TV Tests

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31000, 4 March 1966, Page 12

TV Tests

Sir,—Surely it is not impossible to transmit demonstrations on the use of test patterns, etc., at convenient times, such as during the interludes occurring often before the weather reports. These should include a brief station shut down to show the ordinary viewer, who seldom uses his set outside of programme hours, what to expect during a station breakdown. But is it profitable to try and communicate with the district manager of this medium of communication? He insists that the generator pattern transmitted by CHTV--3 is correct. I enclose a photograph of the received pattern taken on February 21, 1964. The black band, inconsistent with the rest of the pattern, and not seen on the Wellington or Auckland patterns, still occurs two years later. I say it is an irritating fault, and it should not be difficult to ascertain who is being untruthful in this matter.—Yours, etc. VARIAN J. WILSON. February 27, 1966. [The district manager of the N.Z.B.C. (Mr K. M. Hay) replies: “We have had no other requests to demonstrate test patterns in interludes during transmission, possibly because personal preference plays so large a part in tuning the set. However, we will be glad to consider the suggestion. The black band on the test pattern of which the correspondent complains is not a fault. This is the modification I recommended by the manufacturers of this particular test pattern to enable servicemen to decide at a glance whether the picture is correctly orientated and to distinguish between left and right. There are technical reasons why some other centres have not adopted this modification, although Auckland and Te Aroha have now done so. In each case the amount of black is varied so as to distinguish the respective channel. If the correspondent would care to visit CHTV-3 our engineers will be glad to explain the technicalities of the test pattern.”]