TELEVISION IN ENGLAND

Evening Star, Issue 22442, 12 September 1936, Page 4

TELEVISION IN ENGLAND

PUBLIC UTILITY IH OCTOBER Television will become a normal public utility in England in October, according to Mr Stuart F. Doyle, chairman of the. Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation, now in London. Sir John Reith, director-general of the 8.8. C., threw the whole organisation open to Mr Doyle, and detailed his departmental heads each to explain to him the ramification ofOhis. particular department. " ’’ The rapid* strides being made for the practical transmission of television by the 8.8. C. claimed Mr Doyle’s most active interest, and his impressions are interesting (says 4 Wireless Weakly ’). - “ Television,” states Mr Doyle, “ is not as far off as many people think, and I am sure that tremendous developments will be made in the near future. A* America is usually the first to develop inventions to practical use, it is all the more gratifying that England is taking tho world leadership in popular television transmission for the general public. Huge sums of money are being spent by the _ 8.8. C. in erecting a practical transmission plant at the Alexandra Palace. “ Tremendous activity is apparent in television reception sets, and I believe tens of thousands will be sold in the near future. 44 The officials of the 8.8. C. explained to me the immediate limitations of television, and deplored much that was published in popular magazines that gave a false impression to the public -of what television really could do. At the start, only specially prepared studio transmissions will be possible, plus news retransmitted from specially taken talkie news reels, with short films retransmitted over the television wave. As the great difficulty’ of transmission from distant points is overcome, the public may expect to view current events while they are happening, but at the inception this will not be possible.^ 44 A cursory investigation of the intense activity going on in television technique has satisfied me that many of the initial difficulties will be overcome. Of these developments the most important is perhaps tho Scophony Process, which has developed an _ entirely new system of split focus light in. television to such an extent that not only is the ordinary domestic television picture 13 x 11 brilliant and clear, but by bringing optical principles to bear the clearest of pictures sft by 4ft were demonstrated in the Scophony laboratories. Applying these ideas to tho large screen, Scophony are now transmitting television on screens 13ft by 10ft, and will reach the fullsized screen for the largest buildings by the end of the year. 44 I consider we can accept television as an accomplished fact, and the immediate future will see extraordinary strides which Australia cannot ignore.”