Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

Section of RADIO DAILY, Wednesday, November 23, 1949 — TELEVISION DAILY is fully protected by register and copyright DuMONT PLANS NEW COLOR-TV TELE TOPICS A BC'S COVERAGE of the Metropolitan ** Opera opening Monday nite was on most counts a vast improvement over last year's effort. No auxiliary lighting was used, yet almost all shots of the action on stage registered with perfect clarity — a tribute to the technical advances the medium has made during the past twelve months. Burke Crotty's direction, assisted by Frank Vagnoni, again showed traces of unfamiliarity with the opera, but for the most part the cameras followed the action effectively. The work itself, "Der Rosenkavalier," was too long for all but the most avid opera lovers and lacked the dramatic impact of last year's opener, 'OteMo," but because it is a comedy, the awkward postures of the singers were not as detracting. Too often, however, the principals were all but invisible because of the long shots used to capture the huge sets and pageantry of the play. . . . First intermission took viewers backstage, but instead of showing the intricacies of mounting the second act set, the cameras picked up Edward Johnson and a procession of artists and technicians in backpatting interviews. From here they switched to Sherry's where viewers saw scores of formally-attired opera patrons jammed together like rush-hour and staring and waving at the cameras like the low-brows at a wrestling match. During the second intermission. Deems Taylor briefly interviewed about a dozen assorted celebrities. • I JPWARDS OF $40,000 for time will ^ be spent by Hamilton Watch Co. for airing its five-minute "Peggy and Jim" films. Campaign, which began Monday and runs through Dec. 18, covers 30 stations in 16 markets and will show the film, made by Screen Gems, 183 times. BBD&O handles the account. . . . CBS trying to land a bankroller for a series of Saturday nite college basketball and track pickups from the Garden. Web will not carry the sports sustaining, however. . . . Producer Irving Brecher has moved filming of "Life of Riley," on NBC to the Columbia lot in Hollywood where larger sets will make possible greater flexibility. Series, on 35 mm., formerly was filmed on one stage at Filmtone. • kJEW-TYPE TALENT SHOW with Rob' ^ ert Q. Lewis as emcee will be auditioned by CBS Dec. 1 as a full-hour simulcast. Produced by Lester Gottlieb, show will be in effect an on-the-air talent audition with various bookers invited to appear on the show to se'ect acts on the basis of their stints on the program. Lou Meltzer will script and Alex Leftwich will direct. No starting date has been set. . . . Larry Racies will unveil a new 15minute film comedy series starring Jerry Colonna at a press preview Friday. Now In Experimental Stage, Commission Is Told; FCC Asks Field Tests Of Polychrome Systems Using Stock Tele Receivers In Audience-Homes (Continued from Page 1) have to be an expert to see it. The two-day tests have convincingly demonstrated the superiority of CBS color over RCA color and black and white." During yesterday's demonstrations, FCC engineer Edward Chapin showed a Bendix set to which he had added a switch device, inside the cabinet, to make it possible to receive in black and white the 405line color transmissions being sent by WOIC, which was originating the CBS signals. The same set, built to the 525-line standard, then brought in the 525-line signals of the other local stations. Draws RCA Protest It was later learned that the Chapin demonstration drew protests from RCA, with an accusation that the Commission was "taking sides" in demonstrating a device to make the CBS system seem more attractive. The protest was rejected in a closed-door session during which FCC Chairman Wayne Coy is said to have remarked angrily that the Chapin switch should have been developed by the industry, but that since it wasn't someone had to do it. As soon as possible, the Commission said, proponents of the various color systems "should start a series of field tests with a reasonable number of receivers distributed both to technical and non-technical persons not connected with the development of the system, in order to determine the adequacy of system as used by a representative cross section of the public. The tests should be conducted at least one hour per day for a period of at least 30 days to determine not only the usability of receivers in the hands of the public, but to determine if any unforeseen deficiencies come to light that may require modification or abandonment of the particular system. "While such tests are being conducted, receivers should be used that are representative of commercial production and should include receivers for: Usages Listed "(1) Black and white from color transmissions on existing receivers, adapted if required. " (2) Color reception on existing receivers, converted, and adapted if required, to receive color. "(3) Black and white from color transmissions on new receivers especially built to receive black and white images from color transmissions in accordance with the proposed standards. " (4) Color reception on new receivers especially built to receive color images from color transmissions in accordance with the proposed standards. "The color programs used for these tests should cover a variety of material. During the transmission of color television programs, it is expected that many stations and network problems relating to transmission standards will be revealed." Sets Reach 3,000,000 Mark; See 7,500,000 By End Of '50 Receiver installations throughout the country totalled 3,025,000 by Nov. 1, Hugh Beville. Jr., NBC research director, announced yesterday. At the same time J. R. Poppele, president of TBA, predicted that ownership would exceed 7,500,000 by the end of 1950. 2.565,000 On Oct. 1 Set installation figures had reached 2,565,000 for Oct. 1. However, this does not mean that there was an actual increase of 460,000 sets during the month of October. Some of this increase took place during the month of September but due to a lag in reporting from several areas it was not picked up until Nov. 1. During September and October, 1949, 715,000 sets were sold. By Nov. 1, 1948, a total of 718,000 sets had been sold. Some 27 per cent of the sets are now installed in New York. A year ago New York had 45 per cent of the sets. "At the rate of 80,000 receivers a week — or better — a minimum of 4,000,000 additional TV sets can be expected on the market during the next year," Poppele said. "This year's output will exceed 2,500.000. Combined with the 1.000.000 sets last year and the 4,000,000 likely to be produced in 1950. receiver ownership will soar to 7.500.000. And this is only the beginning of the expansion of television." Scenic Artists Strike Against 4 Nets, WPIX Local 829, United Scenic Artists, yesterday called a strike against five major television broadcasters of New York— ABC, CBS. NBC, DuMont and WPIX. In a joint statement issued last evening, the five struck organizations declared: "Ignoring negotiations in progress this evening before the New York State Mediation Service, a strike was called today by the United Scenic Artists, Local 829, against five major television broadcasters in New York City. "The wage scale sought by the union in the new contract under negotiation would increase the minimum pay for art directors from $7,540 to $13,000 a year. "This demanded wage scale, representing increases up to 73 per cent of the existing minimums, is unreasonable and unjustifiable in the face of present costly television operations. Charge Dual Purpose "During the negotiations the union indicated that another primary objective of the strike is to force all television scenic work into the theatrical scenery workshops. The union, in fact, has offered to do the video scenic work on the outside, in union theatrical shops, even if it is necessary to cross the union's own picket lines to deliver the work." According to Rudy Karnolt, business manager of Local 829. United Scenic Artists, the three-year contract with the webs granted a "38 per cent concession" on wages compared with the movie and stage standards because of TV's infancy. This pact expired Sept. 31 and a new agreement would be retroactive to that date. Old scale for the workers covered by the union was from $75 to $145 a week. Karnolt said, compared with the theater and movie scale of $135 to $185.50, which the union is now seeking. While the union's goal is equal wages with those paid in the other two fields, he said, it has authority "to accept something less." Sales Of Tele Receivers Over 100,000 In Baltimore Baltimore —Sales of 12,281 receivers during October has raised the total number of installations in thii area to 100,036, the Television Circulation Committee of Baltimore reported yesterday.