CES Brings High End to Mass Market

LAS VEGAS, Nev.--The winter Consumer Electronics Show was a curious mixture of unsettling news and thriving business. Overall, buyers seemed to feel that their business will be good in 1989, even if prospects for the CE business as a whole seem to be less than dynamic.

Among the items of bad news: price increases on most products, particularly televisions and VCRs; few new hot products; projected shortages of lower-end color TVs; and projections of retail slowdowns throughout 1989.

However, while the show did not reveal any new products on the scale of the VCR or the compact disc player, there were plenty of high points, mainly in the area of mass market versions of previously high-end merchandise.

The sight portion of mass market sight and sound departments received both the most exciting new product news and the greatest concern over supply shortages.

Two of the hottest introductions at the show--still video cameras and liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions--were video products. While these products may be too expensive to make a impact this year, the long-term effects could be truly significant.

LCD technology, primarily in products shown by Sharp and Casio, takes two major forms. The first is portable video, including Watchman-type television and monitor/VCR or 8mm portable combos. While most of these products are still a bit pricey, they are generally more affordable than they were at last summer's show.

At a much higher price point are two innovations from Sharp: a 100-inch projection television system at about $5,000 and a 14-inch color TV at about $1,000. Both will hit the market this fall, and both are attractive products for retailers capable of selling at such lofty price points. Neither is likely to hit the mass market in the near future.

Camcorders continued to impress, particularly in light of giant strides made in add-on "professional" features and compact technology. Along with an extensive line of compact camcorders, Sharp previewed a 90-minute compact cassette, removing one of the main objections to the format--limited length. The new entries compare favorably with standard-sized two-hour-length cassettes.

RCA introduced new camcorders with advanced editing, titling and dubbing capabilities, along with an animation feature which should be very attractive to self-styled at-home Stephen Spielbergs around the nation. At $1,300 list, this is a very competitive product.