FILM RESEARCH

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 288, 1 September 1931, Page 7

FILM RESEARCH

Success of Experiments PROGRESS OF TELEVISION Laboratories for scientific rusearch are working at top speed in the United States investigating improved methods of sound film recording, according to Mr. J. H. Barker, of Sydney, managing director of the New Zealand and Australian branches of the Western Electric Company, who has just arrived in Wellington from Sydney. Research is being conducted in the Western Electric laboratory to the perfection of television, which enables pictures of distant events transmitted by wireless to be seen by people simultaneously with their happening. “We are only at the beginning of this wonderful new development,” said Air. Barker. “but already we have produced very satisfactory results on a small screen about 2ft. x 3ft. So small a screen is obviously unsuitable for the theatre, however, and it is not likely to develop commercially until we have enlarged the screen, improved the tone quality of the voice and the clarity of the image. Just as the talking picture was perfected long before it proved commercially practical, so television will be possible in the laboratory before it is given a wider application. , Even when perfected it is doubtful if it will be immediately introduced into theatres, as the expense ■ attached to its.installation is a serious problem.” Major attention in the laboratory was at present being concentrated on the improvement of the quality of the talking film.- Mr.. Barker said. The apparatus with which theatres were equipjK'd in Aew Zealand and Australia were capable of taking a greatly superior form of film and all the improvements recently made in tone quality wore the result' of research into the film basis rather than the reproducing machine. Good progress had boon made with the wide screen device, but the opinion among exhibitors was that the enlargement of the screen did not contain in itsolj' sufficient entertainment value to justify the expense of adapting theatres to its use. On the other hand, the use of colour was likely to be extended, and as a result of experiment recent colour films showed appreciable advance in quality.