Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

14 PLENTY of developmental big-screen color tubes were displayed at IRE Radio Engineering Show in New York this week — though none was demonstrated with a color picture. Nothing was shown which hadn’t previously been announced, and spokesmen for most manufacturers were vague on their future color tube plans (see also pp. 1 & 11. There were even more rumors than displays. For example, there was talk of a tube, reportedly in Philco labs, identified by code name of “apple.” Device was said to be simpler than shadow-mask types but requiring far more complicated receiver circuitry. No comment on it could be obtained from Philco. Only tube types displayed were 15 & 19-in. CBS & RCA-type 3-gun shadow-mask tubes and 21, 22 & 24-in. Lawence-type single-gun grid focus tubes — but only operating tubes at show were RCA-type 15-in. The 3 tube makers which are rumored to have “something different” in color tubes — Philco, GE & DuMont — didn’t commit themselves. Philco showed no color tubes; GE showed 15 & 19-in. RCA-type models, while spokesmen promised bigger, brighter rectangular tubes; and only color tubes at DuMont booth were 15-in. used in receiver and monitor for color slide scanner demonstration. For what it’s worth, one incident at IRE convention caused some raised eyebrows. Convention program, printed long in advance of actual sessions, listed paper on “the GE post acceleration color tube” by GE’s C. G. Lob— but it was never delivered. Questioned about this, GE’s electronics v.p. Dr. W. R. G. Baker said: “We didn’t want the whole industry to know what we’re doing.” He added that GE’s color tube design isn’t yet frozen. Official abstract of undelivered paper, printed in convention program: “The tube to be described is a high brightness, high-definition color tube using 3 electron guns and a viewing screen consisting of vertical phosphor stripes alternating red-green-blue, red-green-blue, etc. Performance data obtained from developmental models of this tube will be presented and many of the advantages of such a device pointed out.” Other GE engineers delivered paper on single-gun tubes as used in color TV. Biggest variety of color tube sizes and shapes was shown by Thomas Electronics Inc., licensee of both Chromatic (Lawrence tube) and of RCA. Samples of these Chromatic types were displayed: 22-in. roimd metal, giving 18-in. picture, said to be in pilot production now; 21-in. glass rectangular, 18-in. picture, pilot production to begin in late spring or summer; 24-in. glass rectangular, 21-in. picture, plans undisclosed. Thomas also showed 15-in. RCA-type, now in pilot production. Only other Lawrence-type tube shown was 24-in. developmental model by Westinghouse, which isn’t a Chromatic licensee. CBS-Hytron showed non-operating 15-in. round tube, and a spokesman said it plans to start production of 19-in. round this spring. Tung-Sol, showing only 15-in. RCA-type tube, promised 19-in. samples “soon.” RCA, Sylvania and Raytheon showed developmental 19-in. round tubes. Corning Glass display was geared to color tube bulbs, with production models of 15 & 19-in. round blanks for both CBS & RCA types, and developmental models of 21 & 24-in. Lawrence-type bulbs. Kimble Glass showed 15 & 19-in. RCA-type bulbs, both now in production, and developmental Lawrence-type 21-in. Color Trends & Briefs: Equipment to produce color TV signals — for stations, manufacturers, laboratories and sei’vicemen — was shown by at least 8 manufacturers at IRE Radio Engineering Show in New York this week, and drew big crowds to the vividly colored monitors displaying slides, color bars and test patterns. Much of the equipment was new and shown for first time, some of it by manufacturers new to color field. Tel-Instrument Co., 728 Garden St., Carlstadt, N. J. showed new line of complete station equipment, at “economy prices” — everything but the camera, which company promises to produce next year. Prices quoted for the gear, including colorplexing equipment and power supplies: color monoscope $4200, sync generator $3922, bar & gamma generator $4505, color monitor $2100. Telechrome Inc., Amityville, L. I. showed its complete station gear, and DuMont showed flying-spot scanner using color slides, as well as other color station equipment. Wickes Engineering & Construction Co., Camden, N. J., showed “color conversion package,” including interlace signal generator, bar generator, color coder for stations or laboratories, as well as vector display monitoring and test instruments. Polarad Electronics Corp., 100 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, displayed its first color generating equipment: sync generator $3050, bar generator $3850, 15-in. monitor $2850. Industrial Television Inc., Clifton, N. J., showed new color monitor with self-contained dot generator at $2750, production to begin in June. It also plans to produce complete color test equipment for stations and manufacturers. Color servicing equipment introduced at IRE show included new Philco portable color bar generator, to sell at about $300. Kay Electric Co., Pine Brook, N. J., showed “Chromabar” multiple color bar generator at $990, single color generator at $395. « * * * Chromatic pres. Richard Hodgson announced this week that new plant at Emeryville, Cal. began production March 15 of grids for sale to its licensees. “Originally, we had planned to produce 25,000 units before the end of the year, but we have recently upped that goal drastically,” he said. He added that Chromatic’s licensees (currently only Crosley & Thomas) were making significant progress toward mass-production of 21 & 24-in. sets using Lawrence tubes, and that “we have pushed our development of the 24-in. grid ahead by 3 months so that Emeryville production can keep up with the demand of Chromatic’s licensees and other manufacturers who we believe will be adopting the tube design shortly.” When will color be “here?” H. L. Hoffman, pres, of Hoffman Radio Corp., gave following definition in March 19 speech and color demonstration before Los Angeles Rotary Club: When regular color shows are telecast at least one hour daily between 7 & 10 p.m., and a color set simple to operate and service sells for less than $1000. He expects this status to be reached in fall of 1956, though he stated: “It is highly possibe that the stimulus created by cei’tain special events being telecast in color, or an engineering development which we do not know about as yet, might change this picture.” Color is keynote of Jerrold Electronics Corp.’s pitch for its TV distribution systems, as displayed at IRE convention. Exhibit was aimed at demonstrating “ability of Jerrold systems to pass the full spectrum of broadcast color pi'ograms with no distortion or degi’adation.” More than 27,000 servicemen have attended the first 35 of its color clinics, reports RCA Service Co. Sessions are being conducted in 65 major cities. Company has distributed more than 80,000 copies of textbook Practical Color TV for the Service Industry. Test of 3 color film processes is being conducted by Screen Gems, which is shooting Pall Mall commercials in Eastman, Technicolor and Kodachrome to determine which is best for color TV. It’s one of most elaborate tests to date; end product will be tested on closed circuit by NBC.