TELEVISION AND EDUCATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20786, 3 August 1929, Page 5

TELEVISION AND EDUCATION.

SOME FUTURE POSSIBILITIES. ' The romantic possibilities of television have been its worst enemy, and that it is now in some disrepute is die to the propagation of sensational storie; when the art was in the tightest of swaddling bands. Within a comparatively short time the , public is likely to have an opportunity of judging how far it has now advanced from the purely , experimental stage, for it is understood that .the 8.8. C. is to give television a chance of proving itself. , -■ One of the greatest difficulties that television has had to overcome is the intensity of illumination that was required on the “ subject.’,’ Within* the last few months that difficulty has, been considerably reduced, so that something more than a single head can be projected. Another difficulty, peculiar to the wireless transmission of living, pictures, has been that the necessary modulation of the carrier wave-was very considerably more than that required for music transmission, and would greatly interfere with the working of stations on , adjacent channels. This has also overcome, we are given to understand. That it should be overcome was of the utmost importance to the art, since it is only through the medium of wireless that the public can enjoy television in the home.

Whilst Mr Baird and others have been concentrating on these , and correlated problems, Dr Mihaly, a Hungarian scientist, has devised and developed a method of transmitting kinematograph films to any distance by wire or wireless. The kincma film stands still for a fraction of a second before»the projector, and Dr Mihaly has taken advantage of this. He has speeded up "still” picture transmis-, sion. Though this is not true television, since the scene cannot be transmitted whilst it is actually happening, there is' only a small step to be bridged between the possibility of transmitting a film and the possibility of transmitting a,scene as gathered in by the lens of the tinematograph camera. In, the-meantime an American " talking film” director, gifted with rare imagination, has. made a large number of records of eminent , scientists ; lecturing and demonstrating by : means of experiment. Lodge, Bragg, Ernest Wilson, amongst Britons and many others, have been so filmed. The films are of the type in which the sound record is made t the edge of the picture image. This means that, with the aid of Dr .Mihaly’s projector and suitable receiving apparatus for both pictures and sound—fairly easy to adapt from existing apparatus—these lectures could be made available at educational institutions all over the country. The cost of this method would be less than that of a kinematograph installation, with its necessary protection of the audience from the dangers of fire; hut it can be still more lessened by the aid of direct television, and there would seem to be ho reason why television should not give a tentative service of this kind within the next 12 or 18 months. ..University authorities, particularly those of the, richer foundations, are very interested in the talking film as a means of .recording ; lectures > and experiments by leaders of thought in all branches of science and art'where demonstration is a necessary part of a lecture. Schools and technical institutes, • naturally enough, are anxious for the full develop j ment of television lectures, or an adaptation of Dr Mihaly’s method to their needs. Progressive schoolmasters and night school, lecturers' are enthusiastic as to the benefits that will come when television can aid the spoken word. The popularity of the wireless lectures of Sir Walford Davies is not solely due to the fact that his personality ‘’’gets across”; a considerable part, of their interest follows from his constant and vivid demonstrations. Similarly many subjects now’ " dry ” without the aid of manipulative demonstration could be made a living force in both juvenile’ and adult education. Unfortunately the taking of talking films is a highly complicated matter, and it is doubtful if a really comprehensive series of lectures can be made without endowment. On the other hand, the 8.8. C. already engages lecturers of the highest attainments in then* own department as a part of a definite educational scheme. When, television bas proved itself by means of the experimental transmissions soon to he undertaken it will not be a difficult thing to associate it with such lectures as lend themselves to demonstration and so give to education a new and potent weapon. It is good to know that in this country the new srienee is to be controlled by a responsible authority which is favourable to its development along lines in which it will be valuable to the mental growth of the nation as well as to its amusement..