Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

16 DECEMBER 12, 1960 and was developed by merchandising-promotion specialist Half Shockey & Associates, which is cvirrently conducting U.S. Steel's "Rhapsody in Steel" promotion. Most set manufacturers have approved the drive, which is scheduled to run a full year and is aimed at generating excitement about TV, in addition to promoting "Eye-Saver" TV models — for Coming's TV-glass business is tied directly to success of TV sales. Details of campaign will be announced Dec. 21. • • • • Coming calls its laminated bulbs "implosion-proof," but has no plans to use scare factors in its promotion campaign. Nevertheless, for more than a year now, it has been conducting impressive implosion demonstrations for set & tube makers at its Corning, N.Y. hq. We were privileged to witness the implosion demonstration last week. Two conventional tablemodel TV sets were used — on both of which the picture tube had previously been weakened by drilling a small notch in the top of the tube through a hole in the cabinet, A spike was then driven into the notch in a set with a 21-in. tube and conventional external safety glass. When it went, it made a noise like a bomb, and though implosion was contained within set by safety glass & cabinet, components were demolished by impact. Then spike was driven into laminated 23-in. tube of the 2nd set. Instead of a bang, there was a poof. Back was opened to expose all components intact, tube merely cracked. By wrapping completely around faceplate, laminated implosion cap holds glass together, we were told. Coming looks on "implosion-proof" as added plus in laminated tube, says no other type bulb that it knows of has this feature. Implosion probably isn't significant hazard to consumers, since it rarely occurs and almost always is contained within the set. But use of implosion-proof tube, says Croning, cuts down manufacturers' costs by eliminating repeated test implosions of every TV model to satisfy Underwriters' Labs. Implosion issue, of which we had heard very little since TV's early days, is coming in for some new attention, incidentally. December Popular Science magazine has photo of TV tube implosion (but no scare story). And, quite independently, a leading consumer-guidance magazine is understood to be preparing on article on TV implosions. • • • • Corning makes point-by-point rebuttal to proponents of both the dry-seal safety-glass approach (in which glass is separated from tube by vinyl gasket) and the developmental Mylar shield for picture tubes. The glass manufactmer says its experimented with dry-seal techniques 5 years ago and discarded them. It says this method won't permanently keep dust & moisture from between glass & tube face — ^unless a truly hermetic seal is made, the cost of which "will be excessive." One of biggest selling points for laminated tube is elimination of 2 reflective surfaces. When Corning rejected dry-seal approach over 5 years ago, "the prime reason was internal reflections." As to costs. Corning insists that laminated tubes are as inexpensive as any approach. Although 23in. laminated tube costs $3.50 more than conventional one, safety glass in included in cost — and. Corning reasons— gasket and extra movmting hardware for dry-seal or other tubes also help make up the difference. Corning makes similar argument on the question of weight. Conceding that its tube is heavier than non-laminated tube plus a plastic implosion plate, it says it is nevertheless competitive weight-wise with any other tube-plus-glass approach. A 23-in. laminated tube weighs about 10 lb. more than non-laminated tube, and Corning says that most external safety glasses weigh about 10 lb. Weight reduction may be on its way for laminated tube. We were shown developmental cap weighing only half as much as today's cap — which could chisel as much as 5 lb. from weight of 23-in. bonded tube. There was no estimate of when the new cap will be ready. Another possibility in future of laminated tube: Special caps could be built in unique shapes, even used to form all-glass front of set. As to du Font's Mylar safety shield. Corning says it's "virtually xmknown" and hasn't been tested, either in TV or in homes. New Pittsburgh laminating process, too, was called unknown & untested. Tube makers' early production problems in the laminating process are disappearing. Coming said that manufacturers who have set up properly have cut shrinkage (rejection) down to less than V2%. All major set makers except Magnavox & GE now use laminated tubes in at least port of their lines.