Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

18 JANUARY 4, 1960 Stereo, Hi Fi, Phono: No magic formula here — confusion will be hard to erase — but public will buy about 10% more units than last year, bringing total phono sales well over 4-million mark. Because purchases of stereo will increase, average factory price per phono sold will jump to nearly $100 (from last year's $86), Two-channel vs. 3-channel vs, multi-channel claims will be soft-pedaled. By year's end, stereo hi fi will be on verge of tremendous boom to be keyed by introduction of stereo radio. Radio: Another really good year coming up — nearly 10 million domestic home & portable sets plus at least 6 million auto sets. Sales of both domestic & imported transistor sets will increase, while prices are held down close to no-profit level on competitive U.S. sets. Expect some rather startling styling & technical innovations in small radios by year's end. Imports: Japanese radio exports to U.S. will increase — but at lesser rate than in past few years. Best guess: from more than 5 million in 1959 to peak of 7.5 million this year, with FM sets flowing in bigger quantities. Japanese won't make any appreciable dent in U.S. market with phonos, tape recorders or hi-fi equipment — although flow of transistors from Japan will be at least triple the 1959 figure, and may be up as much as tenfold. Although there may be tentative Japanese excursions into the portable TV & color TV set market here, units brought in will be numbered only in the hundreds this year. No federal import restrictions are likely in 1960. FM Radio: Spurred by public's increasing awareness of good music & high-fidelity reproduction, FM could match its record year of 1948 — unless consumer confusion sets in. Manufacturers & dealers could kill FM's golden goose by regaling public with such technical gibberish as "ready for multiplex stereo" or "adaptable to multiplex." Best guess: FM sales of considerably more than 1.5 million units. Motorola & Granco will be followed by other manufacturers into FM auto-radio field. Stereo Radio: If broadcast standards are established in 1960, they will come near end of year — probably too late for mass production of sets this year. FM standards will probably be established first. 1961 seeing regular operation of both FM & AM stereo radio stations. Little progress will be made toward setting up TV stereo standards in 1960. New Products: The warhorses will continue to dominate consumer electronics — TV, phonos, radios, in order of dollar sales. Home electronic heating-cooling devices & air conditioners and home closedcircuit TV won't be mass-market items this year. Such items as garage-door openers and electronic cook stoves will continue to make progress on consumer market. • • • • Summing up: All branches of consumer electronics should have better business this year — phono category showing biggest percentage gain and increasing its dollar-volume lead over home radios. The year will be one of transition — from the "TV decade" of the 1950s, when 66 million TV sets were produced, to the "electronics decade" of the 1960s, promising radical new electronic devices for the home as well as for business, industry and defense. First of the electronics decade's consumer items probably will be available in 1901 most likely a combination food refrigerator-heater — further expanding the horizons of what once was called the "radio industry." TV-RADIO PRODUCTION: El A statistics for week ended Dec. 18 (50th week of 1959): Dec. 11-18 Preceding week 1958 week ’59 cumulative ’58 cumulative TV 142,056 147,985 110,021 6,166,782 4,754,486 Total radio auto radio 397,375 154,940 367,234 138,659 319,479 124,976 15,119,769 5,329,222 11,185,609 3.491,856 GE and Westinghouse have signed separate agreements with Japanese firms to provide technical assistance in the production of silicon semiconductors. GE’s agreements were with Hitachi and Tokyo Shibaura (Toshiba), Westinghouse’s with Mitsubishi. Bogen-Presto Co., hi fi & sound equipment div. of the Siegler Co., has named Jack Gilbert Associates, N.Y. as its ad agency. Cross-licensing agreement on semiconductors signed by Philco & CBS Electronics last week gives each a non-exclusive license to make, use and sell the transistors & diodes manufactured by the other under its inventions, patents and applications for patents. The agreement also provides reciprocal rights to technical & engineering data necessary for production. CSB Electronics has ordered automatic machinery to make Philco-type.transistore^