Recordable CD Unit May Be Years Away : Electronics: A prototype at the recent Las Vegas show allows consumers to record their own CDs--but only once on a non-erasable disc.
Everyone attending the recent consumer electronics show in Las Vegas was looking for the machine that might trigger a boom in the industry, the way the VCR did in the ‘80s. The days of double-digit growth in the industry are over--for now at least. A modest 3.3% increase in revenues--the smallest in a decade--is expected this year.
Based on what was on view at the convention, no magic device is likely to appear this year.
The most impressive machine on display won’t be ready this year--and probably not even next: Kenwood’s recordable CD player, the LZ-13.
At present, CD players can only be used to play back recorded material. When the recordable CD player is finally marketed--maybe not until the end of the decade--it could erode the dominance of the standard audiocassette, because it would allow consumers to record their own CDs.
The LZ-13 was just a prototype, but unlike those presented by Thomson Consumer Electronics at past shows, the discs recorded on the Kenwood are playable on standard CD players. The Kenwood prototype does have a drawback: It allows the user to record only once on a disc, which is not erasable. The company didn’t mention a price or shipping date.
Another big hit at the show was the DCC (digital compact cassette), being developed jointly by Phillips and Tandy. Using a stationary head, the DCC unit plays and records digitally but also plays standard cassettes. At $500, it’s reportedly due next year, to compete with the more expensive digital audio tape (DAT), which doesn’t play standard cassettes. Some experts contend, though, that DCC doesn’t offer the CD-quality sound that DAT does.
In the camcorder market, the big news was Canon’s introduction of its L1, the first unit with interchangeable lenses. The $2,900 machine, which had camcorder buffs salivating, comes equipped with a 15:1 power zoom lens and also accepts a series of optional lenses. In a few years, this multilens feature will undoubtedly be available on less expensive camcorders.
The big news on the video-games front was Nintendo’s demonstration of its SuperFamicom, the 16-bit unit that the company says will be marketed later this year. As close as you can get to an arcade game on a home unit, it offers fancy graphics as well as more comfortable and expansive hand controls than other Nintendo units, with six buttons instead of two.
Sega showed off its hand-held Game Gear, a $150 unit that has been a smash hit in Japan. Due out in the United States on a limited basis in April, it’s an 8-bit system boasting impressive color graphics. It’s a major step up from Nintendo’s hot-selling, hand-held, 8-bit Game Boy, which offers limited black-and-white graphics.
