Member Info for BND1

I can see pace micro back in the ftse 250 in September and a share price of over £2 by year end :-)

http://www.videonuze.com/article/comcast-s-speedy-new-x1-platform-gives-glimpse-of-future-review- Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 11:03 AM ET | Posted by Will Richmond Comcast has been letting me test-drive its new "X1" platform on a second TV in my house for the last couple of weeks. X1, which was recently announced at the Cable Show, is the company's new state-of-the-art set-top box, built by Pace, that delivers video via traditional "QAM" technology along with apps and other content via web-standard IP technology. The latter allows X1 to create a richer, more web-like user experience. X1's biggest leap forward vs. the traditional Comcast digital set-top (which I still have on my main TV) is its speed and responsiveness. X1 is amazingly fast, unlike any other pay-TV set-top I've ever used, and easily on a par - or better - than any web site or iPad/mobile app I've recently used (it actually feels faster than many web sites I visit given their increasingly bloated pages). X1 also blows away my Samsung connected Blu-ray player's abysmally slow performance. X1 speed shines in a few obvious ways - when doing searches, when changing channels and when switching between functions. Just like Google, when searching in X1, it immediately begins auto-filling suggested results after the first letter's entry, refining the results as additional letters are added. After selecting a result, X1 quickly takes you to that program's main page where there's cover art, summary info, and options to record via X1's TiVo-like DVR capability, share via Facebook and Twitter, get info about cast and crew, and see an episode guide where you can select from among those available. Pursuing any of these options is nearly instantaneous, allowing you to go from search to watching in just seconds. One nice feature with search is that if a program is found on both an SD and HD channel, X1 will automatically tune to the HD channel. X1 also fixes a widespread nit common in digital set-tops, which is the annoying delay when changing channels. With X1, changing channels is a snap and you can surf at lightning speed. Last but not least, X1 moves back and forth between functions seamlessly. Using the main "Xfinity" button allows quick movement between the guide, DVR, on demand options, available apps, search and settings without a hitch. In all of my interactions, X1 never hiccupped, stalled out, needed to be re-started, etc. Speaking of the guide, this will no doubt be the most noticeable UI enhancement for Comcast subscribers, especially heavy on demand users. The guide has of course long been a sore spot, increasingly so as touch-based swiping content discovery on iPads and smartphones has become commonplace. X1's guide still requires keypad entry via the remote (an iPhone app is available, with iPad soon), but once again, because of the responsiveness, it didn't feel cumbersome (and because the remote is radio-based, not IR

STB demand to reach 228 million units this year Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012 Following several years of healthy growth, demand for set top boxes (STBs) continues to climb this year, on track to reach 228 million units shipped globally, according to new research from Futuresource Consulting. However, as demand from maturing pay-TV markets like North America and Western Europe begins to slow, the market will start to see moderate decline over the next few years. Despite this, STBs will remain a core component of the pay-TV industry’s service proposition as operators utilise the box to exploit existing services and look beyond the delivery of video to improve subscriber retention and grow revenues. Leading manufacturers are launching a new generation of STBs labelled as media gateways or smart boxes. This new generation of STBs offers features such as transcoding, wireless routing, multi-platform content management, media distribution and multi-room delivery. “The roll out of these new boxes comes at a time when the saturation of subscriber bases in mature markets is resulting in the need to develop new non-video related services. The ability to incorporate these boxes within home networking infrastructures and their compatibility with portable devices provides the ability to roll out services that allow the control of in-home lighting, temperature and security. Such offerings are expected to become increasingly widespread due to the competitive nature of the market and slowing video related revenues forcing operators to embrace new growth opportunities,” says Carl Hibbert, Head of Broadcast Research at Futuresource. On the video front, facilitated by enhanced broadband performance, pay-TV operators are beginning to incorporate IP not only to enhance existing services to the big screen, but to boost content delivery to multiple devices including tablets and smartphones. Regionally, growth opportunities are still present. Asia Pacific, which is expected to represent 45% of global shipments in 2012, will see growth through to 2013, with smaller regions including Eastern Europe and Latin America growing from 16% to 18% and 4% to 6% respectively. Asia Pacific has witnessed tremendous demand and growth, with India’s satellite industry and growing digital cable base and China’s cable sector driving much of the volume in the region. Asia Pacific however represents a short term opportunity for the STB industry as subscriber growth is beginning to slow in comparison to previous years, although with India’s cable digitalisation initiative, demand will continue to be high. Latin America represents a long-term growth opportunity for the STB sector with an abundance of new pay-TV services rolling out in the region, analogue to digital conversion of cable subscribers and the roll-out of new free to air digital services, but the region is unlikely to provide sufficient demand to sustain global grow

prokartace 12 Jun'12 - 08:00 - 31921 of 31921 (BFW) Pace Initiated at Buy at Jefferies; PT 148.00p +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Pace Initiated at Buy at Jefferies; PT 148.00p 2012-06-12 05:11:32.908 GMT By Francesca Cinelli June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Sees improved EBITA and cash generation even in 1H. Link to Company News:{PIC LN CN } For Related News and Information: First Word scrolling panel: {FIRST} First Word newswire: {NH BFW} To contact the editor responsible for this story: Francesca Cinelli at +39-02-80644-252 or fcinelli@bloomberg.net

waggle 29 May'12 - 10:27 - 31807 of 31823 Pace - Main competitor bid for by private equity We note that US PE house, Vector Capital, has launched an offer to become the main shareholder in Technicolor (Pace’s key competitor) challenging a lower offer from JPMorgan Chase. Vector is offering to pay €1.90 a share for a 17.5% stake in Technicolor and will then subscribe to a rights issue at €1.56 a share to lift its stake from 0.6% to 30%, for a total outlay of c.€186m. Vector is a turnaround specialist and seems to be primarily interested in Technicolor’s patent portfolio which covers telephone, television and tablet technology which it believes is being undermanaged. Although this has limited immediate readacross to Pace, it is worth monitoring because if Vector decide that Tecnicolor’s set-top box offering is no longer core (30% of Q1 revenues and loss making) then any disposal or reduction in focus would further reduce the competitive pressures on Pace. On the other side of the coin, the cash injection will come as a relief for Technicolor given its high debt position (FY11 net debt: €957m).

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/27/tivo_and_pace_tablet_and_tuner_kit/

Link :- The new device is the Pace XG1 multi-tuner video gateway, and because it offers DOCSIS 3.0 it means this device has almost certainly been commissioned by one of the larger US cable operators. ... It could be that this relationship with Pace then is far more important than we had realised and that there will be no TiVo home gateway, which would have eaten up tons of its R&D, and instead any TiVo cable business which needs to offer a home gateway will now go to Pace.

Nerdlinger 21 May'12 - 07:37 - 31651 of 31654 http://www.multichannel.com/article/484838-Cable_Show_2012_Pace_TiVo_Tee_Up_Six_Tuner_Video_Gateway.php Cable Show 2012: Pace, TiVo Tee Up Six-Tuner Video Gateway Pace XG1 Gateway to Offer Integrated DOCSIS, Support for TiVo Whole-Home Solution By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 5/21/2012 12:01:00 AM Boston — TiVo and Pace are providing details of their first jointly developed product, the Pace XG1, a six-tuner hybrid QAM/IP video gateway featuring TiVo's user interface to be available to operators in the Americas later this year. The companies announced their partnership in February 2012 to develop set-tops and gateways. TiVo and Pace expect to follow the XG1 with additional solutions for domestic and international operators. The Pace XG1 includes six tuners, an integrated DOCSIS 3.0 modem, and at least 500 Gigabytes of on-board storage. It will use TiVo's whole-home capabilities, such as multiroom streaming and support for both traditional set-top boxes and the potential for IP client devices, as well as support for TiVo's mobile and tablet applications. The gateway runs on Broadcom's BCM7425 dual high-definition, dual-transcoding hybrid gateway set-top box system-on-a-chip that offers 3000 DMIPS (Dhrystone million instructions per second) of processing power. The Pace XG1 will support Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) 2.0 and includes Broadcom's BCM3383 DOCSIS 3.0 8-by-4 chip for up to 320 Mbps down and 120 Mbps upstream. "This partnership will make the TiVo experience easily accessible to more cable operators than ever before," David Sandford, vice president and general manager of TiVo's service provider business, said in a statement. "It will provide operators a best-in-class advanced television solution that they can quickly and cost-effectively deploy and will serve as the gateway to a rapidly expanding choice of content across multiple screens through TiVo's whole-home solutions." Tim O'Loughlin, president of Pace Americas, added, "There is no denying that the current climate for operators is immensely competitive, and we have been hearing more and more frequently from this community that TiVo is a user experience that they want to offer." U.S. operators currently deploying TiVo offerings to their customers include Charter Communications, DirecTV, Suddenlink Communications, RCN and Grande Communications, and European operators include the U.K.'s Virgin Media and Spain's ONO.

http://www.pace.com/Documents/Investors/Presentations/120510_Pace-Introduction.pdf

http://www.fiercecable.com/story/comcast-launch-x1-next-generation-video-service-major-market/2012-05-02?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

waggle - 20 Apr'12 - 16:54 - 31312 of 31313 and here is another view from Espirito Santo...the level of unallocated costs would keep us all in Limos!!! Pace - Positive meeting with new management Yesterday we had a very interesting meeting with the new management team of Pace, CEO and FD. Pace curently has a market cap of just over £200m with similar level of net debt and features highly in our UK Mid and Small Cap value screen. This is a business that has consistently over promised and under delivered and UK investors remain generally highly sceptical. However, in the last 12 months there has been a new chairman, CEO and FD and the business remains profitable, has a global leading market position in the set top box market and a top line revenue of over $2bn. The new management team comes across well and suggest that they have inherited a poorly run and controlled business, particulary in the non-US business, with lots of recovery potential that they are starting to deliver on (there are $72m of unallocated costs in the business equivalent to 3.1% of sales). The new CEO was head of the US division where operating margins were 400bps higher than the international business and this was even after large allocations of non-relevant overhead from Central. Most strikingly management claim to be able to deliver $80m to $100m of cash back to balance sheet over each of the next 3 years which, if achieved, would substantially eliminate debt by 2014. Pace’s current valuation based on our below consensus forecasts is extremely cheap at 5x FY12e P/E and does not come close to valuing the sort of recovery potential the management team describes. We will be organising meetings with management so please let us know if you are interested.

waggle - 20 Apr'12 - 08:27 - 31305 of 31309 this is what seymour pierce have to say... Pace (BUY) – Feedback from presentation to sales PIC.L (70p, Target price 140p) Market cap: £213.9m The new management of Pace, Mike Pulli (CEO) and Roddy Murray (CFO) presented to our salesforce yesterday afternoon. The presentation was clear and confident and gave a better insight into the changes that have been and are being made across the business. The focus of management and of their presentation is now far more on the gritty reality of running the business and delivering customer the products they want on time. We welcome this. We see no reason to change our forecasts following the meeting. The discussion on wider matters also gave us greater faith in our views. On the matter of the issue of Internet TV, there was further clarity on how this challenge is being addressed by the Pay TV operators with OTT services and adding value to the consumers’ home entertainment experience. We look forward to deeper evidence of this as the products/solutions/offerings become more widely available. As regards the issue of Cisco’s acquisition of NDS, Pace’s management appear to share our scepticism and our view that the overlap is limited and the operational and technological challenges significant. On the matter of Google and Motorola, they appear confident that the final outcome will not play against them. If the set top box business stays with Google the Pay TV operators are strategically at odds with Google. If it is sold on to PE buyers it will continue to suffer from underinvestment to Pace’s advantage. The list of industry buyers is short to non existent with no obvious candidates that have both the firepower and the desire to undertake a significant acquisition in this space. We maintain a BUY recommendation with a share price target of 140p, equivalent to an undemanding PER approx 7x FY13E (i.e. after the HDD issues are resolved).