Technical News - New & Timely
January 1969 Radio-Electronics

January 1969 Radio-Electronics [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

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Technical News

New & Timely

Color TV Patents

A federal court has finally granted a patent to RCA for its photographic method of depositing phosphor dots on CRT faces - 17 years after filing application. Philco lost a long legal dual. The patent, one of more than 1000 in the color TV field, is considered fundamental for competitive production of color CRT's. RCA may now seek royalties from tube manufacturers using the process.

Under a 1958 agreement, RCA made 100 of its early color patents available to the color TV industry, but claims royalty on post 1958 patents.

Rare-earth red phosphors used in combination with sulphide blue and green phosphors is another color patent in the courts. GT&E's Sylvania lays claim to the rare-earth discovery, now used in most color tubes.

Looking Ahead

Warranties and service

With "consumer protection" an increasing concern of the government, there will be much pressure to make warranties more understandable and meaningful. There will be an increasing trend to include labor in warranties - particularly on TV sets - and, quite possibly, toward longer in-warranty periods.

In an attempt to ease servicing headaches in the future, several manufacturers may adopt the modular-construction approach, permitting entire circuits to be replaced in the customer's home and repaired later in the shop or factory.

Television by cable

"CATV," which used to stand for "Community Antenna Television," will complete its metamorphosis in 1969 into "CAble TV," meaning complete acceptance of the inevitability of television as a closed-circuit as well as broadcast medium. The FCC, which currently seems to lean away from the idea of program originations or commercials via cable to the home (although it has no rules against these practices), will take a comprehensive new look at the future of the concept of TV-by-wire. Technology will now permit at least 20 or 25 simultaneous channels on a single CATV cable, and before the year is over some local systems could be offering that many programs.

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