Variety radio directory (1939)

FEDERAL RADIO REGULATION— Continued experimental transmission, more, however, from the point of view of determining public reaction than to carry on purely technical experiments. In the meantime, the public was not permitted to become over-optimistic on the early advent of television on a regular basis. The principal obstacles, repeatedly emphasized in public pronouncements by the representatives of reputable concerns, are economic and, among other things, have to do with the expense of program production and with network distribution of programs. The initial outlay for a television transmitter need not in itself be prohibitive. It has been estimated that the cost of a 1 kw. unit, accompanied by certain necessary equipment, will run about $60,000,* although large additional sums would have to be expended for a complete studio outlay. For wire transmission of programs from one city to another, however, a very expensive type of cable, known as a coaxial cable, is necessary, and the only such cable now existing links New York and Philadelphia. It is believed, however, that this obstacle will be overcome by automatic booster stations on ultra-high frequencies placed at frequent intervals between cities, involving a cost of only about $500 each, and not requiring the attendance of operators. Recent experiments have also indicated reasonable success in transmitting television pictures over an ordinary telephone line especially adapted for the purpose by appropriate accessories. Program production is another matter. It has been said that motion pictures range in cost from about $3,000 to $25,000 a minute, and that television must find some way of cutting this cost to about $50 a minute before it can safely consider commercial operation. In February, the president of NBC conjectured that it would be five years before television could ask for advertising support, and that to maintain a program of five hours a week would require an expenditure of approximately $1,000,000 annually. The progress in technical development, combined with realization of economic obstacles, has brought the Commission face to face with serious problems. One problem is whether (and to what extent) standards should be adopted so as to facilitate the public use and acceptance of television. It would obviously be unfortunate if television transmitters and receivers should be developed on different systems so that a particular type of receiver would not be able to reproduce the programs of some of the stations. On the other hand, it would be unfortunate if by specifying standards the Commission should hamper or discourage technical improvements. The equipment used and sold by RCA and by some of the others is based on the cathode ray and is constructed for 441 lines, framed at the rate of 30 per second, interlaced to provide 60 exposures per second. The demonstrations at Washington in January were on receivers giving images 9 inches by 7^ inches. The RCA announcement started a movement for standardized equipment. On October 20, 1938, the Radio Manufacturers' Association released a statement recognizing that experimental television service to the public was at hand and submitted to the Commission proposed standards for television transmission and reception. At the same time, other manufacturers and experimenters expressed opposition to promulgation of such standards. *Editor's Note: A booklet issued by RCA ('"Television," p. 12) states: "At the present time, the minimum cost of a 1 kw. RCA Television Transmitter is approximately $100,000, including studio equipment, but not including installation." 958