Television History - The First 75 Years
 
 

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Radio World

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June 4th, 1932

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"Television Schedule of W2XBS Announced"  -  This was the mechanical spinning-wheel system, 60 lines, 20 frames per second.  Broadcast was in the New York-New Jersey area, at two different 3-hour time periods, 6 hours per day, weekdays and Saturday, at 5,000 watts.

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"Fascination of Television Put at 15 Minutes" --  States that the maximum time a viewer would gaze in fascination at television would be 10 to 15 minutes!  They were speaking about the neon orange-colored spinning wheel system being watched by a layman.  Scientists and TV enthusiasts would watch longer, of course.

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"RCA Television Demonstrated To Licensees"  -- Perhaps one of the first unbiased reports of the results of the private 1932 showing of the RCA electronic CRT television to set licensees.  This was RCA's 1932 field test set, of which only a handful were built, and one known example remains today.  It says that "uncanny contrasts were present in the images, and what might pass for a beard and a moustache seemed momentarily to disfigure the originally attractive face of the [female] soprano [singer]." 

Television clearly was not ready for public introduction.  The years 1932-1933 were the low-point of the American depression.  Giving Mr. Sarnoff (RCA president) credit, in spite of the bleak financial times, he continued to pour large sums of money into the television project.  It would be seven long years before electronic television would be launched in America.

Click here to see one of the 1932 RCA field test sets, on the ETF website. 

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