TELEVISION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 204, 29 August 1934, Page 5

TELEVISION.

OPERA BROADCAST.

"CARMEN" FROM THE 8.8.C.

STUDIO SCENE DESCRIBED

To-day's cables give the news that the German Post Office authorities are installing trial television sets in telephone boxes, while the British Post Office's television committee is completing a report that is likely to be momentous. Already the British Broadcasting Corporation lias'made much progress with experimental television broadcasts, such progress, indeed,' that recently an opera was "put over," and heard and seen in distant parts of England.

The story of the first television broadcast of opera from- the 8.8.C. is told by Dr. Keith Barry in the "Wireless Weekly."

"Carmen" was the opera-chosen and its exciting dance was televised so that those who were away in another building could see and hear to very good effect.

What is television like? Is it near perfection? These arc questions which one's correspondents have been asking for some time, Dr. Barry writes. The picture that I saw was a most distinct one, although it flickered a good deal, just as the early cinematograph films used to do. This flickering, however. I am assured is a matter of time and will soon disappear.

Studio in Darkness. After looking- at mid hcuriiig. , thq opera for some time,-we hurried tiloug to the studio where it was being broadcast. This is plunged in almost total darkness, except for the circle of light which conies out of the television machine and winch -passes in rapid flicker over the image which is to be photographed. The "camera, ,3 throwing « circle of light, is in the control-room and the man in charge stands at it as would a man in charge of a machine-gun, following the figures round as they move across the stage. The people themselves looked strange as they made their entry into the studio. Their' lips were blue and their faces

white. The reason of that is that pinks and reds do not eoine out well in television and other colours have to be sub l stituted. The orchestra, which consisted of a piano, violin and 'cello, sat behind a big black cloth. The "scenery" was the most comical tiling of the lot, being merely three or I four shoots, on which were pained crude i pictures of an almost Japanese design. I The figures represented were suggestions j rather than photographs. It is wonderful how it all seemed to turn out for the best when the television picture actually came on the screen. A few very cheap and common-looking stairs j seemed to turn themselves into a magnificent Spanish staircase, and so on. We moved on to the control room. There we saw the man working the camera, and the various assistants. Next to the television man stood the scriptgirl, who had a copy of the music in her hand and whose job it was to give warning ti second or two before the next singer was about to come into the line of fire. This enabled the camera man to switch his machine on to the proper singer at the right moment. Also inside the control-room were two television machines, whereby the operators could see that the picture was coming over satisfactorily in just the same way as the loudspeaker in the control-room tells the operators that ordinary broadcasting is coming over as required. I had a very interesting discussion with the man in charge of television at the 8.8.C. with regard to the possibilities of this marvellous invention. ■ Only Indoor Scenes. I '"Can you televise anywhere at the ■ present moment but in the studio?" ! ''No," wns the answer; "we cannot itelevise anything outdoors at present. !Biit that is only a matter of time. What jean be done at the present moment, however, is to take an ordinary cinematograph film of an outdoor event and subsequently to run the film through a television apparatus and hence broadcast it to listeners." "With regard to Tost matches," I said, "how far oil" is that day when people in Australia will be able not only to hear the ball hit the bat in England, but also to sre it?" He smiled and said, "I am afraid that day is a long way off as yet." "A'matter of half a dozen years?" I said. "A good deal longer."' he replied; '•there are fo many difficulties that have yet to be overcome."

s "How far can you send television pic- - j tures at the present moment?" I asked. 1 I "This opera you are seeing and hear- ■ I ing now," he said, "is being received 6 [quite well up at Newcastle, on the east 'coast, and during other broadcasts of I television we have had excellent reports r Jof reception from Continental cities as e i far away as Rome." i. J "It would be interesting to know just s I how many people are listening and see- - I ing this historic performance to-day," 1 r !said. e I "We would give a lot to know that. y too," lie replied, "because so far we have s j been quite unable to discover how many - J people we serve. We do know that there is now a magazine called 'Telo--1 vision,' which has, I believe, some 20,(100 e readers, and so we conclude that there t j are some thousands of peonle in this . country with television sets." ~ "I suppose the trouble is the expense ?" . j I asked. t I '"No," he said, "they are not very oxe ' pensive things, comparatively speaking. t and this excellent machine you have r been looking at to-day really costs about 2 £80. There are some which can be had j! for a very much smaller price." 1 "Opera in Our Homes." ' In due time the broadcast was over, ' the lights turned on and there standing next to me was a famous operatic star " I who had made "Carmen" her own parj ticular property for many years. 1 J "It is wonderful," she said with eiit, thusiasm, "just 'wonderful, but makes ' 'me very sad. It seems to me that work ! b'ecoines less and less available for I musicians and operatic stars. When television comes in its full force who ' will want to pay a lot of money to see a big opera? We will get it all in our own homos at a small cost." In conclusion, if anyone doubts that u television is a commercial proposition let ■ j him be reminded of the fact that the 'crystal set stage has already been ■ reached in London. Two companies a»e ■ j jiist about to produce low-priced sets for 'jail. One company is scheduled to do I r>oo sets a month to commence with. ,'Not only that, but there has been rlei signed and made a television gramophone • record. This record is played on an i ordinary gramophone connected to a television set. The price of the records are just the same as the price we pay for ordinary records in Australia, .'}/(} for a i 10in double side, and 5/ to i>/(i for a 112 in double side. The television sets I for the home are costing from ten j guineas to twenty-live guineas.