HDTV, DAT technologies fall victim to U.S. politics at electronics show

Article Abstract:

Two technologies expected to be important in the 1990s are conspicuously absent from Japanese booths at the winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. one is high-definition television (HDTV), a technology that makes possible sharper television pictures; the other is digital audio tape (DAT), which reproduces music digitally. Both technologies are victims of politics: HDTV is stopped by a failure in the US to agree on a standard and by ongoing debate about possible consequences should the US lose control over what could be a 'strategic industry'; DAT is stopped by threats of retaliation from recording companies, which fear 'piracy.' The show floor reflects a new reality in which electronics is a political game. Technology is no longer enough: introducing a new concept now requires an understanding of social, economic and political factors.

United States, Japan, Consumer electronics, International aspects, United States economic conditions, Electronics industry, International competition (Economics), Activism, Political protest, Consumer Electronics Show, High-definition television, High definition television, Electronic Industry, Japanese Competition, Political Issue, 1990 AD

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Who said thin TVs mean fuzzy pictures?

Article Abstract:

The television equipment industry is developing television sets that are thin, weigh far less than conventional television sets and offer better quality than flat-screen televisions. Traditional television sets, which use cathode ray tubes (CRTs), are too heavy but their contemporary counterpart, the flat-screen display, cannot offer the display speed, brightness and contrast of CRTs. Researchers are using the CRT approach of shooting electrons onto a screen but are doing it with with a new implementation of the 20-year-old microtip technology. Microtip technology or field emission display involves shooting electrons into a vacuum created by two panes of glass; it uses millions of cone-shaped electron guns whereas a CRT uses only one.

Usage, Product development, Televisions, Technology, Television equipment industry, Flat panel displays, Television equipment, column, Trends, Television Sets, Flat Panel Display, Field emission cathodes

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Sony to market digital tape decks in U.S

Article Abstract:

Sony Corp's $900 Sony DTC-700 and $950 Sony DTC-75ES are digital audio tape (DAT) recorders that Sony will begin marketing in the U.S. by the end of Jun 1990. Recording industry officials have been opposed to DAT recorders claiming they will inspire pirating, but the new recorders include the Serial Copy Management System, circuitry which is designed to prevent pirating. The circuitry allows users to make only one digital copy from a digital music source that contains a special copy-prevention signal. Sony expects to sell 100,000 DAT recorders in the first 12 months and predicts that prices will fall rapidly.

Marketing, Consumer electronics industry, Sony Corp., Sony DTC-700 (Tape player and recorder, cassette), Sony DTC-75ES (Tape player and recorder, cassette)

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