European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The vcr-2 will make ii mar to copy tape. And now. Dual deck Vars by Dennis Hunt los Angeles times he dual deck Var. Which is a Boon to piracy in the Home video Market will finally be available to Consumers in the United states March 28 alter five years of product development and Legal Battles this revolutionary machine marketed by go video of Scottsdale. Ariz., and Maui to suied by the korean company Samsung was on display at the Consumers electronics show in Las vegas recently. Known As the vcr-2, the machine anticipated with both glee and dread depending on who you Are talking to in the Home video Industry May have far reaching effects. Though the vcr-2 will certainly be attractive to Consumers it is also a Blessing for Small video retailers. For video manufacturers though it s As Welcome As a plague. Selling in the United states for $999, the vcr-2 has two Wells one for a Blank tape and one for a recorded cassette markedly simplifying Home cassette copying. Want your own copy of when Harry met Sally but Don t want to Shell out $90 for it with the Var 2 you can rent a copy for $2 and Transfer it to a Blank tape that you bought for $5. At the moment copying tapes at Home is Only possible by hooking two Vars together. This procedure is not Only expensive buying two Vars but it also usually results in inferior copies with fuzzy images and blurred colors. The Low Quality dupes and the hassle of using two machines has discouraged Home copying. But with the dual deck Var dubbing or copying is a Breeze. It s much like using the double welled decks in your stereo system for copying audio tapes. Judging from the demonstration at the go video exhibit making a copy on the vcr-2 which is done in real time rather than High Speed is an uncomplicated process. The vcr-2 s most attractive feature though is that it makes excellent copies. A display at the go video exhibit showed How even a fifth generation copy with All copies made on the go video deck was Only slightly inferior to the original. This Var is the first of its kind available anywhere in the world said Terry Dunlap co inventor of the machine and chief executive officer of go video. What has kept the machine off the Market so Long is Legal Battles with japanese manufacturers who Dunlap charged did not want it competing with the Standard single deck Var most of which Are made in Japan. The japanese Cartel did t want our machine out there competing against their machines he said. We had to file anti Trust suits against them. The Battle is still going on but we be gotten $2 million in settlements we re trying to recover some of the revenues and profits we be lost by being kept out of the j  originally Dunlap tried to have the machine i manufactured in Japan. But they banded together to i freeze me out of the Market he said. But Samsung korean company came to me and said they d manufacture  Only 80.000 to 150.000 machines will be made by the end of the year Dunlap said so the major effect of the machine May be a few years away. Still its availability May quickly be Felt in Hollywood if Many of the first units Are purchased by Small video retailers. In their struggle to compete with prosperous chains they could Cut their overhead by buying one copy of a title and making several others. Such an action would be an illegal copyright infringement but it would be difficult for video distributors to police the thousands of video outlets j across the country. Not All tapes can be copied however. The dual deck Var does not override Macro vision the anti copying process added to Many videocassettes. This is the result of an agreement made in september 1988 with the motion picture association of America which Speaks for the video companies that lose Revenue when their product is illegally copied. Now die association according the Public affairs director Charlene Soltz. Hails the vcr-2. But video companies still Are not Likely to embrace it. Though most of the major movies Are encoded with Macro vision Many titles Are not. Dunlap said that Only 15 percent of the new movies released on Home video last year were protected by Macro vision. Companies use Macro vision sparingly because its Cost cuts into their already narrow profit margins. We May All have to use Macro vision if this machine becomes popular said Reg Childs president of Nelson entertainment. What the vcr-2 can do he said is just Plain  ultimately the consumer May suffer As Well As video retailers who do not resort to copying. Video manufacturers to make up for the Cost of Macro vision and lost revenues from copying May raise wholesale prices. Such hikes of course will be passed on to the consumer through rental increases. Pc brokers match buyers Sellers by Leonard Sloane new York times emand is growing in the United states for both used and new computers for the Home and office and an increasing number of purchases and sales Are being made through computer brokerages. About 200 of these Independent companies now exist around the nation. More than $138 million Worth of personal computers made by International business machines corp., Apple computer inc., Compaq computer corp. And other producers were sold through exchanges last year according to the National association of computer dealers a Trade group. Brokerages Are becoming a very viable Way to buy a computer said Ray c Davis president of the association computer brokers have become popular because the amount trial an authorized dealer will pay for a Trade in computer is traditionally Low. Here is How most brokerages work they do not own or store any equipment themselves. Rather they publish information and prices for a variety of machines that prospective buyers and Sellers list with them. Customers can also do business with an Exchange by Telephone or facsimile machine. The exchanges advertise in Many newspapers and magazines. Buyers can obtain information from an Exchange either electronically or on paper and some have listings Page 16 the stars and stripes available at no charge. When a buyer makes an offer through an Exchange that is agreeable to a seller the buyer sends a Check to an escrow account maintained by the brokerage. The computer is delivered at the seller s expense and the buyer has 48 hours to verify that it is operating properly. Once the waiting period is Over the Exchange sends a Check to the seller but deducts 10 percent for its services. For sales involving smaller amounts brokerages sometimes impose a minimum commission fee. Sellers want to upgrade and this allows them to gel Money to move to a new system said Tony Moyer vice president of computer brokerage services in new York. And a lot of buyers would like to get into the computer world but cannot afford to get into new  prices of used computers bought through an Exchange Are generally 15 to 40 percent below those of comparable new models in stores. Robert j. Zeiss. President of the National computer Exchange in new York said for example that an Apple macintosh plus which could be bought new at a store for a discounted Price of $1.200, would Cost about $850, used through a brokerage. A new ism at that is discounted to $1,400 at stores could be bought used for around $1,000. Adding to their Appeal used computers Are often ready to operate immediately without adding More components or programming. The main drawback of buying used equipment through an Exchange is the risk that a buyer assumes. Used machines come with no warranty or other assurances. Buyers can minimize the possibility of buying a Lemon by making sure the equipment is inspected by computer repair technicians during the escrow period. If problems Are discovered the Deal can be cancelled. A computer repair place can perform an Overall diagnostic for $60 to $90," said Jay Chuda who runs monday january 29,1990 Hite computers a repair company in Manhattan. It does t guarantee that the system won t fail Down the Road but at least at that Point it s  some computer experts say the chances that a Usei machine will break Down Are slim. Computers Are not like cars said Alexander Randall president of the Boston computer Exchange. If the average computer is going to fail it s going to fail during its warranty period. We run Only around a 2 percent failure rate for used  buyers who want to find a computer through an Exchange should be prepared to do their own research to find the right equipment for their needs. The brokerages Are in business Only to match buyer and Sellers. As Zeiss said we Are not an educational  shoptalk Here Are some tips from the National association of computer dealers in the United states on buying and seffing a used machine make sure that the compute you Purchase has a serial number on the Back or Bottom. There should also be serial numbers on peripheral components like printers keyboards and monitors. The Best time to sell a computer system is in the summer when College students Are shopping for one. The Best time to Sefl peripheral equipment to at the beginning of the Yew because people who have received computers for Christmas Are looking for add on buyers should shop around at computer stores to team about the various kinds of computers and the software that can be used with them be we searching Tor the same kind of used machines. New York times