TELEVISION—WHAT IS IT?

Opotiki News, Volume X, Issue 1049, 25 November 1947, Page 3

TELEVISION—WHAT IS IT?

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES This article is an attempt to survey the possibilities of Television as a public service for entertainment and education. Although in discussing such a subject it is impossible to avoid technicalities, a detailed explanation of the underlying- scientific principles will not be undertaken; this will be attempted in a later article. , Here and now, technical matters will only be referred to in so far as they affect the broader aspects of the subject. Here in Britain we have enjoyed a regular daily' Television programme service since 1937, interrupted only during the war years. Before war broke but in 1939, the service had definitely established itself-, in the public esteem, and since the resumption of programmes the demand for receiving sets lias continued at- a-high level,., as yet considerably in excess of the rate of supply.

The number of viewers is variously estimated at between 13 and 25 thousand, the great majority of these being situated in the densely populated region surrounding the broadcasting station at Alexandra Palace.

, The officially recognised sendee area is 30 miles radius from the transmitter, although first-rate results are, with present-day receivers, obtainable up to 50 miles; and pictures varying in quality between poor and excellent according to atmospheric conditions have been, and are stid being received in such places as Torquay, Leicester,, Birmingham and Blankenbcrgs, Belgium.

In the • compass of these few lines it is not easy to launch out on a broad survey of the art; an art which is in its infancy and around which, at all levels "from the experienced engineer to the layman whose aunt saw a television programme last week controversy rages continually. About many aspects of the problem there are two or three schools of thought; but about many otlicre, expert opinion is in agreement, ami popular fallacies abound. To those who would care to study the more technical details, and examine the pros and eons of all possible facts of the art dearly act- out and agreed, wo would recommend “Television Standards and Practice ’ compiled by the N.T.S.C. (U.S.A-) and published by the McGraw-Hill Company, New York.

. Wc will now review some of the aspects of the subject which habitually promote discussion, and which arc primarily relevant to the installation of a new Television service.

•> Entertainment Value The most important thing to realise in evaluating the merits of television as. an entertainment medium is that it has nothing whatever in common, with the commercial film. We are not talking now of big-screen theatre television, which has made rapid technical strides recently and which may be found to have great commercial value in the promotion or-, distribution of films as they are. We refer to the do-

jnestie receiver in the family living- “ room. - If' it can be compared- at all to any existing thing, it would be to the “home movie” apparatus where family and friends enjoy informal f and unsophisticated entertainment of a type unknown in the large picture theatre. This comparison does not mean that television programmes are, or should be, amateurish or naive; it is simply important to realise that the audience is small, and their attitude intimate and informal, The most successful programmes are those which lay emphasis on friendliness and charm; the monumental and remote, sit uneasily on the television screen.

The Receiver The most frequent criticism of home television is that- “the screen is too small”. The commonest size in Britain just now gives a rectangular picture approximating to cinema proportions, 9 inches along the diagonal. While it is generally felt that a general increase would be desirable, it is nearly always found that this criticism originates from those who have only seen a. receiver in the shop window. Sitting a few feet from the 9 inch screen in a slightly (not totally) darkened room, gives an illusion of size not vastly different from the- view from the back row of a cinema; and very few serious complaints from actual viewers have been received; although it must be admitted that where an audience of more than five or six is involved, the twelve or even fifteen inch' screens are most advantageous. Domestic projection sets, giving pictures perhaps two feet across the diagonal, are the aim of the future, providing they can be produced at a cost which is within the reach of all.

It is in the last phrase of the previous sentence that the key, not only to the receiver, but to the whole matter, lies. It is an absolutely inescapable fundamental of any television service that the receiver must be saleable to a largo percentage of the population. The running and capital costs (the former more than the latter, (of a television transmitting station arc such that if the received is only a rich

man's toy tJie scheme is worthless. It must be the study not only of the broadcasting authority but of the receiver designers, firstly to lay down a system that, within the limits of the present, knowledge, is simple and workable, and secondly to produce receivers which arc simple, cheap, and capable of mass 'prodution. The snowball must be set rolling. We know in this country that viewers beget viewers; and in turn more viewers bring in the revenue to improve the entertainment service—which in turn begets more viewers. And so on.

That is why new systems—stereoscopic, coloured, super-high-defini-tion, etc. must be coldly and objectively examined. If an advance is made which improves picture quality without alteration to the receivers—such as for instance, an improved camera in the studio — well and good. If, however, it means that every receiver shall be fitted with three extra valves, or two spinning prisms, or six more control knobs requiring continual adjustment—then beware. Anyone who has seen how remarkably good a 405 line black and white picture on a 9 inch screen can be, realises that there is a very great deal to be done in the improvement of studio layout, cameras, and dramatic. production technique up to the point where the ideal 405 line picture is obtained all the time under all conditions. When that is done, results might surprise many people. And then—not before—is the time to discuss 1000 line, thercoscopic colour systems. ' The Transmitter

A high-power television transtmiter is a very expensive thing. The Alexandra Palace transmitter (in round figures, a million pound job) has a peak power of 15 kilowatts, and covers effectively a range of 30 miles. The service area increases only as the fourth.root of the power; thus, if one doubled the power of the transmitter (and, incidentally, increased the height of the aerial to give linc-of-sight transmission to the fringe of the service area) one would only increase the range to 30 x 4/2, or about 33 miles. At the same time, the cost would go up roughly as the power—that is, bo twice as much. In the case of a very densely populated country, this might be worth while. If only a few more villages were taken in, it would certainly not bo. While it is well not to be too dogmatic in these economic matters, it would seem' that for a sparsely-populated country, a number of small transmitting stations would present a workable solution to the problem. A 1 kilowatt transmitter, which would serve a 5 or fl mile radius fairly well in flat counrty, is not an expensive item; and those villages just out of its reach would be better served by the installation of another transmitter than by pushing up the power of the first transmitter at prohibitive' cost.

Number of Linas—Colour etc. The number of lines in all pres-ent-day working systems is in the region of 400-500. This'figure (which indicates the detail resolving power of the system.) represents a fineness of detail not far different from that of the average newspaper illustration. If intelligently used there is little doubt that a 405 line system is a satisfactory vchiclfc for almost every type of entertainment, if the screen size is not too greatly extended. In other words, it is considered by many to be completely adequate for home use. Systems with a greater number of lines, (i.e. 800-1000) have been demonstrated in the laboratory, but at present it is felt that the cost- and complexity of transmitter and receivers do not fall within the economic limits set out above. This will not always be so; but until technological advances are made in the cheap mass-production of certain components which are now handmade, and in the further cheapening of existing gear which the 1,000 line system requires in greater quantity; the super-definition system does not seem economic. The same is true of the 400 line colour systems. It can be safely said that the 400 line colour'and the 1000 line monochrome arc mutually exclusive alternatives. The choice must be made between them in the next step forward that television will take. That step will not be taken in Britain for some years.

The economic arguments set out above may seem to run counter to the present trend of opinion in the U.S.A., where it is confidently felt that colour television receivers can be produced and sold in vast numbers. This may be so; the industrial and economic conditions there are such that mass-produc-tion is cheaper and individual earnings are higher, thus tending to move upward the basic figure of merit for the quality of the television receiver that can be sold to the public at large. Thus it can be seem that the standard of television, in any country, all other things being equal, will ultimately depend upon that country general economic and industrial well-being. In Britain we have perhaps been forced to- a modest standard; but it is certainly one which has still unexplored possibilities and which gives fine entertainment to an ever-increasing public.'