European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Trend digital tapes Likely to follow cd so example digital audio tape recording a the Home taping enthusiasts dream and the music Industry a worst Nightmare a is coming soon. Manufacturers Are promising to Roll out their consumer Dat machines by summer nearly three years later than expected because of a Long Legal Battle. The recording Industry aware of statistics showing that four out of 10 people Over the age of 10 have taped recorded music in the past year is holding its breath. In Dat a which uses the 1 s and of of computer language to make exact duplicates of the source material a the big guns in the hardware Industry Are unleashing a product that threatens to do to the Humble audiocassette what tapes and fancy compact discs did to the once mighty Vinyl up. A it has the potential of doing what cd did in its initial introduction into the marketplace a or about 35,000 units in the first year said Paul Foschino assistant general manager of Technics of Secaucus . The company is an Arm of Japan a Matushita electric corp. Matushita plans to introduce a Dat recorder in the United states under the Technics Label this summer at a Cost of about $ 1,200 to $1,300, Foschino said. The machines will carry a Panasonic Label in Europe and Japan. Philips consumer electronics plans to introduce a Dat machine this year and it also is developing a cassette that could be played on both digital equipment and the analog cassette machines already in use according to the Trade publication audio week. How Well the pricey Dat machines fare with Consumers is an open question but some analysts predict that like cd players the prices a now that Legal Battles Are resolved digital audio taping machines Are on the Way. Will come Down sharply when the new format gains popularity. A disturbing Blip on the horizon for Dat manufacturers however is the Prospect of recordable erasable cd which Tandy corp., for one is developing. The imminent arrival of these digital technologies has revived the debate Over Home taping and whether artists should be reimbursed for potential lost sales. The Money most Likely would come from Royalty fees on Blank tapes or recorders. A recent study by the congressional office of technology assessment said Home taping May be causing As much As a 22 percent loss in prerecorded music sales. Otas Survey in fall 1988 found 41 percent of people Over age 10 had taped recorded music in the previous year. Songwriters composers and music publishers claim that with Dat  lose even More royalties As listeners make virtually perfect tape copies of their favorite compact discs. But a congressional Bill to limit the number of copies that Dat machines can make has eased concerns of record manufacturers and cleared the Way for introduction of the machines. The Bill codifies an agreement reached last summer Between the recording and manufacturing industries. Although the Bill docs not address the royalties question the record Industry considers the measure to be a major step Forward. To the recording Industry the scary part about Dat is that As Many As 20 generations of digital copies can be made without discernible loss of Quality. Faced with the threat of runaway Home copying which copyright Law generally has declared to be Legal a personal use a the recording Industry association of America in 1987 threatened to sue any manufacturer that introduced a consumer Dat Model before copyright issues could be addressed. A recent agreement settled the Legal question a for now a by instituting the serial copy management system. Sims will allow one Dat copy to be made from a copyrighted cd but the user cannot make a copy from the Dat copy. It would allow a cd to be copied indefinitely onto different Blank Dat tapes. Sims uses a Silicon Chip that will be Able to detect an electronic anti piracy a a Flag that is placed on a copyrighted digital material such As music cd. The Chip will a a write this Flag onto the first Dat copy made from the cd. If a Dat recorder detects this Flag its record function will not operate. Associated press Cable to plans to try a new line supermarket tabloid headlines May have to get even Wilder to hold their own against television in the checkout aisle. Cable giant Turner broadcasting system inc. And act Media a marketing firm specializing in promotions in the store Are teaming up to design a to service for shoppers lined up to bag and pay for their groceries. The checkout Channel will feature news sports and other specially tailored programming a plus advertising a on to monitors placed above each checkout aisle. Turner and act Media plans to test the service this summer and launch it nationally in Early 1991. They Hope to have it installed in 5,000 of the nations 30,000 supermarkets by mid-1992. Wayne w. Locurto chief executive and president of act Media said the service should help advertisers reach 30 million to 40 million people each week while making the wait in the checkout line More enjoyable for shoppers. If the plan works it would be the latest commercial encroachment into places that formerly were beyond the reach of television advertisers. In recent months Media companies either have introduced or announced plans to develop commercial to programs designed to reach teens in the classroom women at the Beauty Salon and patients in the doctors waiting room. A there will be a few people to complain but we believe the overwhelming majority of people will like it a Locurto believes. Atlanta based Turner broadcasting has agreed to create specially tailored programs of news sports business weather and consumer information taken mainly from its headline news Cable network. Each eight minute program will include 2vi minutes of commercials. The programs will be delivered by satellite 24 hours a Day to participating stores which will be equipped with to monitors above each checkout aisle. Locurto said the sets will be designed so that the sound is shut off unless someone is within a half dozen feet or so of the Monitor. Once someone gets that close there will be no Way to shut the set off or adjust the volume he said. Turner and act Media plan to test the system from August through october in 12 stores in six cities although they would not name the cities. Act Media based in Darien conn., and a unit of heritage Media corp. Of Dallas Texas was founded in 1973 and is the Leader in inshore marketing programs. It operates co poning and sampling programs and places advertising on shopping carts aisle directories and store shelves in 20,000 supermarkets. Associated press june 17,1990 sunday c Page 5