Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1948)

MARTIN CODEL AUTHORITATIVE NEWS SERVICE OF THE VISUAL BROADCASTING AND FREQUENCY MODULATION ARTS AND INDUSTRY PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY KEWS BUREAU 15 3 RADIO CONNECTICUT AVE.N.W..WASKIH8T0N 6.D.C. TELEPHONE MICHIGAN 2020 • VOL 4, NO. 50 December 11, 1948 SCON, 16-in. SETS IN $500 RANGE: "Buick-Chrysler" class models, TV sets containing the 16-in. metal-coned picture tube (Vol. 4:4,45), look to us like the big upper middleincome group appeal of early 1949. Particularly if, as seems likely, prices hold around $500. Apparently, RCA will be first out with 16-in. in quantity. Its 8-T-270 is in production, will begin moving to distributors in January. Field salesmen are quoting list prices of $475 for mahogany table model, $500 in blonde, $525 for modern consolette with legs, $550 Queen Anne consolette. Set is TV-only with 27 tubes. Others besides RCA will have sets with same 16-in. , mostly buying their tubes from RCA, but few have indicated prices yet. DuMont recently announced limited production of 16-in. metal tubes, which it said will be used interchangeably with its 15-in. glass (Vol. 4:45), and a little company called Tel-O-Tube is turning out some used by Starrett (Vol. 4:36-37). None of RCA's tube customers, so far as we know, has as yet quoted prices on their proposed units with 16-in. But RCA range is bound to affect others' quotations. There's also question of impact of 16-in. on 10 and 12-in. lines. RCA looks on dominant 10-in. as "Ford" line that will always perform well, maintain strong price appeal. It has never gone in for 12-in., in which DiiMont and Philco dominate. Besides, its executives still pin lots of faith on projection models, with pictures up to newspaper-page size, as do a lot of other set makers. But fact is projections got off to bad start, generally don't show as bright pictures, usually are priced upwards of $700. They haven't sold in quantity thus far, RMA figures showing total 1948 production to Nov. 1 of only 13,967, or, unit-wise, a mere 2.4% of all TV set production (see also "Diminuendo for the Projections"; Vol. 4:28). COY THINKS ALOUD ABOUT FREEZE. UHF; Currently, TV freeze and allocations picture looks about like this — and these conclusions are bolstered by what FCC chairman Wayne Coy, departing from his prepared text, had to say at TBA's TV Clinic in New York Wednesday: (1) Growing sentiment for "uhf now" within FCC, as evidenced for first time publicly in recent speech of Comr. Jones (Vol. 4:48). (2) Increased likelihood of an allocation of vhf and uhf simultaneously. These add up to: (3) Longer freeze, confirming our oft-expressed belief that Coy's 6-month estimate, or solution by end of March, is too optimistic (Vol. 4:40) since it's unlikely uhf can be whipped into shape for allocations as fast as vhf can. Coy made it evident FCC finds it increasingly difficult to consider ending vhf freeze, begun Sept. 30, without reference to uhf possibilities. Certainly, a major problem is: Shall there be vhf-uhf cities, or vhf-only and uhf-only? Thinking beyond freeze's end. Coy called attention to fact that if vhf is again made available for assignment, without uhf, fierce competition would resume, with its attendant drawn-out hearing processes. In any event, even if it takes a little longer, majority of industry would like to see a permanent allocation — or at least one as permanent as any radio allocation can be. FCC is hoping for great things. Coy also said, out of ideas broached at troposphere conference (Vol. 4:49): synchronization, "polycasting," direct ionals , Cop7Tt«ht 1943 t>7 Radio N«wa Bureau