Evening star., 1950-10-12
Color TVRuIing MoyNot Affect
Set Owners for Some Time

CO4Ol 61O10SQoV Ot11CouAC W1A4
reach the rate of 20 hours weekly.
Spokesman for television re-
tailers here put it this way:
The manufacturers are not able
to meet the demand for black and
white television sets now. It may
take as long as two years before
color television sets are offered
for sale to the general public. 1t
is not considered likely that any
manufacturer will be able to put
color sets in the hands of dealers
any time soon.
There are no converters on the
market now. Retailers say they
have had nothing offered to them
that would adapt an existing re-
ceiver to color.
Due to shortages today in COM
ponent parts and tubes, the man.
ufacturers are having trouble in
making black and white sets.
Dealers here interviewed said
they do not think the makers are
going to bother with color at this
time.
"Why come out with something
new when we cannot meet the de-
mand for the present merchan-
dise?", one asked.
The FEC ruling leaves us
where we were before-on the
fence and not knowing what to
do"
Manufacturers Viewpoint.
The manufacturers viewpoint
is thus set forth:
Most manufacturers have con-
tended, particularly of late with
increasing national defense pro-
duction. that it would be prac-
tically impossible to change over
their lines. This would mean new
circuits. new component parts, a
delay of three to as much as nine
months to make complete
changeover, due to the shortage
of parts and stiff requirements
OF Cne IIllllIdly.
The radio and television indus
trv is next to aircraft on the list
of high priority for the national
defense program.
With an adapter, one can get
color broadcast in black and white.
To receive it in color, it is neces-
sary to have a converter.
The trend is toward the larger
viewing tubes. The public now
prefers sets with 16, II and 19
inch tubes, for these are the large
sellers. With CHS, a 12E2-inch
tube is the largest color picture
they can produce in direct view.
1t is not practical to have a
larger size because of the filter
wheel in front of the tube which
produces the color-red, green and
blue-and this must be synchron-
lied with the operation of the tele-
vision station. A large wheel would
require a considerable amount OF
power to revolve and a large
cabinet.
The feeling of men in close
touch with scientific television de-
velopments is thus represented:
CHS is the only color method
that is ready now. But the others
should get better. The CHS sys-
tenn was thrown overheard by RCA
and other workers in this field
about 10 years ago. The other sys-
TENS have improved immensely in
the last year or two. CHS has
hung on to it, while the others
threw it out.
Other forms of color television
are not ready to come out OF the
laboratory for public use.
Engineers say the CHS system
degradess the present black and
white by about 80 per cent, be-
cause the clearness Of the picture
is reduced that much. RCA and
other experimenters will improve
over the black and white recep-
ton, provided they can get the
bugs" out of it.
IT believe there was a lot OF
politics mixed up in the FEC de-
cision, with a lot of pressure,
one engineer declared. "Of
course, CHS was gambling with
millions of dollars on the out
! come. There are no color sets
now except those that are ex-
perimental.