405 Or 625?-Line Problem In British TV

Press, Volume C, Issue 29634, 3 October 1961, Page 9

405 Or 625?-Line Problem In British TV

JL . ' i —j. ' . .. .—.. _ _

J- —A- ’to' ' ent of 'tiae^Sisete'-ttw' rains a new tey arteing fiaga countries. '■'sl-'i'.’J. Il The marine ft* teievWn i seta has been getting tiug- i Kish and major Makers *n i now producing receiwn 1 which they Bay are conven- I tibie; that is. if and when < the Government derides Bri- < tisto television. shall have the < better-definition (125-line i screen these sets will ba i easily converted to receive 1 the different signala. i Manufacturers say that the ' insertion of the new parte will cost between £lO and ’ £2O--not far short'of the pro- i duction cost of a great part ' of a set, not including cab- i inet and the cathode ray tube. ‘ One firm even guarantees I free conversion of all its sets bought in the next 12 months, < if the 625 system .is intro- < duced before the end of next year. This is a possibility that no other manufacturer 1 has foreseen; reasonably so, since the Pilkington Commit- <

Iw' '<® BraMlMrtlnff to giMMwiag tbt ftMrt fIE MIUDa* now IM wttW* Mb will, not e v«n mftder ito *‘WIOIV ,W WMTIMtfBCfW .BSSU] th* mid ■■ o£" next' ymuf. I &tt« Claim thst tbe&r ted SSSyTKai televMim emunel being addetito th* cumnttwe an 3 mem m «B to* a* *** WMiw Dcpaacwna warn miMtatt, the convertibility Um can hardly be rated u more than a sale* gimmick at thia stage. But deaim are satisfied that it is a worth-while gianmiicfc. They are convinced that many potential set buyers are put off by the prospect at their Seta becoming obsolete. Manufacturers are all demonstrating for the first time the superior quality of the 82S-line picture, enough to whet the public’s appetite for a better defined picture. M thia they are discounting the postponement it

may cause in some sales. When the chan*e comes, however, the makers say that the addition of part* to convertible sets will be relatively easy.