Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1953)

circuitry involving the most advanced techniques in optics, mechanics and electronics. The complexity and intricacy of the equipment and circuitry is reflected in the following: First, the cost of the apparatus is high. The estimated retail price of the receiver is in the luxury range of $800 to $1000. The heart of the receiver problem lies in the color tube and its associated circuitry. The current estimated cost to a receiver manufacturer of a color tube with a viewing surface which approximates that of a 12-inch monochrome tube, is between $175 to $200. This figure alone exceeds the entire cost of several popular models of monochrome receivers. Similarly, the cost to television broadcasters for transmitting equipment, and particularly for the origination of color programs, are substantially higher than the cost of monochrome transmissions. Second, the maintenance and operation of a compatible color receiving and transmitting apparatus in a 6 mc bandwidth will inherently result in greater costs than monochrome alone. Because the proposed signal specifications rely on complicated techniques and because the "system load" is, in large part, snared by the receiver, it is reasonable to anticipate that receiver failures and service adjustments will be more frequent. Similar difficulties may also be anticipated at the studio and transmitter. Third, the additional susceptibility of the color receiver to interference and the possibility of causing interference to other services from the radiation of the subcarrier in the receiver, must be given close attention by the receiver manufacturer. Also, the transmitter manufacturer, in order to reduce interference, must take steps to eliminate, so far as possible, all unnecessary radiation. In this connection, it is noted that the industry has recently established committees, which have begun work toward these ends. 42. In the comments filed in this proceeding a number of parties urging adoption of the proposed signal specifications have requested that we waive or relax certain of our criteria. It is our view, in light of the changed circumstances, that a rigorous or inflexible application of our criteria would not be warranted and that, accordingly, these requests should be granted. It was our view that any new system would have to sustain the burden of establishing that any improvement which would result from its adoption must be substantial enough to justify the resulting dislocation to receivers then in the hands of the public. There are no color receivers in the hands of the public designed to receive transmissions in accordance with those standards. And no question is presented with respect to dislocation or harm because of investment in apparatus. We believe, therefore, that the change in circumstances warrants a shift in emphasis and that we are justified in relying on the representations of petitioners that certain of the inadequacies as presently exist are a function of "equipment limitations" and are not necessarily inherent "system limitations." 43. We are persuaded to this view on the basis of the following factors: First, included among the NTSC and the other parties to this proceeding are the major electronics manufacturing organizations. Among these parties there is overwhelming support for the proposed specifications. There is virtual unanimity that these specifications are fundamentally capable of producing satisfactory color television pictures. There is also substantial agreement that the proposed specifications have a potential for growth. Second, although the major effort has, up to this point, been directed to the development of the system, approval of the proposed signal specifications will furnish an incentive and stimulus to manufacturing and research organizations to devote their efforts to the equipment problems. The success of color hinges on mass receiver circulation and every effort must be made to bring the price down to the level of the mass purchaser. Every effort must also be made to design equipment to minimize the additional interference susceptibility of operations under the proposed specifications. History has demonstrated that American industry is capable of devising practical and economical equipment on a mass production basis. We have the assurance of the industry that the enormous engineering and production ingenuity at their command will be focused on these remaining problems. Third, the proposed signal specifications are broad enough to permit considerable latitude to competing companies in the future development of more economical and efficient equipment without obsoleting equipment in the hands of the public. Thirteen manufacturers demonstrated receivers in the proceeding employing several types of picture tubes. Thus, the proposed color specifications afford an opportunity and challenge to the industry to implement these specifications with the necessary equipment innovations. Fourth, the signal specifications proposed are compatible, and a compatible system will afford the consumer a greater degree of freedom than would an incompatible system in choosing whether or not to purchase a color receiver at a given price, since the public will, in any event, continue to receive the program material in monochrome. Page 58-D o December 21, 1953 44. Upon a careful consideration of the complete record in this proceeding, we are of the view that the signal specifications proposed by petitioners provide a reasonable basis for the development of a color television service in the public interest. We have therefore concluded that the present rules and standards for the broadcast of color television based on the field sequential signal specifications should be deleted and that the signal specifications in this proceeding should be adopted in lieu thereof at this time. 45. Authority for the adoption of the amendments is contained in Section 303(b), (e) and (g) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. 46. In view of the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED, That, effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, Subpart E of Part 3 of the Commission's Rules Governing Television Broadcast Stations, is amended as set out in Appendix B attached hereto. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION* Wm. P. Massing Acting Secretary Adopted: Dec. 17, 1953 Released: Dec. 17, 1953 * See following concurring statements of Commissioners Webster, Sterling and Lee. CONCURRING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER E. M. WEBSTER The adoption of standards for color television is an important milestone on the road to expansion of our broadcast industry. As a member of the Commission and one of the guardians of the public interest I have strong feelings that the adoption of such standards cannot be taken lightly. Consideration of the color standards proposed by the National Television System Committee indicates to me that those standards, and any system based thereon, involve certain problems among which are included such matters as: 1. Estimated high cost of color receivers and station equipment. 2. Complexity of receivers. 3. Degradation of color transmission as re ceived on monochrome sets. 4. Degradation of monochrome transmissions as received on color sets. 5. Susceptibility of color receivers to interfer ence. It would serve no useful purpose for me to elaborate upon such problems here as the Commission's Report and Order adequately discusses these and other problems. However, I believe that the public should be forewarned that in view of the subjective nature of the evaluation of any color television demonstration it is not likely that unanimity will prevail with respect to the adequacy of present color pictures and that some viewers may find the results somewhat less satisfactory than expected. The adoption of these standards creates certain receiver problems which must be recognized. Accordingly, the receiver manufacturers are obligated to the public to incorporate in color receivers refinements beyond those in present monochrome receivers necessary to adequately suppress aggravated receiver radiation and to overcome the greater susceptibility to interference, particularly in the region of the color subcarrier. While the current system designed around the NTSC standards may fall short of the established criteria in some respects, as for example the estimated cost of color receivers, I believe that compatibility is sufficiently important to warrant a reasonable flexibility in the application of the criteria. Furthermore, in my opinion those features which may be believed to be inadequacies in the current state of development are equipment problems, not inherent limitations imposed by the standards, and future improvement can be expected. Accordingly, I concur with the Commission in its decision adopting the color television standards proposed by the National Television System Committee. ADDITIONAL CONCURRING VIEWS OF COMMISSIONER GEO. E. STERLING I have participated in this proceeding and the final results with confidence that a foundation is being laid that will provide the people of this nation a fine compatible color television system, capable of improvement without obsolescence of black and white receivers and color receivers built to receive the programs broadcast in accordance with the signal specifications embraced in the standards. History is replete with the initial high cost and complexity of products designed for public consumption, resulting from the birth of a new industry, for example: the automobile. This, too, has been the experience in the radio and television industry. With respect to the complexities and cost of equipment, considering the competition in the manufacturing industry coupled with the public enthusiasm and acceptance of the television broadcasting service, I am certain that both larger screen and cheaper color receivers with controls having the ease of adjustments of current monochrome receivers will be made available to the public within the next two or three years, the time necessary to establish a color television broadcasting service of any consequence. In the meantime, the public can buy black and white television receivers now on the market and which will continue for the next three or four years to represent the greatest per cent of production of TV receivers, confident that when programs are broadcast in color they may view them in black and white. In the meantime, the manufacturing industry will move ahead affirmatively to build color receivers within the price range of the great mass of the American people. The Commission has, in this decision, pointed out with considerable emphasis the necessity of properly shielding and filtering receivers so that color programs will not be degraded by interference fom radio frequency sources as well as preventing interference to the important amateur radio service, considering the public service it renders in several respects. It is my hope that industry will continue to give this subject high priority as they proceed to build equipment for public consumption. COMMISSIONER LEE CONCURRING: I concur completely with the Commission's decision in this case. The defects and imperfections of this new medium are carefully pointed out and this is as it should be. The factual situation has been given to the public. It is patently apparent that color television will not be available to most of us for some time to come but this was also true in the early days of black and white television. For my own part, I would like to say that I consider this decision a milestone in the fast moving electronics industry. The American standard of living rises again. I would like to pay my own tribute to the Industry and the able and ingenious men comprising it who have made this new miracle possible. The defects and shortcomings that may now exist will evaporate in the coming months as Industry takes on mass production. The first automobile had many defects. An aeroplane going on the assembly line immediately takes on some aspects of being outmoded as experience teaches us new improvements and better methods of production. We would never learn the new shortcuts if we kept the basic idea on the drawing board. Our economy will get a tremendous boost from this development. I am delighted at long last to have had a small part in putting the show on the road. APPENDIX A Description of Color Television Transmissions in Accordance with Proposed Signal Specifications I INTRODUCTION 1. Following is a description of color television transmissions in accordance with the proposed signal specifications under consideration. In attempting to simplify the description so that it might be intelligible to the lay reader it has been necessary from time to time to use nontechnical terms. This may have resulted in some technical inaccuracies. However, engineers will find full data and descriptions in the record. II GENERAL 2. There is much similarity in the composition of television pictures and magazine or newspaper pictures. Printed pictures are composed of small dots and in the case of black and white pictures these dots are black and of varying size to give the impression of various shades of gray. The presence of the dot structure is not apparent to the eye under normal conditions because the distance between the viewer and the picture is such that the eye can no longer distinguish the individual dots and sees the combined effect as a single image. The sharpness of the picture is determined by the number of dots which compose the picture. The monochrome television picture, however, is composed of lines with varying degrees of grayness throughout their length to correspond to the brightness of the original object at that point. The sharpness of such an image is determined to a large extent by the rapidity with which variations in brightness can occur along the line either from black to white, or from white to black. For a given system there is a maximum rapidity with which the line can change from black to white and back again to black, which change would result in a white dot. The width of this dot determines the number of such dots which could be reproduced in a particular line and thus the number of such dots per line is a measure of the sharpness of images which can be reproduced. The television picture differs from the printed picture in that the number of equivalent dots in television is independent of the size of the television screen whereas the printed picture normally uses a fixed number of dots per inch of picture dimension. In order to create the illusion of motion it is necessary to transmit a series of still pictures in rapid succession. This principle for creating the illusion of motion is the same for both motion pictures and television, and depends upon the well known phenomenon of persistence of vision. 3. In television the tools employed for reproducing a picture are the camera, transmitter, and receiver. The function of the camera in a television system is to transform light energy into electrical energy. In principle, the television camera is not unlike a photographic camera. However, in place of film, in back of the television camera, there is substituted an electrical plate which is sensitive to light. This Broadcasting • Telecasting