|
Simpler VCR wins
|
 |
November 18, 1996: 6:50 p.m. ET
Henry Yuen, Gemstar get top honors from the Ernst & Young competition
From Correspondent Jan Hopkins
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) Gemstar CEO Henry Yuen is proof that even a rocket scientist can be challenged by the task of programming a VCR.
While working on defense projects at TRW, Yuen tried to record a Boston Red Sox game.
Despite a Ph.D. in math from Caltech and a law degree, he struck out.
"I tried to tape the program and found it... impossible," Yuen said.
Using technology similar to that used in closed-captioning, Yuen and a colleague from TRW developed a way for TV viewers to program VCRs with the touch of a button. (1.34MB QuickTime Movie)
"The biggest challenge in the business is actually to get the publications to put the numbers in, which we did, and today we are in 300 million circulation worldwide on a daily basis," he stated. (283K WAV) (283K AIF)
TV viewers are the end users of Gemstar's products, but the company's direct customers are VCR makers who are eager to incorporate features that make their products more desirable.
Yuen maintained, "We are much more interested in licensing business than manufacturing business, mainly because of the fact that we do not consider manufacturing as a real growth area."
Royalties from licensing VCR Plus will total more than $53 million this year, and even more growth is expected from the introduction of new products and further cultivation of Asian markets.
TV Guide Plus will enable customers to check out on-screen TV-listings, as well as record programming. Gemstar plans to license this product to the much larger market of television makers.
Yuen's technical skill and business acumen have been instrumental to Gemstar's success, but the CEO is quick to share the credit.
"My contribution is only one small part of the success of the company," Yuen said. "We were lucky, we were in the right place, at the right time, with the right idea for a consumer that has lasting value." (280K WAV) (280K AIF).
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
