Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

through research and engineering to keep the United States at the forefront of science in its relationship to military electronics. Color Television Advances The date December 17, 1953, on which the FCC approved standards for the commercial broadcasting of compatible color television, will be remembered in the annals of communications along with the historic date of April 30, 1939, when RCA-NBC introduced all- electronic black-and-white television as a new broadcast service to the public at the opening of the World's Fair in New York. RCA is proud of the leadership its scientists and engineers achieved in developing the all-electronic com- patible color television system and the RCA tri-color tube. Compatibility means that existing television sets can receive color programs in black-and-white with- out any changes or additional devices. For this principle and feature of compatibility in television, RCA fought hard and long, not only to achieve it scientifically, but to advance such a system as the only logical and practical service in the interest of the public and the television industry. Because of compatibility, no one need hesitate to buy a black-and-white television set. It will not be obsolete because of color, and it will perform many years of service. Color television sets at the outset will cost from $800 to $ 1,000, and production will be in relatively small quantities until the industry is geared for mass production. The National Broadcasting Company has completed program plans for color television's introductory year that call for each of NBC's regular productions to be broadcast in color at least once during the year—at the average rate of two programs a week. During the past year NBC's personnel had an op- portunity to acquire extensive experience in the broad- casting of color television programs. Significant develop- ments in 1953 pointed the way to further progress that may be expected in 1954: 1. Compatible color television was viewed for the first time in Chicago on September 22, 1953, when RCA-NBC staged a demonstration at the annual meeting of the Association of National Advertisers. This inter-city program was transmitted over a closed circuit from New York. 2. On November 3, 1953, RCA-NBC staged two historic "firsts": A live show performed in the NBC NBC's New Team Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr. President Robert W. Sornoff Executive I'ice-Prexident color television studio at the Colonial Theatre on Broadway in New York was relayed by microwave across the continent to Burbank, California, and a color film also was televised for the first time from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. 3. A color television version of the opera "Carmen" telecast by NBC in New York was acclaimed as "breathtaking and beautiful" and "a magnificent feat of technology and showmanship". 4. The first sponsored network program in com- patible color television broadcast on November 22, 1953, featured "The Colgate Comedy Hour" starring Donald O'Connor. This telecast was the first of a number of premieres scheduled by NBC. 5. These impressive demonstrations led to another history-making colorcast by NBC — the Tournament of Roses at Pasadena, California. This event was colorcast on New Year's Day through 21 stations, which were equipped for colorcasts, while other sta- tions in the network presented the pageant in black- and-white. Said The Neiv York Times: "Color television's most exacting test came with the NBC's outdoor pickup of the Tournament of Roses. All things considered the results were exceedingly good, — There was no question that the essence of the parade's panorama of color was projected successfully on home screens some 3,000 miles away." The Daily Neivs noted that the Tournament of Roses parade, "picked up by a special NBC mobile color unit, the only one of its kind in existence, was the first transcontinental colorcast from West to East. It also 4 RADIO AGE