Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-09-23

to explain color television to his
four children.
Since he is no ivory tower
scientist, DR.. Lawrence did not
leave mis- new tube in his home
workshop when his hobby-time
tinkerlng indicated that he had
something here. He went to Para
mount, where the executives also
decided he had something. Chro-
matte Television Laboratories, Inc,
was set up to handle the develop
Iment of the Lawrence tube.
This wasn't serious risk on
iParamount's part, since a simple
viewing tube which would work
with any color system or in black
and white is about as sure a
thing as you could get aboard
these days. And DR.. Lawrence
certainly seemed a man who could
be trusted to appraise the merit
of his idea accurately. The Nobel
prize winner in physics has been
working with electrons for more
than 20 years and an electron
inside kinescope tube is still an
electron.
New Tube in Crude Stote
Still Was Impressive
The tube demonstrated in New
York was in its crude state, since
Chromatic obviously doesn't have
the money or the technical. labor
atory and manufacturing re-
sources that RCA, for instance,
can throw into such an enter
prise. 1t was handmade by DR..
Lawrence and it was demonstrated
under laboratory rather than
broadcast conditions.
Still, the demonstration was an
impressive one. The colors ap-
peared weak at times, according
to Wayne Oliver of the Associated
Press, and a tinge Of the wrong
color occasionally appeared, but
lit apparently was proved that the
principle is sound.
Other observers noted "lifelike
fidelity in the colors produced by
1.-THE tube. which, incidentally, is
the third model made by DR..
Lawrence.
More and more-refined models
of the tube should be in existence
in the near future. Chromatic,
according to Richard Hodgson,
president of the Paramount sub
sidiary,' will Immediately COM
mence commercial production of
Lawrence-Paramount tubes in it's
newly acquired Connecticut plant.
The tubes simplicity and similar
ity to black and white tubes makes
this possible. Lawrence-Para-
mount tubes will be available in
sufficient quantity for public DEM
onstratlons in matter of weeks"
| The new tube allows more lati-
tude in precision of manufacture
and operation, according to Paul
Raibourn, Paramount vice presi-
dent, and requires less critical toll
erances than other tri-color tubes.
No One Knows What
Effects of Tube Will Be
No one knows yet, of course
what the effect of the new color
tube will be on the entire situa-
Ition.
| 1t could, if it is as much simpler
than the RCA tri-co1or tube as
1t seems to be, reinforce the RCA
position rather than damage it,
A simpler tube might simplify
the Consequential color TV sys-
tenn to such degree that COM
patability would swing the balance
in that direction.
The only selling points all along
of the CHS field sequential svs-
tenn have been two: It's simple
and it works now. So the new
tube, on the other hand, might
make conversion to CHS color
simple enough and cheap enough
that compatibility wouldn't mat
ter much. With the new tube. Won
could switch from color to black
and-white and back again with
no trouble. OF course that still
would leave more than 10 million
sets now in use in the cold as far
as CHS color was concerned
This particular conversion IN
get CHS color with the Lawrence
tube. requires only an adapter to
change the scanning speed from
90 to IA pictures per second and
addltlon OF three electronic tubes
which doesn't seem to be an ex-
.tenslve or an expensive operation.
!, AS Tor new color sets, Mr.. Raj
oourn estimates. without specifv-
ing any color system, that sets tn
receive either black-and-white or
color pictures on the new tube
could De produced at around $40
more than present sets.
There undoubtedly are those in
television who would just as soon
nave been sent an atom bomb
from DR.. Lawrence's laboratory
out you can be sure that every
one viii be watching closely the
developments at Chromatic,s new