Well, it finally happened. RCA is tooling-up for the media revolution.

In early June, the announcement was made by the company’s consumer electronics division in Indianapolis: By 1975, RCA will phase-out its entire line of home audio products. From that time on the company will concentrate on manufacturing and marketing only televisions and “television-related” products.

The Japanese have created a fiercely competitive market for audio products. Their sense of style, function, and price have made it increasingly difficult for U.S. manufacturers to compete. Not only because Japanese manufacturers can undersell their U.S. competitors, but also because the Japanese have a better understanding of media hardware and how to apply current technology to consumer items.

RCA’s move out of audio products can be related to the Japanese invasion. More interesting is the fact that theif current solution to the declining audio market is also a result of Japanese technology.

RCA held all the crucial patents for color/tv set manufacturing for over twenty years. Until a couple of years ago, no matter what tv set you bought,

it had RCA patented and licensed parts inside.