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New "Pay-As-You-Watch" System
August 1953 Radio & Television News Article
August 1953 Radio & Television News
August 1953 Radio & Television News Cover - RF Cafe[Table of Contents]

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

On-demand television is a concept that has existed about since the time commercial broadcast TV first came on the scene. Known as "Boxoffice Television," it used a "Picture-caster" to scramble the picture so that a subscriber needed a rented descrambler in order to view the program. A rented key (physical, not digital) was used to turn the box on and off. The signal went out over a standard local broadcast tower or even over coaxial line. Channels 2 through 13 were it for the day. Also, "Will You Pay for TV?," in a 1957 Radio & Popular Electronics and "Stop Pay TV!," in a 1958 Radio-Electronics.

Thanks to Terry W. for providing this article.

New "Pay-As-You-Watch" System

Max Genodman, president of United Elco - RF Cafe
Max Genodman, president of United Elco (a contracting firm specializing in hotel master antenna system installation), inserts the decoding key in the rear of a television set equipped to receive Boxoffice Television's enclosed-circuit TV.

Lee Bunting, treasurer of Bell Television, Inc. - RF Cafe
Lee Bunting, treasurer of Bell Television, Inc. (a master antenna TV system operating firm), is shown with a demonstration set-up incorporating the new "Picturecaster" and the TV set with which it is employed.

Boxoffice Television's new closed-circuit transmitter for TV makes possible retransmissions on Channels 2 through 13.

The ever-mounting cost of television program sponsorship is causing more and more companies to cast a tentative eye at the various "TV-for-pay" systems which have been developed in the past few years.

Although not as yet sanctioned by the FCC, several companies are proceeding with the development of equipment to handle this type of transmission.

Among the new items on the market is Boxoffice Television's "Picture-caster", a unique closed-circuit transmitter for television pictures and sound.

The unit accepts video and audio from any source - a receiver, camera chain, coaxial line, generator, etc. and transmits them into any type of transmission line on any v.h.f. channel, 2 through 13. The transmitter frequency is crystal-controlled, with the sound and video carriers automatically maintained 4.5 mc. apart for best results with inter carrier receivers. AM pictures and FM sound are receivable on all standard TV sets.

The system as it operates now, in conjunction with master antenna systems, is inexpensive and easily installed and operated.

The audio and video are piped by a common carrier (such as telephone company lines) to each master antenna system which is part of the network. These normal signals are then fed into the "Picture caster" which scrambles the picture so that while it can be tuned in in the normal way it cannot be viewed.

The special decoder with which the receiving set is equipped consists of an inexpensive tube circuit, which is installed in one of the receiver's existing tube sockets, and a box with a keyhole.

To view an unscrambled picture, the user inserts the key in the key-hole and the picture comes in clear. Keys can be rented for various periods of time, the rental depending on the program material to be received. The key rental is the fee for watching the program. Removing the key scrambles the picture again so that a single key cannot be used to operate several receivers.

The equipment is undergoing extensive testing at the present time in anticipation of an FCC OK on "Pay-As-You-Watch" programming.

Posted  5/27/2013

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