Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1946)

JA8TIH CflBEl’ AOTHOaiTATiVE NEWS OF THE VISUAl caOADCASriNS FRSpOENCy MODULATION ARfS AND INDUSTRY rmiSHEO WEEKLY BT iieparis i5!3 coiiii£creuiwirfl.,wAS!iii'srs)a5.D.c.iaE?a8SE EcsisA.'t aa^^^voTXiia.sg STATUS 0? TV TO DATE: Supplement No. 18A herewith should bring you up to date on the status of commercial TV grants and licenses. It is issued as an interim addenda to our TV Directory (Supplement No. 18) which will be reprinted in revised and complete form as soon as feasible. Those keeping careful records of facility grants should note that there have been a few minor changes (never previously made public by FCC) in power and antenna specifications from those announced by FCC at time of grants. Supplement No. 18A, listing the present licensees, the 31 CP holders, the 41 applications still pending, is as accurate as careful checks against FCC records can make it. 10,000 TV SETS CGMIHG: The barring of newsmen from RCA’s first dealer presentation of its new line of TV receivers last week (Vol. 2, No. 38) had exactly the effect you might expect — it whetted their curiosity. This is what New York reporters found out from “unofficial” sources: Some 10,000 table model sets, more than all pre-war production, will be_ channeled into the New York market before Jan. 1, a few being delivered to dealers within the next few weeks. Presumably, there will be some sets for the Philadelphia, Schenectady, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles markets, too, inasmuch as they also enjoy TV reception. These table models are for TV sight and sound only, do not include other bands. Lowest priced, with 7-inch tube, is $225; one with 10-inch tube will cost $350. New York dealers placed orders for all they could get, indicated they had a ready market. Dealers were also shown two console models, but were told these would not be ready for delivery until next year. Approximate retail prices are to be $750 for set with 10-inch tube plus AM-FMphonograph, $1,200 for projection type that frames an image about size of a full newspaper page. Dealers were briefed on proper ways to demonstrate and sell, will attend classes on tricks of new TV trade conducted by RCA distributor. September 28, 1948 CBS OFFEES UHF STAi^DARDS: CBS puts the issue of color TV smack up to the FCC, in filing its long-promised petition containing proposed standards for commercial operation on the ultra-high frequencies. Printed petition, 22 pages long, was filed Friday with letter by President Frank Stanton which says CBS tests indicate “that the basic technical stages of uhf color television have been completed, and that further significant advance in uhf color television can be made only under conditions of commercial broadcasting with regularly scheduled programs.” More than that, though the public hasn’t yet seen what CBS has demonstrated to some 2,700 deeply impressed officials, newsmen, broadcasters, etc. (Vol. 2, Nos. 5, 27), Stanton makes the flat statement: “Color television is now within reach of the public. We do not feel that Columbia can bring it substantially closer to the public without appropriate Commission action.” Asserting that CBS has “brought the art of color television to its present advanced state at major expense and almost single-handed,” Stanton in effect challenges the Commission to change its mind in favor of uhf color now or reaffirm its present policy approving and authorizing low-hand monochrome. Specifically, the petition asks for, commercialization of the 480-920 me band, and for 16 me band widths to carry 525-line images at 48 frames per second. It recommends, for the present at least, separate carrier and/or the diplex system of sound. New standards proposed are essentially modifications of Sections 1, 2 and 9 of existing standards (Supplement No. 23). Now the FCC must call new TV hearings, which it has said it would do, once specific standards are proposed. It must listen to exhaustive technical and economic arguments, and it will probably want to conduct its own tests to determine the validity of the CBS standards. All this will take many months, in the meantime beclouding the whole TV situation again just as the low-band monochrome enthusiasts are getting going or Copyright 1946 by Radio News Bureau