Abstract
ON Monday, November 2, the high definition television service of the British Broadcasting Corporation was officially inaugurated by Major the Right Hon. G. C. Tryon, H.M. Postmaster-General. This event marks the end of the first experimental period of the television service from the Alexandra Palace, which began during the radio exhibition at Olympia last August. During this experimental period considerable progress was made in the technique of transmitting both direct scenes and cinematograph films, using alternately the Baird and the Marconi-B.M.I. systems of transmission. During the opening: ceremony, the Postmaster-General and others had to address themselves not only to listeners but also to viewers within a radius of some 25 miles. As reported in The Times, Mr. R. C. Norman, chairman of the B.B.C., was the first to use the word ‘viewers' in its new meaning on this occasion. He recalled the fact that almost exactly fourteen years ago, the British Broadcasting Company, as it was then called, transmitted its first broadcasting programme from Marconi House. Following the formal speeches, Monday's programme included a variety item and an excerpt from British Movietone news. As Mr; Norman pointed out, this simple ceremony and programme may possibly seem rather primitive a few years hence to those who are able to recall it; at the present time, however, there is cause for satisfaction on the part of those responsible for the development of this new technique in radio broadcasting.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Opening of B.B.C. Television Service. Nature 138, 793 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138793a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138793a0