Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1956)

THE AUTHORITATIVE NEWS SERVICE FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE VISUAL BROADCASTING AND' ELECTRONICS ARTS AND INDUSTRIES MARTIN CODEl, Editor and Publisher ALBERT WARREN, Senior Editor ROBERT CADEl, Business Manager DAVID lACHENBRUCH, A.sioctafe Editor GERSHON FISHBEIN, Trade Keports Editor Editorial Associates: Paul Stone, William J. McMahon, Jr. with Electronics ^ Reports PnilSHED WEEKLY BY RADIO NEWS BUREAU • WYATT BLDG. • WASHINGTON 5, D.C. • TELEPHONE STERLING 3-1755 •VOL.12:No.16 SUMMARYINDEX OF THE WEEK'S NEWS — April 21, 1956 ( VIDEO TAPE ERA arrives— Ampex demonstrates TV recorder, touching off excitement at NARTB convention, taking orders for 80 at total of $4,000,000 (p. 1). POWERFUL ANSWERS to critics of TV-radio enunciated at NARTB convention. Affiliates jump to testify before Senate Committee in support of networks (p. 2). ALLOCATIONS SPECULATION at highest pitch, with deintermixture rumored near and McConnaughey proposing "crash research" on uhf technicalities (p. 4). INCREASED COLOR INTEREST evident at NARTB convention, with steady increase in equipment sales reported. NBC's ambitious fall schedule (p. 5). FCC PANEL SESSION at convention brings commissioners' answers on community antennas, economic factors, codes, antenna heights, editorializing, etc. (p. 6). RICHMOND AREA'S THIRD station, WRVA-TV, begins test patterns; to start programming April 29 as CBS basic. News of station equipment shipments (p. 6). 20th CENTURY-FOX to release pre-1948 backlog of 500 feature films in 10 groups of 50 films each; Warner films being sold in 58-film packages (p. 7). RCA CUTS COLOR TUBE price to $85, offers to share knowhow in move to stimulate color activity by competitors. Portable activity speeds up (p. 13). NATIONAL RADIO WEEK May 13-18 shapes up as one of industry's biggest promotions, built around "Give a Radio" theme that should hypo sales (p. 15). AT&T ANTI-TRUST settlement denounced on House floor as "worthless" without freeing of RCA patents; Chairman Celler plans Judiciary Committee probe (p. 10). "ECONOMY" STATION EQUIPMENT, TV automation and color gear attract telecasters at NARTB equipment show; more "firm orders" than last year (p. 9). NEW "EQUAL TIME" BILL introduced by Rep. Priest. White House's Hagerty, WSB-TV's Reinsch agree on need for Section 315 amendment (p. 10). TV CODE DEFENDED by chairman Shafto, who warns that public relations program is needed to combat "deliberate distortions" (p. 11). WIRELESS PAGING SYSTEM, operated by audio induction and requiring no FCC approval, introduced by Philco as low-cost communication device (p. 16). BIRTH OF A NEW ERA IN TV TECHNOLOGY: Exciting the telecasters more than any single piece of equipment in the history of TV, production-ready Ampex video tape recorder unquestionably eclipsed everything else at this week's NARTB convention in Chicago. With $4,000,000 in orders in their pockets — mostly from station owners who just one week before didn't even know a TV tape recorder was commercially ready — Ampex' S crew of executives and engineers returned April 19 to their Redwood City, Cal. headquarters to plan a 20-a-month production schedule beginning next February. Developing to near-stampede proportions, by time convention was over orders had been signed for 80 Ampex recorders — the 8 pre-production prototypes at $75,000 each and 72 production models at guaranteed price of $45-50,000, enough to keep the Ampex plant busy through next May if it can stick to its announced production sched ules. Company says price could eventually drop as low as $25,000 — but this not for many years, and unless military & lab orders swell production runs to over 1000. Of the 8 prototypes scheduled for delivery this summer. CBS will get 3, NBC 3 — the other 2 presumably going to laboratories for non-TV wideband data-recording use. The 72 production models were ordered by more than 40 TV stations, and more I orders are certain to pile up as soon as TV station managers can get the okay from their bosses. Among the multiple purchasers, Storer bought 12 for March delivery. General Teleradio 8 for April. Purchasers ar.e listed in priority order on p. 7. CBS's endorsement of the Ampex recorder, and its special demonstration last j week end for affiliates (Vol. 12:15) — together with what they saw with their own eyes — were enough to convince many telecasters to sign up on the spot and reserve an early delivery date. Enthusiasm was unconcealed, and old-time telecasters exi pressed themselves with such encomiums as "terrific" (Harold See, KRON-TV, San Fran, cisco) and "astonishing" (Lawrence H. Rogers II, WSAZ-TV, Huntington, W.Va.). COPYRIGHT lose BY RADIO NEWS BUREAU