Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1948)

dictions are impossible. One said money won't be poured into experimentation except under commercial aegis; he thought turndown of CBS color proposal last year unfortunate from that standpoint. Another asserted uhf may prove blessing in disguise when ills of low-band begin to mount as more stations begin operations; he predicted: "Look for damaging evidence at Sept. 20 hearing on seriousness of spo-radic E and F2 interference to low band. " NAB's new top-level All-Industry Engineering Planning Group met this week, leaned generally to we-need-more-inf ormation attitude. Data may not be as plentiful as hoped for ; many uhf experimenters have barely gotten under way. Even RCANBC 504-510 me program in Washington (Vol. 4, No. 22) looks now like it will be delayed 4-6 w'eeks, may not provide data by hearing time. As for inexpensive converters to make present receivers good on uhf (Vol. 4, No. 20, 31), views were mostly pessimistic. One engineer's wry comment; "History of converters — shortwave, EM or what have you — is lousy." 2. Abandon any of the low band? Typical reaction; "Good Lord, no! At least not until we know we have something better." There w'as agreement that it's about time tropospheric interference is recognized, but little on how to make provision for it. Some said: Write a factor into standards and give measure of safety by allocating stations farther apart. Others said: Recognize grim fact that station coverage must be constricted to give all sizeable cities local service. Several noted that situation is largely a struggle of old grantees to keep newcomers from paring their coverage down. How about sporadic E and F2? One answered: "Ground wave and tropospheric interference will be so great they'll obscure most E and F2." Yet another confessed worry: "V/henever I have a choice in applications, I avoid channels 2 to 4 — for protection against possible sporadic E and F2." Other angles ; Consensus is that Stratovision has little chance in low band, because it v/ould monopolize TV spectrum. Nevertheless, Westinghouse planned to ask FCC for rule-making to provide specifically for system, after getting pretty well stymied at allocation hearing (Vol. 4, No. 31). Meanwhile, oral argument on allocation hearing has been postponed from Aug. 16, date to be set, because time is needed for hearing on corrections to plan (Vol. 4, No. 27). SLIM PICKIKGS FOR PROGRAM FOLK: Flocking into seemingly lush TV pastures, proposed syndicators of live and film programs apparently are discounting fact that only 32 stations are now operating (TV Directory No. 4; Television Rates & Faetbook) ; that they're all operating "in the red" and therefore very tight-fisted; that even by end of 1949 there probably won't be more than 125 TV stations on the air, if that many. Yet scores of additional old and new companies, most of them obscure even in theatrical field are reporting program services to TV stations for inclusion in our next Directory of TV Program Sources (Supp. 60), for which we maintain a master file. As yet their pickings are thin, for TV advertisers reaching still-small audiences by comparison with radio, let alone deficit station operators, are prone to argue about prices, won't pay "show business" kind of money. Nevertheless, the big boys as well as little are eyeing field closely — 20th Century-Fox, for example, is already in with both feet (Vol. 4, No. 29). And it's bruited that RKO's new control, under Howard Hughes, has eyes on possible TV markets. Last week's "Variety" reported Paramount is casting about for ways and means of setting up "a video distributing company to parallel its film distribution activities." Paramount's main TV preoccupation heretofore, besides operating 2 stations and seeking others, has been its large-screen theater TV system. This was employed again this week in its big Times Square house to carry President Truman's address to Congress Tuesday in full. This kind of experimentation "Variety" sees as "a rehearsal for what the company feels is a logical place for it in the video picture of the future." Off-the-air, wired and delayed-film teleshows on theater screens have latent possibilities the movie moguls are seeking to plumb by studying technical methods, costs and audience reactions (thus far most favorable).