Prelude Trust Share Discussion Threads

[hvs] 22/5/2007 19:04

It all looks very good riv.

Just have to be patient and wait for the IPO,s.

[rivaldo] 22/5/2007 18:56

Siconnect news:



"May 22, 2007 05:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SiConnect Evaluation Kit Provides Instant Demonstration of High Quality Powerline Communication
SWINDON, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SiConnect, the leader in mass market multimedia distribution technology for the home, has begun shipping its first powerline product evaluation kit. The kit enables customers to fully evaluate the capabilities of SiConnect's PLT050 powerline transceiver, which embodies its unique POEM® communication technology.

The evaluation kit contains a pair of Ethernet-to-powerline adapters and all the firmware and software needed to create a powerline bridge for streaming real-time video or audio, transferring data files or sharing broadband access.

On power-up, the kit's adapters self-configure and automatically connect, the powerline is analysed and the transmission parameters set to optimise the quality of the link and to maximise payload throughput. POEM's dynamic link optimisation technology then continuously maintains the quality and resilience of the connection by rapidly compensating for changes in line conditions and the topology of the electrical wiring network without interrupting the network application.

Each adapter contains SiConnect's recently announced PLT050 digital powerline transceiver chip, an Ethernet 10/100 PHY with RJ-45 connector, a line coupler circuit and power supply. The evaluation kit CD-ROM includes the open source VLC media player (www.videolan.org/vlc) and test video streams to enable full demonstration of QoS-sensitive multicast and unicast video streaming using both UDP and RTP protocols. Data transfer performance can be demonstrated using FTP file transfer protocols.

The evaluation kit is designed to comply with all international EMC and safety regulations and is available from SiConnect in three different power plug versions: European (PLT050-EVK-EU), United Kingdom (PLT050-EVK-UK) and US (PLT050-EVK-US).

The PLT050 is SiConnect's first product to feature its patented POEM home networking technology. POEM delivers unique capabilities to powerline communication: low cost, high data throughput, low error rates, whole home coverage, strong link resilience, low payload latency and global EMC compliance.

The PLT050's exceptional quality of service and throughput combines with its consumer electronics price-point to make it suitable for mass market multi-room streaming video applications, high fidelity streaming audio distribution and broadband sharing around the whole home. The device provides Ethernet and USB interfaces, and requires no external RAM. Reference designs are available for adapters and embedded solutions."

[rivaldo] 21/5/2007 07:42

With such expansion I'd have thought doubling was the least of it for DisplayLink.

More here:


"Still, several partners in Microsoft's ecosystem took the opportunity to detail plans about upcoming Vista products such as DisplayLink and Ricavision.

DisplayLink, Palo Alto, Calif., demonstrated Windows Vista support in its line of network display semiconductors, which are used in USB displays, notebook docking stations, display adaptors, projectors and multi-monitor computing solutions from IHVs such as Toshiba and Samsung.

The technology, which supports USB 2.0 and WiMedia wireless display connections in Vista, allows several monitors to be connected to a single PC and display different content. A demonstration of the technology at DisplayLink's booth showed the 3-D features of Aero appearing on multiple screens on USB connected displays.

LG and Samsung are among those coming out with the first set of USB-enabled displays, sources said. On the show floor, Scott Tardy, DisplayLink's vice president of strategic marketing, said he expects Vista-optimized products based on the semiconductors to begin shipping by the end of the year.

He believes resellers, solution providers and system builders will have significant opportunities selling USB docking station and displays based on Vista. DisplayLink's DL-120 and DL-160 hardware rendering engine processors and related software are now available from the company."

[timtom2] 20/5/2007 21:56

Aren't DisplayLink looking to double in size this year?

[hvs] 20/5/2007 12:21

I agree riv,

Displaylink is going to be a big big winner

[rivaldo] 19/5/2007 10:12

Blue :o)) Must be a mirage...

DisplayLink is really attracting attention and creating a buzz. Could this be the next Alphamosaic to revive interest in PDT? More positive feedback following the WINHEC 2007 show:



"May 16, 2007

WinHEC 2007: DisplayLink Delivers Wireless Video over USB
A Web Exclusive from Windows IT Pro
Jason Bovberg

"We've found that for the average tech-savvy computer user, three monitors is really the sweet spot," said Jason Slaughter, senior product manager at DisplayLink. "With this solution, we're delivering the powerful productivity gains that result from multi-monitor computing without compromising the Windows Vista experience."

At my meeting with DisplayLink Wednesday morning, Slaughter showed off the Vista Aero cd interface support in DisplayLink's family of network display seminconductors. It was an awesome sight, I must admit, particularly as I imagined the multi-monitor potential for IT scenarios. Imagine sitting at your desk, troubleshooting five user desktops on separate screens, all simultaneously manageable. Slaughter said, "You're expanding your desktop real estate. You can have an open document in front of you, your email off to the left, and the Internet off to the right."

Slaughter walked me through a demonstration of the DisplayLink-enabled products, including USB displays, notebook docking stations and display adapters from IOGEAR, Kensington, Samsung, and Toshiba. He showed me the pure plug-and-play simplicity of the DisplayLink philosophy, easily connecting docking stations with multi-monitor setups through the use of the ubiquitous USB port. I watched the gorgeous Aero interface burst onto multiple screens. "You can add as many as six displays over a single USB connector," Slaughter said. "The beauty is that USB is all over the place! It's a ubiquitous standard."

Another practical application of the DisplayLink solution is home media. It delivers high-quality images, including 32-bit color images and smooth DVD video playback. Interactivity with mouse and keyboard is quick and responsive, and the solution supports monitor resolutions as high as 1600 x 1200 (Ultra eXtended Graphics Array--UXGA) and 1680 x 1050 (Widescreen Super Extended Graphics Array--WSXGA+).

DisplayLink's solutions combine a Virtual Graphics Card (VGC) software driver for Windows XP and Windows Vista on the host computer and DisplayLink's DL-120 and DL-160 Hardware Rendering Engine (HRE) chips that are embedded in displays, projectors, notebook docks, adapters and other display systems to convert the compressed video information into pixels for the display. The solution uses a lossless compression algorithm to transmit graphics across a wide range of standard wired and wireless network interfaces."

[kneath] 18/5/2007 17:41

TimTom2 - That implies that all your money should be in one stock - don't be rediculous! I get many good research tips from this and other BB's and was merely passing off the same. Should you wish to ignore it, then so do. However others have minds of their own to so ignore or otherwise. Lighten up as PDT will stand on its' own merits! Oh, and yes I am in PDT & SVE for the record.

[timtom2] 18/5/2007 14:27

we don't need anything to encourage anyone into taking money out of pdt stock - hope you push pdt on the sve thread?

[kneath] 18/5/2007 12:12

All : You amy have done so but in terms of discount to NAV, check out Starvest (SVE). Price now starting to move northwards! Sorry o/t

[hvs] 17/5/2007 21:17

Hi riv,

Thank you for the two very positive posts. Not long before results now.

[rivaldo] 16/5/2007 22:08

More gushing praise here for DisplayLink:



"Posted on Wednesday 16 May 2007, 12:17 PM

DisplayLink R&D certainly has spent a lot of time into perfecting their USB video chipset technology. So far, the company already has a small fan base, comprising of Toshiba, IOGear, Kensington and Samsung(!). Their DL-120/160 render engine can output at a max res of 1680 x 1200 with widescreen support. DVD movie playback was reportedly smooth with no hiccups, which is made possible by sending only the part of the screen data that needs to be refreshed. Such intelligent management allows up to 6 USB monitors to daisy-chain together. At this week WinHEC, DisplayLink claimed their chipset now fully supports Vista's GUI - Aero3D, even in a multi-USB monitor environment. Whether or not Flip 3D, live Thumnails and visual clues in an icon are productivity booster is really up to you to try and decide."

[rivaldo] 16/5/2007 20:57

I don't want to wait that long though TT :o)) My hope is that with DSM having been convinced enough to invest $4m in them (or however much it was) Sciona must have quite a lot going for them.

Interesting - a conference in LA is going on and DisplayLink is 3rd on the list of most noteworthy products. This might be the PDT investment to give the shares a bit of a buzz:



"Best of MS
6 Things You Missed at WinHEC 2007

The Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) is in full force over in Los Angeles with one day left before the show closes up shop. The convention is basically an opportunity for MS and its developers to showcase their goods with product concepts, product launches, and everything in between. Here's what's been noteworthy.

*MS wants to give your office phone a serious makeover with new IP phones that let you check e-mail messages and sport color, touch screen displays.

•Designers went a little crazy at the Next-Gen PC Design Competition where the boring PC box was traded over for funky, new designs.

•Wanna have a multi-monitor set up? DisplayLink is working on technologies that'll let you hook up multiple monitors to your PC/laptop via USB or (event better) wirelessly."

[timtom2] 16/5/2007 12:47

Sciona could be a real gem - the market for the product hasn't arrived yet and they are out in front. The sort of testing they do could become as common as an eye test in 10-15 yrs.

[rivaldo] 16/5/2007 10:26

Your decision hvs!

A final point from my chat - there was also some enthusiasm for the life sciences companies. Kiadis certainly looks good, not sure about De Novo as no news for a while, though it's certainly looking a lot better than it did.

It shows the breadth of the portfolio though - even the life science companies you might have considered the dogs of the portfolio (and I don't mean the b-llocks) like Kiadis, De Novo and Sciona have all seemingly come through rough patches, have received major investment and are progressing nicely.

[rivaldo] 15/5/2007 19:55

Ta for that Orange - DisplayLink sound like they're really going great guns.

FYI I had a chat with a couple of PDT staff today. Lots to say. In summary:

- Winterfloods have been doing lots of work behind the scenes in placing out selling institutions' stock with new institutions
- it's fair to assume that there will be a new analyst note on PDT post-results
- there will be a post-results tour of institutions/brokers etc this year, unlike last year which was disrupted by the tender offer
- the joint fund with Esprit is on its way as announced but is taking a long time to finalise (lawyers etc)

The two main points however are:

- PDT are very optimistic (as you'd expect) about the portfolio. The companies I interpreted as being most promising, whether in terms of potential or early realisation in one form or another, were ZBD, Tribold and Oxford Immunotec.

- PDT's management changes from Esprit etc are also having a definite effect on the management culture, which is becoming more pro-active. I once again raised my views on doing share buybacks, even just one as a signal to the market, and issuing investee news to the market via quarterly portfolio round-ups and/or RNSNON announcements. These were taken on board.

The share price discount to NAV was certainly emphasised as high on the agenda. I'm hopeful that the next month or two post-results might be more interesting than watching paint dry.

[hvs] 15/5/2007 19:02

Thank you Orange1,

Looks very promising. As for comprehensive update I am always positive and very very positive on PDT so maybe it will be different this time.

Keep faith me fellow investor. Patience is a virtue.

[orange1] 15/5/2007 18:38

Since when have PDT ever given a comprehensive update on their investments?
No reason to believe this time will be any different, I'm afraid.

Still, here is a bit of cheering Displaylink news, hot off the press.

Displaylink has today announced support for the Windows Aero 3D interface in Windows Vista for its family of network display semiconductors, making it one of the first companies to enable USB 2.0 and WiMedia wireless display connections for Windows Vista.

"With this solution we are delivering the powerful productivity gains derived from multi-monitor computing without compromising the Windows Vista experience," said Hamid Farzaneh, president and CEO of DisplayLink. "We expect our support for Windows Vista to further boost the strong momentum we've seen for our network display solutions - which includes four announced OEM partnerships already in 2007."

[hvs] 15/5/2007 14:22

Results out on 11th June. Not long now for a comprehensive update on the various investments.

[timtom2] 14/5/2007 09:55

My money is on SiConnect and Phyworks - I have a feeling the margins on their products is juicy. SiConnect on particular - very impressive capabilities.

[rivaldo] 13/5/2007 22:41

Settle down lads! TT, you know hvs' posting style - give us your opinions on the question you posed and forget/ignore the rest.

For myself, I highlighted my fave PDT investees in the header post. I think ZBD will have good news to come given the recent financing round. If they start to sign up American retail chains and/or get Tesco or Dixons hook, line and sinker then it'll be game over - ZBD will be an out and out winner and should be enough to move the PDT price on its own.

I have hopes Oxford Immunotec will IPO given the Board strengthening that's gone on.

Siconnect and DisplayLink might also be big stories over the next months and years.

But trade sales etc? Who knows, could be any of Polatis or Phyworks soon given their relative maturity, or maybe OI if the big pharmas want to buy in to the TB story.