Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

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9 Topics & Trends oi TV Trade: Top executives of 17 Canadian TV-radio manufacturei’s, asked at their recent convention to “guestimate” TV set sales for all of 1952, canxe up with an average of 85,000 units, lowest being 65.000 and highest 110,000. So it looks like we were way out of line when we reported (Vol. 8:26) that the Dominion’s manufacturers anticipate sale of as many as 200.000 TVs between now and Christmas, thanks to scheduled opening Sept. 1 of country’s first stations in Toronto (Channel 9) and Montreal (Channel 2). Actual total Canadian TV receiver sales for first 5 months of year was 25,016 units, says S. D. Brownlee, executive secy., RTMA of Canada — so that total now in use in the Dominion, mainly in border ax-eas, is just over 100,000. While opening of govt.-owned CBC’s stations in Toronto & Montreal are hailed by receiver manufacturers, distributors and dealers— as is the $800,000 budgeted for another outlet in Ottawa by early 1953 — there’s lot of resentment against CBC for x-efusing to allow private enterprises to build stations also, thus hastening wider service and markets. It’s clear now that CBC intends to build its own before letting any private operators into the field, regardless of nice income to be expected from 25% sales & excise taxes. CBC plans outlets of own also in Winnipeg & Vancouver, and is talking about 3 others, so that every Province will have at least one govt.-owned station. Emerson adopts inboard pricing on all sets with introduction of new additions to line to distributors July 10 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Models introduced include 17-in. table at $179.95, combinations featuring built-in clock, and 17-in. table on which all controls are at side of cabinet, allowing face of picture tube to cover almost whole front of set. The new sets (prices rounded) : Tables — 17-in., $180; 17-in., side tuning, $250; same blonde, $260; 21-in., side tuning, unpriced. Consoles — 21-in., doors, $380; same, French Provincial, $380; 21-in., doors, AM-phono, $450; 17-in., clock-AM and clock-AM-phono, unpriced. New radio line includes “miniature” at $30, clock at $35, portable at $37. Brand preferences in TV, as i-oported in 56-p. “Detroit Means Business” issued by Detroit Ncivs on basis of more than 11,000 personal interviews: 15% said they preferred RCA, 14.7% Admiral, 11.3%. Motorola, 7.9% Philco, 7.6% GE. 3.8% Muntz. In radio field, 19.3% like Philco best, 10.5% RCA, 10.2% Zenith. 6.9% GE, 5.7% Admiral, 5%. Motorola, 5% Silvertone (Sears), 3.3% Emerson. Survey also showed: (1) 72% of radios purchased during first 4 months of 1951 went into homes that had TV. (2) Of TV sets in use, 57.9% are consoles, 34.7% table models, 7.4% combinations. (3) Most prevalent screen size is 16-in. (34.5% of all sets). Larger than 19-in. were 2.2% ; 19-in., 5% ; 17-in., 13.5%; 14-in., 4.6%; 12-in., 25.3%,; 10-in., 13.1% ; 6-9-in., 1.8%. TV-radio-phonograph sales decline of 20% in 1951 is shown in survey of nation’s dept, stores by Controllers’ Congress of National Retail Dry Goods Assn., which reveals TV sets had 19% gross profit margin — smallest of any merchandise category. Canvass also disclosed 15% drop in number of TV-radio-phono transactions, which accounted for 1.9% of total store volume last year. Philco has stopped producing TV sets at its Sandusky (O.) plant, converting it to home and auto ladios; payroll will be increased by 500 next month to handle Signal Corps contract, reports div. mgr. Lionel Searle. UHF, color, quality control & electronic devices will be discussed at 3 technical TV sessions of joint RTMA1RE annual fall meeting at Syracuse (N. Y.) Hotel, Oct. 20-22. “Rooms are getting smaller as building costs go up — meanwhile TV screens are getting lai'ger, making it more and more difficult for the home viewer to back off to a comfortable viewing distance,” observes July Tele-Tech. “Current TV models are invariably designed to be set against a wall. But since any room’s diagonal is 30 % to 40 % longer than chat room’s width or length, why not design a line of TV sets to fit into the corner between two sidewalls. The shape of the CR tube, with its big face and long ‘nec-k’ is well adapted for this arrangement, and the cabinet could easily be modified into a truncated triangular form. For a ‘second set’ in kitchen, dining room or bedroom, such a triangular TV set would occupy unused space, be out of the way, and afford better viewing from a larger part of the room area.” Merchandising Notes: DuMont & RCA increase warranty period on replacement CR tubes from 6 months to 12, dated fi'om installation in consumer’s home . . . New RCA line (Vol. 8:25) being introduced in N. Y. area with 16-p. special section of July 13 New York Times, plus heavy use of TV-radio and newspaper pages . . . Philco to sponsor Edwin C. Hill, commentator, on ABC (AM) starting Sept. 1, Mon.-thru-Fri., 10:30-10:45 p.m. EDT . . . Arvin’s new TV-radio lines will be first unveiled to some distributors July 21-23 in Murat Temple, Indianapolis, followed by further 3-day regional sessions in Indianapolis stai'ting July 28 & Aug. 4 . . . Conrac Inc., Los Angeles, out with new line of 21 & 24-in. sets listing at $350 to $565 . . . RCA’s 20-min. film, Success Hill, describing development of uhf, in great demand. Distributor Notes: Capehart-Farnsworth plans factory branch distributing house in New York area under regional mgr. James Walker; Nash-Kelvinator is ex-distributor . . . Southeast Audio Co., Jacksonville, named TVradio distributor for Capehai’t-Farnsworth in northeim Florida . . . Graybar Electric Co., Boston, appointed Raytheon TV-i-adio distributor for Mass., N. H., Vt. . . . The 555 Inc., 711 W. Eighth St., Little Rock, Ark. (Roy E. Steuber, president), appointed Zenith distributor . . . E. A. Patterson new Los Angeles disti'ibutor for Packard-Bell at 1425 S. Flower St. Search for new techniques to boost lagging TV sales will be keynote of July 17 meeting of 1000 key eastern wholesalers & retailers in Washington’s U. S. Chamber of Commerce Bldg. Speakers include Sylvania mai’ket research director Frank W. Mansfield, on potentialities of TV in industry; NEDA v.p. L. B. Calamaras, on licensing of servicemen; electronics publisher John F. Rider, on “Making Money Ethically.” Parley was called by group of Washington wholesalers headed by Leslie Rucker, parts distributor, 1312 14th St. NW. “Reducing TV Receiver Oscillator Radiation,” by E. W. Chapin and Willmar K. Robei’ts, respectively chief and asst, chief of FCC’s Laboratory Div., is featured in July Electronics Magazine. Describing methods used to reduce radiation, to as little as 9 uv/nx at 100 ft. for worst cases, authors say “only a small additional cost is requix-ed for a considerable degree of suppression.” May excise tax collections on TVs, x-adios, phonos were $10,704,725, virtually unchanged from April's $10,896,867, but considerably below May 1951’s $17,327,085. On refrigerators, air conditioncx-s, etc., Govt, collected $5,820,645 in May, compared with $3,546,217 in April and $13,159,773 in May 1951. Little things like broken arm and shoulder aren’t stopping Leroy Kilpatrick, chief engineer of WSAZ-TV, Huntington, from directing preparations for installation of 25-kw amplifier — the first shipped by RCA (Vol. 8:27). He suffered injuries in Philadelphia taxi accident.