Special Pleas of Television Enthusiasts

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 39, 12 April 1929, Page 4

Special Pleas of Television Enthusiasts

B.B.C. Yields to Importunity and Grants Facilities for Experiment

AST week we published the information that the British Postmaster-General had agreed that the British Broadcasting Corporation’s experimental plant might be pw" 8) used, in hours outside those ordinarily occupied by broadcasting, for further experiment with the Baird television apparatus. It was stressed by the Minister that this coucession in regard to experiments did not imply any immediate revision of the British Broadcasting Company’s _ attitude following on the earlier experience with the Baird apparatus. From articles appearing in the maga: zine "Television," the official organ of the Television Society, it would seem that this decision on the part of the British Postmaster-General is the outcome of persistent propaganda on the part of the television enthusiasts for greater co-operation on the part of the British Broadcasting Corporation iu making available its technical resources and equipment for further experiment. The magazine "Television" has now been in existence for twelve months, and has attained a very creditable technical and editorial standard. Articles in the February issue now to hand strongly review the technical and practical attainments in_ television broadcasting, and make strong plea for "a more broadminded attitude" on the part of the British Broadcasting Company authorities. The claim is made that the measure of success so far attained by the Baird television system definitely warrants effective cooperation, and that by such co-opera-tion more rapid progress would be possible in bringing this new phase of public service into popular use. The paper editorially states :--

"\ large number of critics of television, many of them with distinguished names, have stated not once’ but many times, and at great length, that television could never be successfully accomplished by mechanical methods. When Baird proved that it could be successfully accomplished, and while he was publicly demonstrating _ television images the scope of which enabled the head and shoulders of a person to be reproduced, the critics, being forced to admit that mechanical methods were successful, minimised that success to the best of their ability and stated in unequivocal terms that it would be impossible to increase the field of vision by mechanical methods and televise anything but small objects such as a person’s head. "\*s Baird, retaining his faith in his u.echanical methods, continued his researches. The British inventor has so far perfected his system that it is now possible to televise whole scenes in which appear, full length, several people at a time. The received images as reproduced on the standard home televisor, though smaller, are nevertheless quite as completely recognisable. A further development relates to the projection of the received images on to a sereen some four feet in diameter. Such a size of screen makes it possible to demonstrate television to a number of 1 »ple at once. It could, in fact, be employed in a small hall. This marks the first step towards the ultimate development of th size of the image to kinema screen dimensions,, so that audiaaeennt wed

ences in picture theatres may witness a reproduction, not of something which happened some time previously, as is the case with a kinema film, but of something which is actually happening at the moment of presentation. "Surely these improvements constitute a vindication of mechanical methods of image scanning, and serve to discredit the theorists and armchair erities." : The Technical Aspect. A FURTHER article in the same number under the heading, "The Future of Television,’ by Dr. C. Tierney, D.Se., F.R.M.S., vice-president and chairman of the executive of the Television Society, enters into a more detailed review of the technical position, and pleads for B.B.C. co-operation-which plea would now seem to have been successful. Dr. Tierney says, inter alia :-"We have recently read in a leading London newspaper, the "Mornin, Post," report‘of an interview between its representative and an official of the B.B.C., which purports to challenge Mr. J. L. Baird to come forward with any new development which will enable them to reconsider the question of affording facilities for broadcasting television. Without entering into any dseussion as to the merits or demerits of this mode of negotiation, or whether the desired end is not more likely to be achieved by co-operation rather than by pseudo challenges, a few observations upon the results of some recent tests will be of interest. "While theorists are still debating whether the disc and spot-light method of exploring is capable of scanning anything more than a very small object, and whilst they are theorising on the speed of the disc in terms of millions of revolutions per second which make one giddy: to read, what are the facts? J. L. Baird has repeatedly demonstrated to scientific and other competent observers, as well as to the public, the adequacy of his well method for the transmission and reception of televised images. "The image of the head and shoulders of the subject is received with complete satisfaction to all, and more recently he has transmitted a whole stage scene showing two athletes giving an exhibition boxing-bout to demonstrate the practical application of his system to larger scenes. ‘The latter demonstration, which the writer, amongst others, was privileged to witness, was carried out from a stage some 15 feet by 10 feet, temporarily constructed for the test. "The scene, received in another room of the same building, clearly depicted the small, but recognisable, images of the combatants and their every movement, which at times were particularly rapid, as blow upon blow was exchanged, and one or. other would speedily dodge or retreat in order to escape an impending disfigurement. The reception only needed the loud-speaker attachment to render audible the ex-

change of blows, and perhaps the remarks, to complete the realism. "A further difficult and. exacting test was carried out with equally satisfactory results. A cyclist, riding a bicycle round a ring, illuminated by the same method, was transmitted to the same receiver, which accurately showed every movement, both of the machine and the rider in motion, and without any question as to identity or direction of movement, which abundantly justified our expectation. "T have referred to these two expgzimental tests in order to show the pfactical application of the Baird gystem to extended scenes, and if further eVidence were necessary to emphasise the possible development and potentiality of this system I may perhaps be permitted to refer to the subject of projected television, i.e., the projection of the image on to a large screen. "In company with a number of dis{inguished visitors to Mr. Baird’s \aboratories; I subsequently witnessed the received image of a well-known person projected on to a screen some four feet in diameter, which could be seen and recognised by a large audiénce. The result, though as yet not fully developed, was astonishing. Not only was every movement of the head, the eyes, the lips, etc., reproduced with fidelity, but also those subtle expressions of pleasure or annoyance, or joy or grief, truthfully portrayed. Foreign Folk Interested. "These few facts alone are sufficient to show that there is in these developments a potentiality as yet unappreciated in this country. Foreign governments and powerful organisations from abroad are concerned to acquire rights. and privileges in these which our own authorities are.so refuctant to secure, and which, in the opinion of those experts most competent to judge, are more than sufficiently advanced to justify trial through any of the British broadcasting stations, all of which, for good or ill, the British Broadcasting Company is granted the monopoly. "Our present broadcast system was not perfected in its first year of s¢rvice, nor indeed, while fully appreé¥ating its excellence, is it perfect yet; but if, in the matter of television, she British public is expected to be satisfied with the transmission of still pictures when the living image is as readily available, then those respons ible for the delay are failing in their duty to their employers and to the public in whose hands the ultimate remedy lies. . "To challenge. Mr. Baird to produce anything new may appear very heroic, but it sounds rather like the smarting boy who whistles to keep his courage up. In any case it is not ‘challengers,’ but co-operution and a fair trial, that the public would welcome. "The present attitude of the British Broadcasting Company is by common: consent a fundamental mistake, and j is hoped that their mode. of remedying this is not so insiticere as.it af first appears, and that, the British public may yet have a British-system of television which, in spite of ill-formed opinions to the contrary, is more ad-

Y _ vanced and more promising than any other. "It is safe to say that television is many, many years ahead of where wireless was when that first started. We have no hestitation in stating that had this country turned down wireless in those early Gays because of the crudity and imperfections of the coherer an. decoherer, Britain would not hold the position it controls to-day in wireless telegraphy and telephony; and when a prominent member of the B.B.C. staff, wha wisely, or otherwise, posing as an unbiar-1 technician, states in reference to the Baird system of television that ‘quantities beat it,’ whatever that might mean, he is speaking with insufficient knowledge and withdut authority. ountry of the folly of waiting for per--fectidh befor we condescend to consider important inventions which have gone abroad for development, res 'ting in huge ‘ndustries, The kinematograph is a conspicuous evidence of this, and if through garrulous ineptitude television is similarly compelled to gu abroad for its development .d practical application, then the ‘loss will be to British workers and a scandal to British enterprise and British genius. A Further Plea. ME. SYD. EY A. MOSELEY, in what may be termed a pleading propagandist artic’ also drives home the point of attainment reached, and pleads for technical co-operation. He says :- "When the time for experimental } "We have instances enough in this _ broadcasting comes there should be ; mutual co-operation between Mr. Baird (whom I ] now-despite what has hap-pened-bears him no malice whatever), Captain Eckersley and the staffs of both the B.B.C. and the Baird Company. I have never posed as a technician, but (and this should interest the chief engineer) from information which I have taken cire tu obtain, I believe that thes. obstacles can be surmounted. "Comes the question whether television has recently advanced to a stage where it would be of general interest: Let us, for the moment, wash out the past, and come to the latest happenings. I will cffe: no views, but give the facts. "Within the past few weeks there have trooped up to the Baird Studios in Long Acre such eminent men and women as Sir Thomas Inskip, the At-torney-General, Sir Herbert Samuel "Awho came twice), Lady Waley Cohen, Field-Marshal Lord Allenby and Lady Allenby, several members of Parliament, and certain other people of public prestige whose names I am not permitted to mention. "These emissaries merely view television from the public standpoint. They came to see whether this thing was as interesting as we claimed it to be. They saw their own friends televised, they saw the pictures of magazine covers flashed instantaneously, and read the names on the outside cover of a music sheet.

"There can be no gainsaying they were ‘held.’ From their spoken and written observations they were almost unanimous in stating that the images were easily recognisable and were of astonishing interest. They were puzzled, as I have been all along, as to why we were not permitted to broadcast television to the multitude. "Apart from this, we have had the French and German experts over to judge what has been done. Let me quote the dispatch from a newspaper, the original of which I took the trouble to see: "‘T called to-day upon Dr. Bredow, who oecupies in Germany a position similar to that of Sir John Reith, the Director-General of the B.B.C., and who is also a member of the Government. "Dr, Bredow and his two chief engineers, Dr. Reisser and Dr. Baneth, have only recently returned from London, where they made a close examination of the Baird Television System in its present stage of development. "‘t found Dr. Bredow firmer than ever in his belief of the possibilities of this system. "He declared that he and his colleagues had been amazed (the German word he used was even more emphatic, but has no English equivalent) by what they had been allowed to see in the Baird laboratories.’ "From the progress which television has made, and which is beyond dispute, it is evident that with sympathy and help, particularly from such a powerful body as the B.B.C., this British invention will forge ahead even more rapidly. Isn’t it the very least one would expect from the B.B.C., which possesses the facilities to say to this inventor: ‘There may be technical difficulties, but we don’t wish to hinder you; on the contrary, we wish to help you. Let us come together, and see what we can do to help. We will, without any undue interference with our present work, grant you such facilities as will enable you to justify your claims. We will give you so fair a trial that not even our bitterest enemies will be able to point a finger at us and declare that we have not played the game. I will stake my reputation that if Captain Eckersley begins to help in the broadcasting of Mr. Baird’s television he will soon become immersed in this wonderful new branch of wireless, and will be lending his whole-hearted co-operation. He _ will say that the faith of those who believed in this thing had some foundation in fact, and beyond that he will have an opportunity of making up for the extreme caution he has adopted in the past." It now remains to see what the outcome will be of the experiments now to be undertaken in conjunction with the B.B.C.