Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

5 New Rochelle, N.Y. , who recently obtained FCC experimental grant. This week, he reported good results with preliminary tests (for details, see p. 11). After further tests at labs, he plans to move to point within Grade B contour of WICC-TV, Bridgeport, and experiment with actually filling "holes" in station's coverage. Explaining his purpose to FCC, Adler said: "Careful measurements have been made on [stations we have engineered] and it is our opinion that a booster system of this type is greatly needed by the industry to improve uhf as a TV broadcasting service to the public." Proposing to work with WJTV, Jackson, Miss. (Ch. 25), RCA this week filed application for FCC permission to test booster at Vicksburg, 37 mi. from Jackson. Town is behind bluff, gets little signal. RCA proposes to use transmitter up to 10 watts, radiating about 1-kw ERP from directional antenna. Location will be about 2Yz mi. north of Vicksburg. Plan is to start about May 1, run tests for 90 days. Project is under Dr. George Brown of Princeton Labs, pioneer uhf experimenter. GE says it is also planning booster tests in South, but it hasn't disclosed station with which experiments will be made. With more experience behind them, RETMA, NARTB and individual stations can come to FCC with firm recommendations. Manufacturers tend to favor satellites, considering them better from interference standpoint because they would use regularly allocated channels. Broadcasters like boosters because they use same channel as mother station, and viewers would have no confusion over identity of originating station. Satellites, using different channels, could produce confusion. PATTERN OF UHF RECEIVER CIRCULATION: Transcendental importance of top-notch network programs in influencing public to buy uhf receivers and converters is demonstrated more strikingly with each new batch of statistics. To build conversion rapidly, the uhf station must present good programming which does not duplicate that on any other channel available to local viewers. We drew that conclusion nearly a year ago when v;e analyzed the first survey of vhf-uhf metropolitan areas by American Research Bureau (Vol. 9:24). Subsequent quarterly ARB surveys have further strengthened this prime theorem of uhf. Using data from ARB's just-completed April survey of 56 vhf-uhf areas (we're not permitted to reveal individual area percentages), and correlating it with our own study of today's 126 commercial uhf stations in regard to proximity of vhf competition, the pattern is clear: Uhf stations 60 miles or more from nearest vhf — there are 29 in 24 cities. ARB has measured 14 of these areas (which have 19 uhf stations) in recent surveys. Disregarding length of time the stations have been on air, ARB survey shows in these markets an average of 90% of receivers are equipped for uhf. Area with lowest conversion has 71%, highest 100%. Uhf stations with only one vhf within 60 mi. — there are 57 in 47 cities. April ARB survey covered 32 of these stations in 24 market areas, showing an average conversion of 61.4% — ranging from 16.8% for the lowest to 99% for the high^iT. Fourteen cities on this list were also measured 3 months ago, and since then their conversion increased an average of 7.4 percentage points, ranging from zero to 11.8. TV saturation as a whole increased at the same time, making the gain for uhf more significant than it may appear at first glance. Uhf stations with 2 or more vhf within 60 mi. — there are 40 in 35 cities. The 26 stations (22 cities) in this category included in survey showed an average conversion of 32.7%, and ranged from 3% to 75%. Comparison sample of 16 of these areas showed average increase of 4.7 percentage points in 3 months — individual areas ranging from loss of .2 to gain of 14.2 points. Note : Foregoing figures illustrate more than geography. The availability of unduplicated network programs to uhf stations nearly always depends on the number of vhf competitors. A uhf with 2 vhf competitors has virtually no chance of getting the best shows from the biggest networks. Bear in mind, too, that conversion is not a synonym for success — it's mere