R Terren Dunlap

Entrepreneur R. Terren Dunlap thought that he had an idea for a product that couldn't fail: a dual-deck videocassette recorder, one that would allow America's couch potatoes to tape two television programs at once or to dub their own movies. When Dunlap tried to convert his brainstorm into reality four years ago, however, he ran into an obstacle that he calls "the Japanese."

Entrepreneur R. Terren Dunlap thought that he had an idea for a product that couldn't fail: a dual-deck videocassette recorder, one that would allow America's couch potatoes to tape two television programs at once or to dub their own movies. When Dunlap tried to convert his brainstorm into reality four years ago, however, he ran into an obstacle that he calls "the Japanese."

Hoping to become a mouse that roared, tiny Go-Video Inc. announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. of Korea that will allow the video firm to become the first to market a dual-deck videocassette recorder in this country.

The 1980s witnessed a hailstorm of home-electronics hardware. The market was pelted by videocassette recorders, camcorders, big-screen TVs, compact disc players, laser disc players and home-theater systems. But on the threshold of a new decade, the mighty development wells of the consumer electronics industry seem to have temporarily dried up. "As far as ultra, ultra new products, there's nothing new," JVC senior vice president Harry Elias said.