American television directory (1946)

New York and Philadelphia. Pictures were of 240-line texture . . . Mobile television van of NBC appeared on the streets of New York. 1938 — BBC began televising demonstra¬ tions of anti-aircraft defense, fire pre¬ vention, etc. . . . Television images from London, on ultra short waves, were picked up on Long Island, badly dis¬ torted. 1939 — Plays were telecast in London directly from the theatre stages with marked success . . . NBC televised the opening of N.Y. World’s Fair . . . The first baseball and football games and the first prizefight were telecast . . . RCA introduced an improved radio camera, the Orthicon, for greater clar¬ ity and depth in outdoor pictures . . . A telecast from New York was picked up in a plane 20,000 feet above Wash¬ ington, D.C. Outbreak of war stopped all European television. 1940 — In the fix’st “television network” broadcast, FCC members at Schenectady saw pictures telecast from NBC, New York, received directly and then re¬ broadcast through an automatic relay across the upstate capital district . . . RCA Manufacturing Co. at Camden, N. J., demonstrated color television to the FCC . . . Philco, at Philadelphia, demonstrated television pictures of 605 lines on horizontally polarized waves, 24 frames per picture and reception on loop antenna inside the set . . . FCC au¬ thorized “limited commercial” operation, later suspended it . . . An airplane carrying a portable television trans¬ mitter telecast New York panorama . . . NBC telecast Philadelphia Republican convention to New York via coaxial cable, linking cameras with a transmit¬ ter atop the Empire State building. This telecast was picked up in Tulsa, Okla¬ homa, about 1800 miles away, establish¬ ing a new overland record for ultrashort waves . . . NBC also telecast Chicago Democratic convention from films rushed to New York by plane . . . CBS demonstrated color television . . . DuMont studios took mobile transmit¬ ters on Army field manoeuvers . . . Lee de Forest was at work on a pilotless “television torpedo plane.” 1941— — RCA demonstrated to FCC: home television receiver with 13 Vz x 18 inch translucent screen; television on thea¬ tre screen of 15 x 20 feet; scenes re¬ layed by radio from Camp Upton; fac¬ simile multiplexed with frequency mod¬ ulation sound broadcast . . . NBC put color television pictures on the air for the first time . . . FCC authorized com¬ mercial television . . . RCA large-screen television demonstration for Motion Picture distributors and press at New Yorker Theatre featured world’s mid¬ dleweight championship bout at Madi¬ son Square Garden . . . First advertising rate card for television was issued by NBC; commercial operation of tele¬ vision began on a minimum schedule of 15 hours a week . . . American Tele¬ vision Society was organized . . . FCC raised the standard television picture from 441 to 525 lines . . . CBS presented the first television newscast; CBS tele¬ vision also went on the air to cover Pearl Harbor news. 1942 — NBC telecast a course in air-raid instruction, placing receiving sets in police stations . . . CBS telecast a course in Red Cross instruction and sold war bonds by television . . . Conversion to war work stopped most television activi¬ ties in the U.S. 1943 — Western Defense Area telecast regular course in Civilian Defense train¬ ing over W6XYZ, Paramount station in Hollywood . . . Scophony was granted two basic patents for large-screen tele¬ vision . . . NBC installed television re¬ ceivers in Army hospitals and began weekly telecasts of prize-fights from Madison Square Garden . . . Alexanderson patented a three-color television process . . . Palmer Craig, at the Uni¬ versity of Florida, announced a new system of broadcasting television over standard radio channels . . . Radio Technical Planning Board was organ¬ ized. 1944 — Television Broadcasters Associa¬ tion, Inc., was formed by broadcasters and manufacturers, and held its first annual conference . . . First television network, linking NBC, New York, GE, Schenectady and Philco, Philadelphia, went into regular operation . . . Tele¬ vision stations in several cities gave special election night programs. Radio Executives Club sponsored a television seminar covering all phases of the in¬ dustry . . . Telecine film was first used. 1945 — Canada set up a Radio Technical Planning Board . . . RCA demonstrated a 22-inch projection screen for use in home receivers. DuMont demonstrated a 20-inch direct-view screen, also for home television reception . . . FCC announced FM and frequency alloca¬ tions for peacetime expansion (alterna¬ tive plan No. 3) . . . Washington was linked to Philadelphia over a new mul¬ tiple-relay television network developed by Philco . . . Viewtone developed a midget television set, to retail for $100 . . . DuMont started first television in¬ stallation in a depai’tment store by converting John Wanamaker audito¬ rium, New York, to a new television broadcasting station . . . BBC resumed telecasts several months after V-E Day. All New York stations gave special V-E Day presentations; NBC stayed on the air 14 consecutive hours . . . NBC covered V-E Day, V-J Day, Navy Day and many other important occa¬ sions with pick-up programs and spe¬ cial film . . . DuMont instituted “Thanks fox Looking”, the fix-st participation program to involve the home audience . . . Bill Still completed station W2XJT, using equipment which he designed and built himself . . . “Stratovision” was proposed — it is a system of relaying television by equipment installed in air¬ planes . . . Balaban & Katz, in coopera¬ tion with the Chicago Board of Educa¬ tion, started a series of educational telecasts to schools . . . RCA image orthicon provided a new black-and-white television camera 100 times more sensi¬ tive than the best in use in 1940. RC 1 also demonstrated transmission of color. France 1932 — Television Baii’d-Nathan Co. started experimental telecasts. 1935 — A television station, with transmitter on the Eiffel Tower, was opened. 1937 — Fi'ench Postal authoi'ities demonsti-ated television at Paris Exposition. 1938 — A cable for television trans¬ mission was laid from Paris to Bordeaux. Germany 1929 — The Fernseh Co. was foi'med. Fernseh used mechanical scanning methods. 1936 — High-definition program service began in Bexdin. 1937 — A television cable was laid from Berlin to Nuremberg for television telephone service and propaganda purposes. 1 938 — Television-telephone sex-vice was opened to the public. 1939 — Nazis took equipment to Ar¬ gentina and demonsti-ated tele¬ vision. Holland 1935 — Philips Co. built the first iconoscope in Eui-ope and began experimental transmission 1938— Philips Co. constructed a pox-table transmitter and demon¬ strated television through Holland and other counti'ies. Japan 1925 — Television experiments be¬ gan, using a mechanical scanning system. 1936 — Government appropriated large amounts for television re¬ search. 1937 — Nissan Television Kaisan was fox-med to opei-ate patents of Bx-itish E.M.I. 1939 — Japan Broadcasting Corp. put the first experimental television program on the air. Russia 1934 — Television experiments be¬ gan, using a mechanical scanning system. 1937 — Rusia bought RCA television equipment for a Moscow television centre. 1939 — Experimental telecasts con¬ tinued until the outbreak of war. Sweden 1930 — Baird Co. demonstrated televisioix in a Stockholm movie theatre. 1935 — Svenska Radio A.B. ei'ected a television transmitter in Stock¬ holm. There were daily telecasts during the Chxistmas shopping season. In all the above countries, and in England (see main chronology), all television operations ceased with the outbreak of war in 1939. 120 Many of the facts reported above are reprinted by permission, from “The History of Tele¬ vision” by Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr. and from “4000 Years of Television” by Richard W. Hubbell.