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Seeing IS
Television in the Hom&? JVot for several years yet, says this eminent radio pioneer, who has gone in for the new art.
by Dr. Lee DeForest
I HAVE been asked to discuss television— its possibilities, potentialities, and probabilities; in short, when, where and why it will come. Leaving the technical angle entirely aside and writing of television purely from the fan standpoint, it might be as well to break right out with a pre
diction that it will be more than the proverbial six months — far more — before we can hope to have a practical working television set in the home.
Four years would be a moderate guess, if anyone were willing to guess at something that is as vague as the possibilities of television.
Above, the young lady is being "picked up" by photo electric cells. Right, Dr. Lee DeForest, aut h o r of this article. Below, operating the "flying spot pickup," a new instru m e n t produced by Dr. DeForest.
It is going to be difficult to talk at all of television without hingeing on the technical. The mere fact that it is largely that very technical angle which is holding up progress at the present moment, should be a strong indication of which direction the wind is blowing.
No time would be better than now to let the public at large know just what progress has been made thus far.
A picture, perhaps six by eight inches, rather course-grained and perhaps a bit vague, can be transmitted over radio across a considerable space. The picture may stand out brilliantly at times; on the other hand there are frequent "blank" spaces, it would tend to fade now and then and no continuity of form could be depended upon.
On those rare occasions when the picture — perhaps of two persons talking— is transmitted with a maximum of clearness, it is extremely rare for there to be enough action to make it of outstanding interest. In other words, outside of the novelty of the thing, there is no real entertainment value to television as yet. And the novelty of it would soon wear off were television to be made national in scope under the present circumstances.
There are several reasons for the failure of engineers to develop a practical television set. First, I believe, the sooner the idea of broadcasting television on either a very short wave or a very long wave, is adopted, the sooner will it be possible to send out a comprehensive action shot. Moreover I do not believe that the scanning disk and the flat plate are sufficient.
The Radio Commission has issued no broadcasting licenses as yet. There are, however, stations located in the principal cities of the country, all of which are of an extremely experimental and private nature.
Methods must be brought about to get larger sized pictures — pictures that it would be possible for a group to observe at one time. RCA-Victor is at present doing as much if not more than any other firm in the development of television. The vast re(Continued on Page 39)