significantly over the next several years offering a whole new entertainment venue for consumers," says Bill Whitmore, president and chief executive officer of QuietTiger, Inc. (OTCBB: QTIG). QuietTiger is the exclusive sales and marketing arm for SunnComm's technology. He continued, "The integration of the MediaMax technology within the kiosk systems is a significant advancement in preventing music from being copied again and again and again."

Peter Jacobs, CEO of SunnComm International, commented, "The kiosk systems enable customers to access digital content on the spot and to create a custom audio CD just like the one found on store shelves." The MediaMax SecureBurn platform will be utilized to create the custom album and will inhibit the content from unauthorized duplication while providing substantial additional marketing opportunities."

The Perfect Placement(TM) banner advertising feature created by SunnComm will allow retailers to promote themselves directly on the very CD-Rs they are sending home with music buyers. When inserted into a PC or MAC, interactive banners appear throughout the user interface. This sales component is an excellent vehicle for presenting in-store promotions as well as special offers or information. Since the banners are controlled remotely when an Internet connection is available, they can be easily changed from time to time.

"With the introduction of On-the-Fly encoding(TM), SunnComm can shift the process of managing the content on music CDs from the mastering studio, authoring facilities and CD manufacturing plants right into a kiosk," declared SunnComm's CTO, Eric Vandewater. "We are basically compressing many man-hours of mastering, second session authoring, manufacturing and quality control into a single transaction at a dedicated machine that is completed in minutes instead of days."

SunnComm's MediaMax suite of products delivers security for digital CD audio along with an enhanced consumer experience that provides additional bonus content and value-added features available in a user-friendly multi-media session that is mastered directly on the audio CD and accessible using a personal computer. Bonus features include on-board press kits, artist-related promotions, videos, song lyrics, artist bio page, photo gallery, web links and tune-sharing capability through SunnComm's MusicMail(TM) functionality. MusicMail or TuneShare is an interface for the legal authorized sharing of selected song tracks with friends & family for a pre-determined number of days or plays. CD buyers can share music legitimately without illegal file sharing networks and without tying up their email system with huge files. This is a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool for the record labels. Metrics associated with forwarded MusicMail files are available to SunnComm's record label customers on a 24/7/365 basis.

ABOUT SUNNCOMM

SunnComm International Inc. (OTC: SCMI) copy management and protection technology was first commercially released by Nashville's Music City records in 2001. The album, "Charley Pride - A Tribute to Jim Reeves," became the first commercial dual-session, copy-managed CD in America. SunnComm also became the first company to commercially release a content-protected audio CD utilizing an early version of the Windows Media Data Session Toolkit. (http://www.microsoft.com/ presspass/press/2003/jan03/01-20SessionToolkitPR.asp) (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste it into your Internet browser's URL address field. You may also need to remove an extra space in the URL if one exists.)

In just four years, SunnComm has become the leader in digital content enhancement and security technology for audio compact disc media with its MediaMax suite of products. MediaMax has been successfully implemented on some of today's best selling music including Velvet Revolver, which reached the #1 spot on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart in addition to other gold and platinum best-selling releases. MediaMax has been used by 25 record labels on more than 60 commercial releases generating over 6,000,000 copy managed CDs.

SunnComm's MediaMax suite of digital content enhancement technologies are created by integrating the Company's own proprietary technology with the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - News) Windows Media 9 Series media player, but still operates on both Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL - News) and Microsoft Windows-based systems. For more detailed information about the company, its vision or philosophy, personnel, partners, and customers, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.sunncomm.com, or call the Company directly at (602) 267-7500. For additional information or investor relations please contact:

Company contact: Investor contact:
Peter H. Jacobs Investor Communications Consulting
602-267-7500 602-231-0681
peter@sunncomm.com SCMI@investorcc.com


MediaMax Digital Content Cloaking Technology, DC2, PromoPlay, TuneShare, MusicMail, Secure-Burn and SunnComm are registered and/or trademarks of SunnComm International, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

ABOUT QUIETTIGER

QuietTiger, Inc., a fully reporting public company that currently trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "QTIG", is an international sales and marketing group representing the implementation and delivery of digital content security products for the music and entertainment industry. The team of sales and marketing professionals, has over 50 years of experience in the music, movie and entertainment industry, and has established relationships around the world that will enable the penetration of our product lines into each targeted market segment.

For additional information or investor relations please contact:

Company contact: Investor contact:
Bill Whitmore Investor Communications Consulting
602-267-3800 602-231-0681
bill@quiettiger.com QTIG@investorcc.com


NOTES ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment.

We caution the reader that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Unknown risk, uncertainties as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the results, performance or expectations expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

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bleuduece bleuduece 20 years ago
MediaMax Version 5.0 Expands Business Opportunities Beyond the Protection of Audio CDs

PHOENIX, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2004--SunnComm International, Inc. (OTC:SCMI), the developer of MediaMax(TM), the most widely used and accepted audio CD copy management and enhancement technology in the United States, has finalized the newest version of its technology. MediaMax Version 5 now enables SunnComm to pursue additional lucrative revenue opportunities outside the core music business initiative of protecting commercial audio CDs. These new areas include protecting and enhancing CD+G formatted Karaoke CDs, On-demand audio and video downloading from the Internet, DVD protection for movies and stand-alone music kiosks that allow consumers to create legal compilation CDs from licensed reputable online music sources, to name just a few.


Independent third party testing of MediaMax Version 5, in addition to the extensive testing and review by many of the large record labels, is complete. The final testing results are extremely positive which validates that SunnComm has a finished product that is ready for rollout in the US market and ready for deployment around the world. SunnComm's chief technology officer, Eric Vandewater, confirms, "We are very pleased with the validation and confirmation of the extensive testing platform required to release MediaMax products into the market. I am instituting a MediaMax product code freeze at this point, so our sales and operation division can get this newest edition into production immediately. This Version 5.0 suite of products is far more than just an update to our current product being used today in the US market. It incorporates breakthrough technological advancements like On-the-Fly Technology(TM) that have never been accomplished before in a commercially released program. The technology has performed beyond our expectations in every tested environment and we are prepared to move forward quickly."

Prior to MediaMax Version 5 (http://www.quiettiger.com/MediaMaxv5.0.html), CD copy management applications that involved DRM-protected songs required the content to be encoded and stored on the CD itself in what is referred to as a "second session or data session." The MediaMax Version 5 platform allows copyrighted digital music to be encoded with the required DRM security information and instantaneously delivered to the consumer's computer in real time, or 'on-the-fly' directly from the audio content on the CD. Utilizing this new product means there is no longer a need to store 'pre-protected' copies of each music track on the disc and it also means there is more room for music and other enhanced bonus features on each new release. It is important to recognize the value proposition provided by the newest version of MediaMax in order to understand that this new platform reduces any potential publisher royalty liability the labels might incur when a second protected copy of every track is placed on the CD.

In addition to SunnComm's proprietary On-the-Fly Technology, MediaMax Version 5.0 features another component called Secure Burn(TM). SecureBurn allows the consumer to make personal backup copies of the CD, however these backup copies are protected and will inhibit the user's ability to make a copy of the copy on their computer.

SunnComm's MediaMax Division VP, Michal Avniel, affirms, "Most of our independent record label customers have decided to begin integrating MediaMax Version 5 into their commercial releases immediately. Our major label clients will start to use Version 5 on a number of promo and prerelease CDs already scheduled and will be incorporating it in their commercial release schedule by year-end."

SunnComm's MediaMax suite of products delivers security for digital CD audio along with an enhanced consumer experience that provides additional bonus content and value-added features available in a user-friendly multi-media session that is mastered directly on the audio CD and accessible using a personal computer. Bonus features include on-board press kits, artist-related promotions, videos, song lyrics, artist bio page, photo gallery, web links and tune-sharing capability through SunnComm's MusicMail(TM) functionality. MusicMail or TuneShare is an interface for the legal authorized sharing of selected song tracks with friends & family for a pre-determined number of days or plays. CD buyers can share music legitimately without illegal file sharing networks and without tying up their email system with huge files. This is a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool for the record labels. Metrics associated with forwarded MusicMail files are available to SunnComm's record label customers on a 24/7/365 basis.

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bleuduece bleuduece 20 years ago
Viastar Records Picks SunnComm's MediaMax --Version 5--



for Peter Cetera's New Release
Wednesday November 17, 4:01 pm ET


PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2004--SunnComm International, Inc. (OTC: SCMI - News) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Phoenix based Viastar Records, a division of Viastar Media Corporation (OTC-BB VISHE), for use of its MediaMax(TM) suite of copy management and enhancement technologies for Grammy Award winning recording artist Peter Cetera's "You Just Gotta Love Christmas." Cetera's holiday release will be the first commercial CD to benefit from the robust features available through SunnComm's newest technology, MediaMax Version 5.
ADVERTISEMENT


As a member of the legendary group Chicago, Peter Cetera made his mark on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the worldwide #1 single "If You Leave Me Now" and "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" as well as chart-toppers "You're The Inspiration," "Feeling Stronger Everyday" and "Baby What A Big Surprise." He immediately attained #1 status as a solo artist with "Glory of Love" and "Next Time I Fall," a duet with then up and coming singer/songwriter Amy Grant.

"You Just Gotta Love Christmas" is the first holiday album in Cetera's multifaceted recording career. Collaborating with both family and friends, Cetera created a deeply personal record that captures the timeless spirit of Christmas and touches on many of the emotions of the season: love thoughtfulness, memories, anticipation, surprise and even loneliness. Cetera refers to the album as "the ultimate Christmas gift for my daughters...one they can share with their families for years to come." The enhanced holiday CD features nine Christmas classics and three beautiful originals co-written by Cetera including "You Just Gotta Love Christmas," "Alone for the Holidays" and "Something Santa Claus Left Behind," which he will be performing at this year's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

"What really impressed us about the MediaMax suite was the ability to customize the use of bonus features such as music videos, picture gallery, artist bio, song sharing ability and artist web-links," says John Bergen, Head of Sales and Marketing for Viastar Records Group. "The goal is to create a full music experience that consumers appreciate, not only in terms of entertainment but also for the CD's added value."

"We are very excited to be working with Viastar Records and Peter Cetera" said Peter Jacobs president of SunnComm and longtime Cetera fan. "It is a humbling experience when a world class, award-winning artist such as Mr. Cetera recognizes the extraordinary value of adding MediaMax to a music fan's CD listening experience."

Viastar Records, located in Phoenix, Arizona, manages a diverse roster of recording artists that include legendary singer/songwriter Peter Cetera, Robbie Nevil, Canadian rock group Hadley and international star Peter Murphy, former lead singer of the trend setting UK group Bauhaus.

SunnComm's MediaMax suite of products delivers security for digital CD audio along with an enhanced consumer experience that provides additional bonus content and value-added features available in a user-friendly multi-media session that is mastered directly on the audio CD and accessible using a personal computer. Bonus features include on-board press kits, artist-related promotions, videos, song lyrics, artist bio page, photo gallery, web links and tune-sharing capability through SunnComm's MusicMail(TM) functionality. MusicMail or TuneShare is an interface for the legal authorized sharing of selected song tracks with friends & family for a pre-determined number of days or plays. CD buyers can share music legitimately without illegal file sharing networks and without tying up their email system with huge files. This is a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool for the record labels. Metrics associated with forwarded MusicMail files are available to SunnComm's record label customers on a 24/7/365 basis.

ABOUT VIASTAR

Viastar Media Corporation (OTC BB: VISH - News) is engaged in the development, production and distribution of entertainment-related media for film, television, music and publishing interests. The Company's portfolio currently includes ownership of Viastar Distribution Group, A.V.O. Studios, Moving Pictures International, Viastar Records, Quadra Records, Light of the Spirit Records, Viastar Classical, Viastar Artist Management group and Masterdisk Corporation.


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bleuduece bleuduece 20 years ago
Macrovision slumps on warning
By Rex Crum, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:00 AM ET Nov. 2, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Macrovision crumbled 13 percent in pre-open trading Tuesday after the electronic licensing and copy-protection technology company said its fourth-quarter results would likely be lower than analysts' estimates.

Macrovision (MVSN: news, chart, profile) fell $3.14 to $24.44 in Instinet, after it said late Monday that it expects to post earnings, excluding charges, of between 25 cents and 27 cents per share, on revenue of $50 million to $53 million. Analysts had forecasted Macrovision to earn 28 cents a share on $54 million in revenue.

Ian Halifax, Macrovision's chief financial officer, said in a conference call that the company's results for the fourth quarter would be affected by trends in DVD copy protection and pricing, "as well as our belief that we closed some deals in Q3 that had been anticipated for Q4."

Chief Executive Bill Krepick added that the company has lost some market presence because some movie studios are moving toward using the company's cop protection technology on a title-by-title basis.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is focusing on combining its antipiracy technologies into a package that includes DVD copy protection, file-sharing content management services and other technologies, he said.

Macrovision doesn't expect to see the results of selling its solutions as a product package until early in 2005, according to Krepick.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster trimmed his fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts to reflect the company's lowered outlook, but reiterated his "outperform" rating on the stock.

"While the Street will be disappointed in guidance, we maintain out belief that Macrovision is best positioned to capitalize on the growth in copy protection for software and video," Munster said in a note to clients.

J.P. Morgan's Sterling Auty kept the rating at "underweight" due to concerns over pricing and usage in its DVD copy protection business.

The company's executives offered their fourth-quarter outlook while delivering the third quarter's results.

The company reported a third-quarter profit of $1.3 million, or 3 cents per share, on $48.9 million in revenue. Excluding charges, Macrovision earned $11.2 million, or 22 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call estimated it would earn 19 cents a share on $46 million in revenue.

During the same period a year ago, Macrovision earned 19 cents a share on $31 million in revenue. The company said its results showed some impact of its purchase of InstallShield Software, which closed during the quarter.


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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Macrovision Signs DVD Copy Protection Agreement with Lions Gate Home Entertainment

Monday September 20, 8:24 am ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2004--Macrovision Corporation (Nasdaq:MVSN - News) announced today that Lions Gate Home Entertainment, a division of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE:LGF - News; TSX:LGF - News) has signed a multi-year agreement that extends their use of Macrovision's technology to copy protect DVD releases. Lions Gate Entertainment is a leading independent producer and distributor with new movies such as Open Water, The Cookout and Fahrenheit 9/11, television series such as "The Dead Zone" and "Missing" and one of the largest home video libraries containing titles such as Cabin Fever, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Barbie: The Princess and the Pauper and "Will and Grace." Lions Gate also manages a broad distribution system that delivers home video product directly to over 12,000 retail stores in the United States

"I have said on numerous occasions that piracy is the number one issue affecting our industry," said Steve Beeks, President, Lions Gate Entertainment. "As evidenced by what is happening in the music industry, the importance of being able to defend against piracy is paramount to our future."

"Macrovision's copy protection technology helps rights owners generate a positive return on their investment in original programming," said Tom Carroux, Director of Macrovision's Entertainment Technology Group. "Lions Gate continues to be an important partner and we really value their long-term commitment to use Macrovision's technology."

Macrovision's video copy protection technology is designed to allow consumers to transparently view original DVD programming on TV sets, while deterring unauthorized copying onto DVD recorders, hard drive recorders and VCRs. It is the most widely deployed and reliable way to protect against unauthorized copying of pre-recorded and electronic media. Macrovision's technology is embedded in virtually all of the DVD recorders entering the market and in the 280 million DVD devices installed throughout the world. The technology is also embedded in over 90% of the 140 million digital set-top boxes and personal video recorders in the market. In addition, the new generation of home media center computers detect Macrovision's technology and either disable recording of copy-protected content or record an encrypted copy that can only be played on the machine it was recorded on, thereby inhibiting unauthorized Internet file sharing.

About Lions Gate

Lions Gate Entertainment is the premier diversified independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of more than 8,000 titles is one of the largest in the entertainment industry. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe. Lions Gate is also the majority owner of CinemaNow, a website that delivers movies over the Internet. For further information on Lions Gate, visit www.lionsgatefilms.com.

About Macrovision

Macrovision develops and markets copy protection, digital rights management and electronic license management solutions for the video, music and software industries. Macrovision's technologies are embedded in over 8.5 billion DVD, VHS, and CD units representing over $115 billion of protected entertainment content. In the software market, Macrovision licenses software developers the FLEXnet(TM) universal licensing platform and the InstallShield® suite of software installation, repackaging and update solutions, which are deployed on more than 500 million desktops worldwide. Over 50,000 software publishers and hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies use Macrovision's technologies to maximize the value of their software. Macrovision is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and has offices worldwide. More information about Macrovision can be found at www.macrovision.com.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040920/205496_1.html

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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Apple's iTunes Opens Wider -- By Hook or By Hack

August 26, 2004

By DRM Watch Staff

The number of efforts to open up Apple's iTunes and associated FairPlay DRM has increased in recent weeks. CNet has reported on a Stanford University student's ourTunes program, which allows users to browse iTunes libraries on other people's computers and download files, though not to play them if they are encrypted with FairPlay. A couple of weeks ago, Jon Lech Johansen, of DeCSS DVD circumvention fame, announced that he had cracked the encryption key used in Apple's AirPort Express wireless networking protocol for sending audio from a computer to an audio system. The hack enables files from music services other than iTunes to be played through AirPort Express.

In addition, there are rumors that Apple is licensing FairPlay to Macrovision for use in Macrovision's CD copy protection technology, so that files on discs with the forthcoming upgrade to the company's CDS-300 CD copy protection technology (which already supports Microsoft Windows Media DRM) will be transferable to iPods. Neither Apple nor Macrovision have commented on the rumors, which come on the heels of RealNetworks's reproducing the FairPlay encryption for its RealPlayer Music Store, which now sells iPod-compatible tracks for US $0.49 in an attempt to undercut iTunes.

A couple of things are going on here. The various hacks to iTunes are further evidence that no DRM scheme is hackproof, and that the schemes most likely to be hacked are the ones that are most popular. Apple has moved to block some of the various hacks, but overall, there is no evidence that the music industry is pulling licenses of its material from the iTunes service. In other words, the music industry apparently understands that popular DRM schemes are bound to be hackers' preferred targets and that just because someone publishes a hack does not mean that all files around the world are suddenly in the clear. (Although, interestingly enough, we know of no hacks to Microsoft Windows Media DRM -- the DRM scheme with the largest installed base in the world by far -- since Version 7, which now dates back 3 years and 2 major releases.) It is possible to design cryptographic systems so that the damage is minimized if they fail.

On the Macrovision front, assuming that the rumors are true, it is evidence that Apple is gradually bowing to considerable industry pressure not to repeat the mistakes it made in the personal computer world by keeping the Macintosh proprietary. As much as we believe that copy-protected CDs are a Quixotic and cynical idea, their consumer-hostility is somewhat tempered if tracks on them can be played on the world's most popular portable music player. Furthermore, while those who really want to pirate files can do so by copying them on to an iPod and then creating another CD with MP3 files, this is definitely not a scalable infringement process.

Apple's forays into the copy-protected CD and mobile phone market (via its recently-announced deal with Motorola) are cautious first steps. We believe that Apple must open up FairPlay and leverage its early market advantage in order to reduce the risk of being overtaken by the two juggernauts that could render it irrelevant: the Open Mobile Alliance's standards efforts and Microsoft.

http://www.drmwatch.com/drmtech/article.php/3400151
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kenco kenco 20 years ago
Macrovision to Provide Games Piracy Update

Hacker University Sessions at European Games Network and European Developers’ Forum Provide “Best Practices” to Combat Piracy

LONDON September 1, 2004-Macrovision (Nasdaq: MVSN), the leader in digital media management and copy protection, will provide the interactive entertainment industry with the latest research into the depth and extent of the industry’s piracy problem in two special presentations of its ‘Hacker University’ at September’s games trade shows.


The ‘Hacker University’ initiative offers attendees a hacker’s perspective on the piracy situation, using the latest research statistics to explain how pirates obtain code, the techniques used to strip copy protection from software and the financial benefits of thwarting the hackers and extending the period of protection.

‘Hacker University’ will be presented in two different venues: at European Developers’ Forum (“EDF”) on Thursday 2nd September in the Biz/Production stream at 17.00, and at European Games Network (“EGN”) on Friday 3rd Sept. at 15.00. Both events are running at London’s impressive ExCeL facility between September 1st – 3rd, and alongside the huge consumer exhibition Game Stars Live, which runs until 5th September.

The developers’ session at EDF will present an in-depth look at some of the technical solutions possible using Macrovision’s latest software hack protection technology. Using a case study, Macrovision will discuss the techniques which resulted in over three weeks of “crack free” protection during the worldwide release of a ‘triple-A’ title. According to Macrovision’s research, 33% of the pirate game users admitted that they would have purchased legitimate copies if they were not able to obtain working cracks or hacks of a desired game within the first two weeks of the title’s release. This represents a significant amount of potential revenues at retail to the game publishers.

The publishers’ session at EGN will examine the scale of the problem and focus on “best practices” solutions which can provide longer protection for interactive entertainment titles. Research on consumer attitudes towards software piracy demonstrates the serious revenue threats to the industry when game cracks are easily obtained online.

“Hacker University will be of extreme interest to anyone in the games business, offering authoritative research and solutions to one of the industry’s greatest threats,” says Martin Brooker, Macrovision’s European Director of Sales. “Macrovision will discuss some of the latest techniques in the field of copy protection, illustrating how software security can make a difference to all areas of the games business, generating additional royalties for developers, greater financial return for publishers and more money through tills for retailers.”

About Macrovision

Macrovision develops and markets digital product value management solutions for content publishers, software publishers, and enterprise IT departments. Macrovision’s content protection technologies are embedded in over 8.5 billion DVD, VHS, and CD units representing over $115 billion of protected entertainment content. In addition, over 280 million DVD devices and 130 million digital set-top boxes contain Macrovision’s technology. Our software solutions are deployed on more than 500 million desktops worldwide, and over $70 billion of software has been FLEXenabled™. Macrovision has its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California, key development labs and sales/service centers in Schaumburg, Illinois and the United Kingdom, and other international offices in Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul. More information about Macrovision can be found at www.macrovision.com.

http://www.macrovision.com/company/news/press/newsdetail.jsp?id=Wed%20Sep%2001%2009:17:18%20PDT%2020...
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