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152 HARVARD BUSINESS REPORTS
match and mark each print very carefully in order that each might be of similar length and in perfect synchronism.
Distribution costs would be increased by the addition of discs for reproduction. Additional personnel would be necessary in the main office and at each exchange. The personnel would require training and instruction in the handling of discs, as carelessness would result in defective reproduction of the sound pictures in exhibition. Increased salaries would be required, in view of the additional work of the bookers and others in handling three sets of film, the silent, the sound-on-film, and the disc prints.
Constant attention would be necessary to maintain the quality of the disc reproduction for exhibition. It was estimated that a disc would be able to serve 20 "play-throughs." It was rumored, however, that the companies in favor of disc reproduction were instructing exhibitors to demolish the discs after a booking had been completed. This practice, if in effect, would serve to set a high standard in quality of sound reproduction, and would entail greater costs of disc production and exhibition.
A reorganization of physical handling in distribution would be advisable, as it would be impractical to supply discs from each of the 34 exchange branches. To meet this situation, the company planned, in the event that discs were added, to establish 9 or 10 disc distributing points among the more advantageously located exchange centers. Another company had started to distribute from a smaller number of exchange points, but had recently announced its intention of maintaining discs at every exchange. The problem of disc storage was troublesome, as each disc weighed 2 pounds and was 16 inches in diameter.
A survey of the market was made by RKO Productions, Incorporated, in order to determine the number of wired theaters. Little accurate information was available. Of the estimated total of 20,000 theaters in the United States and Canada, approximately 2,000 were estimated to be wired with systems equipped for both film and disc reproduction. The Western Electric Company reported nearly 1,600 installations. The number of theaters with disc reproducing equipment was unknown; a survey by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America to determine this number was in progress. An incomplete list compiled from branch exchange reports showed about 900 disconly installations. Estimates from other sources indicated,