Television

Abstract

Television on a commercial basis similar to that of present-day radiobroadcasting has been predicted for some years, but experimental work has been costly and the technical problems involved in developing a satisfactory system have been extremely difficult. More recently, the problem of standardizing on a generally acceptable system has become an obstacle. The result has been that commercial television as commonly envisioned has been somewhat delayed. However, television broadcasts on a regularly scheduled basis began April 30, 1939, in connection with the opening ceremonies of the New York World's Fair, and now regular television programs are broadcast from 3 stations in the United States. Furthermore, 19 additional stations in 12 cities have been licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, and applications are pending for some 25 other transmitters in 18 cities. This activity, together with the increasing public interest in television, would seem to indicate that commercial television, at least in the urban centers, is not far off. The history of this new means of communication, its principles of operation, and its present status are reviewed briefly in this article.