Yearbook of radio and television (1960)

=im=iM=jMM=$-s&=iW&i£=i»w^^ INTERNATIONAL TV ROUNDUP SINO-SOVIET BLOC POLAND Two additional relay transmitters were taken into service, and others are in various stages of construction. Fifty per cent of the population is now within range of TV. According to a Warsaw broadcast, a special project for rural areas has been started on Polish TV. Many farmers have TV receivers and programs are seen by many in village schools and welfare centers. USSR Television continues to expand at a good pace in the USSR. Six new TV centers and four relay transmitters went on the air in the last quarter of 1959. Four million TV sets are reportedly in use. These figures indicate increases of about 50 per cent in both transmitting stations and receivers during 1959. Experimental television relays of the programs of the Moscow TV center have started on the TV and radio relay line Moscow-Orel-Kursk-Kharkov. Construction of the first phase of this main line was completed before the October revolution anniversary, according to a Kiev broadcast. It was also announced that the Moscow-Warsaw television link would be brought into operation within two years. One of the channels will carry color TV. Ninety-five per cent of the equipment will work automatically. Work on the project will begin in Poland early next year. The government issued a decree on October 15 calling for a 42 per cent increase in output of consumer durable goods by the end of 1961 over output in 1958. Among goods slated for increased production are radio and TV sets. In the first nine months of 1959, 924,000 TV sets were produced, a 30 per cent increase over the corresponding 1958 period. Broadcasts revealed that though TV was mainly using channels 1 to 5 in the 48-100 megacycle range, there were a number of low-power relay installations operating in certain cities in the 174230 meg. range. The first powerful TV stations broadcasting in this range would go into operation soon. The development of color TV and the organization of second TV programs in a number of cities would require mastery of new rangac above 400 megs. COMMUNIST CHINA A Hong Kong report, quoting a Canton dispatch, stated that the Kwangtung television station in Canton had been recently completed, and wai scheduled to commence regular operation on the eve of the Chinese national day. Evening telecasts of Cantonese and Peking operas, movies and modern operas would be presented throughout the four-day celebrations in Canton. Regular telecasts will be given on every Tuesday and Saturday. The effective range of this station was said to cover from 12 to 18 miles "in diameter." Mora than 200 TV receivers had been installed in government offices, schools, factories, and public buildings. 1101 BULGARIA The Sofia television station, replacing the old experimental one, went on the air on November 7 on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the October revolution. Then on December 26, the station was officially inaugurated. It operates on a twice-weekly schedule — Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning at 7:30 p.m. In addition, it will televise special events such as meetings, concerts, sports, etc. CZECHOSLOVAKIA According to an October 1 Prague dispatch, the Czechoslovak Government approved a new reorganization of the Czechoslovak radio and television system. The Czechoslovak and Slovak committees for radio and TV were replaced by the Czechoslovak Broadcasting Corporation and the Czechoslovak television Corporation. Thus radio and television in Czechoslovakia are now controlled by separate central organizations. EAST GERMANY According to East and West German sources, new television transmitters went into service and others were increased in power on October 7, on the occasion of East Germany's tenth anniversary. A new transmitter at Schwerin with an antenna about 850 feet high was said to have improved reception throughout a considerable area. Transmitters in East Berlin, Leipzig, Brocken, and Inselsberg were to have their power raised to 100 kw. Test transmissions from the new Leipzig transmitter were reported to be blanking out West German television in that area. In addition to these main transmitters, eight low-powered satellite transmitters with coverage areas of from two to eight miles were brought into service. It was planned to set up studio installations in Leipzig, Dresden, and Rostock within the next few years. Demand for TV sets in East Germany is still outpacing production. Annual production is expected to increase from 125,000 in 1959 to 750,000 before 1965. Seventeen-inch models now account for the major share of total East German production. Twenty-one-inch models will be produced only in small quantities according to official plans. A portable TV prototype has been completed, but there are no immediate plans to start mass production of portables. HUNGARY Two television relay transmitters at Miskolc and Sopron were taken into service, and a high-power relay station at Szentes will be in operation this spring. Sales of TV sets have spurted recently, and unofficial estimates place the number of subscribers at 50,000. During the last five weeks of the year, 16,000 sets were purchased, more than the number for the entire year of 1958.