Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1959)

8 Videotape's Pros and Cons: Advantages and drawbacks of tape are thoroughly discussed in Variety’s big (53rd) Anniversary Issue (Jan. 7). Full details are well worth your attention, but here are some edited excerpts: Tape will become the dominant form of recording and replaying TV programs, perhaps in 5, although possibly not for 10, years. But at present [with film], taking the completed negative and making masters, dupes, and the 35 or so prints of each episode [costs] about $50,000 per series. I have seen reports that a half-hour tape — the raw stock — will cost between $150 and $300. For the 35 prints of each 39 episodes then, the cost will be between $250,000 and $500,000. . . . Until the top 75 or 100 markets are equipped with tape we will stick with film. — Walter Kingsley, pres., Independent Television Corp. Tape has many limitations because of the cumbersome equipment and the difficulties of editing. . . . A “Sea Hunt,” with its accent on underwater photography, a “Mackenzie’s Raiders,” with its far ranging outdoor action, would be impossible [to do with tape]. ... We are studying and experimenting with tape equipment and will do some of the shooting for our “World of Giants” utilizing tape. — John L. Sinn, Ziv Television Programs. Most important question is whether quality of the program recorded on tape can equal or surpass the quality of the same show on film. From all sources I’ve been able to check, this, most emphatically, is not now possible. When presumably tape will have the same flexibility in terms of production and story quality; in editing; and station acceptance in terms of equipment (although I can never see universal station acceptance because of the cost of tape equipment) — then [we] and I’m sure other film distributors — will move into distribution of programs by tape. But I think it’s a long, long way off. — Michael Sillerman, pres., Gross-Krasne-Sillerman, Inc. [We are] currently completing the framework of the first complete video tape entity — a corporate structure housing under our roof the talents and skills for creating, financing, producing, promoting, selling and distributing the video tape product ... It is clear that full-scale syndication of quality tape programming will become the prime element of future nonnetwork programming. — George K. Gould, pres., NT A Telestudios. Other Anniversary Variety highlights: Prediction by Dave Kaufman that Hollywood’s TV film-makers will better 1958 production this year by $5,000,000, bringing total production to $105,000,000, not counting costs of the more than 100 speculative pilot films which will be shot. Lawrence L. Wynn (gen. mgr.. Concert Network) describing the FM audience, reveals that surveys in large cities throughout the U. S. show that “the characteristics of the individual FM station audiences are strikingly similar.” They are: average age, 37; 75% college graduates; $9000 average income (31% over $10,000); average listening time, 5 hours daily for 6 days a week; total time tuned into all other TV and radio combined: 3 hours daily for 3 days a week. Anti-ETV Revolt? Rapid substitution of closed-circuit TV film instruction for live classroom teachers at crowded Compton [Junior] College, Los Angeles, which has 4800 enrollment, is becoming a fighting educational issue in state. Compton pres. Paul Martin sees his unorthodox filmed courses, during which many students seldom encounter an instructor in person, as a “breakthrough in education.” But 90,000-member Cal. Teachers Assn., decrying all-TV methods at Compton (and fearing technological unemployment), has denounced plan and asked Western College Assn, to investigate it. First-year courses in English, mathematics, psychology are given almost entirely on film, 6 more filmed courses are being prepared. Brushing aside protests by teachers that film-only instruction is inadequate, scorning usual use of ETV as supplement to — not substitute for — classroom teaching, Martin foresees progressive replacement of faculty by TV. Joint Council on Educational TV in Washington, which doesn’t advocate Compton system, says plan isn’t spreading elsewhere. Gift of Ampex Videotape recorder by manufacturer to Washington County, Md. (Hagerstown) closed-circuit educational TV system was reported recently by school supt. Wm. A. Brish, who said he “can now only begin to sense the ways in which it can be used to materially improve the quality of our efforts.” Recorder was trucked from N. Y.’s Grand Central Station, where Ampex had it on public display in special equipment exhibit. Minn. Mining & Mfg. Co. is contributing tape to EIA-supported 5-ycai’ El’V experiment. In preparation for use of Ampex iiiacbine, project’s chief engineer .loim R. Bugger and a:.. l. John Wahlfeldt si)ent week at eonii)any’s Redwood City, Cal. headquarters. “TV in Military Education” is title of article in Dec. Signal Magazine, by Maj. Louie L. Williams, U. S. Army Signal Training Center, Ft. Gordon, Ga. It describes Center’s TV operations, and notes: “Probably its biggest asset, as uncovez-ed by educational TV research, was its success with low aptitude students. ‘Slow learners’ acquired, through TV, some of the facts and skills that they did not learn through reading [or] any other means.” GE’s bullish ETV attitude (Vol. 14:39) was reiterated this week by Wm. J. Morlock, gen. mgr. of technical products dept., in a forecast of equipment sales. “It is now merely a matter of time,” he said, “when educational TV installations will outnumber commercial TV stations.” He also predicted: (1) Equipment sales to new TV stations to hold steady in 1959, halting a 6-year decline. (2) Replacement sales in 1959 to run 10% above 1958. (3) Closed-circuit equipment sales to be up 6-fold in 10 years. Fifth edition of Educators Guide to Free Tapes, Scripts & Transcriptions: 1959 has just been issued by Educators Progress Sei-vice, Randolph, Wis. (229 pp., $5.75) — edited by Prof. Walter A. Wittich, U of Wis. & Gertie Hanson Halsted, Wisconsin State College. “Main Street, U.S.S.R.” is title of NBC coi-respondent Irving R. Levine’s fascinating new book to be published Jan. 22 by Doubleday (405pp., $4.50). Levine, whose broadcast privileges have been suspended by the Sortets, had been assigned to U.S.S.R. for last 3% years. His book, he says, grew out of a weekly radio pi’ogram in which he answei’ed questions about Russia sent to him by American listenei'.s. Rook is packed with basic information u'liUcn briglilly and heavily lazde<l with anecdotes. It’s the best job we’ve seen of describing everyday life of Russians and revealing what makes them tick.