Phonevision
Encyclopedia
Phonevision was a project by Zenith Radio Company
to create the world's first pay television system. It was developed and first launched in Chicago
, followed by further trials in New York City
and Hartford, Connecticut
.
television station and, until October 1940, the only television station in Chicago. Zenith's allocation was later moved to channel 2. In 1947, Zenith announced a perfected pay television system and selected the name "Phonevision" as the trademark for the concept. In 1950, in preparation for the public pay television test, the experimental station moved from the Zenith factory to the Field Building and became KS2XBS.
In July 1953, Zenith was forced to shut down KS2XBS when WBBM-TV
was moved from channel 4 to channel 2 by the Federal Communications Commission
as a side effect of channel shuffling in Michigan. The KS2XBS station's transmitter was later donated to Chicago's first educational station, PBS
member station WTTW
(Channel 11).
In 1954, Zenith resumed testing in the eastern United States (on WOR-TV of New York City, now WWOR-TV
of Secaucus, New Jersey
) and later negotiated foreign contracts in Australia
and New Zealand
. It also broadcast for a short time in Connecticut
. In spite of its failure to gain national success, a significant amount of publicity and advertising for Phonevision was created for a short time.
The Phonevision system was operational on station WHCT
in Hartford, Connecticut
for at least two years, ending in 1969. The station would run conventional (non-subscription) programming during the day as an "independent," and then switch to Phonevision encoded programming in the evening.
The Theatre Owners of America called the service a monumental flop. However, according to then Zenith president Eugene F. McDonald
, the service was a roaring success. Even though the three films initially available to the first 300 test households were more than two years old, only about 18 percent of Phonevision viewers had seen them at the movies, and 92 percent of Phonevision households reported that they would prefer to see films at home.
. This produced audio that sounded much like single sideband radio except that only high frequencies were present. Decoding of the audio was done by a dual-conversion processor. The audio was first shifted up 31.5 kHz, and then shifted down 34.125 kHz, producing a net "downshift" of 2.625 kHz. 31.5 was double the horizontal sweep frequency of 15.750 kHz, and 34.125 kHz was 13/6 ths of 15.750, giving a convenient frequency reference. The frequency tolerance was so tight that if encoded audio were recorded during a Phonevision broadcast, and then played back later into a homemade processor running on normal network programming, a slight frequency error could be detected in the restored audio. Also, when the station switched to local sync to run a local commercial
, the frequency change could be heard.
One of the major limitations of the Phonevision system was that due to the delay line being switched in and out, color could not be broadcast, as the 3.58 MHz phase lock necessary for NTSC color broadcasting could not be held. This limitation contributed to the demise of the system, along with the FCC authorization of subscription programming in 1969.
Zenith Electronics
Zenith Electronics Corporation is a brand of the South Korean company LG Electronics. The company was previously an American manufacturer of televisions and other consumer electronics, and was headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois. LG Electronics acquired a controlling share of Zenith in 1995...
to create the world's first pay television system. It was developed and first launched in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, followed by further trials in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
.
History
Zenith had experimented with pay television as early as 1931, believing that advertising alone could not support television broadcasting as a viable enterprise in the long term. Zenith had originally occupied television channel 1 in Chicago starting on February 2, 1939, when W9XZV went on the air. W9XZV was America's first non-mechanicalMechanical television
Mechanical television was a broadcast television system that used mechanical or electromechanical devices to capture and display video images. However, the images themselves were usually transmitted electronically and via radio waves...
television station and, until October 1940, the only television station in Chicago. Zenith's allocation was later moved to channel 2. In 1947, Zenith announced a perfected pay television system and selected the name "Phonevision" as the trademark for the concept. In 1950, in preparation for the public pay television test, the experimental station moved from the Zenith factory to the Field Building and became KS2XBS.
In July 1953, Zenith was forced to shut down KS2XBS when WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...
was moved from channel 4 to channel 2 by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
as a side effect of channel shuffling in Michigan. The KS2XBS station's transmitter was later donated to Chicago's first educational station, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station WTTW
WTTW
WTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
(Channel 11).
In 1954, Zenith resumed testing in the eastern United States (on WOR-TV of New York City, now WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
of Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 16,264. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and...
) and later negotiated foreign contracts in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It also broadcast for a short time in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. In spite of its failure to gain national success, a significant amount of publicity and advertising for Phonevision was created for a short time.
The Phonevision system was operational on station WHCT
WUVN
WUVN is the Connecticut affiliate for the Spanish language Univision television network. It is licensed to Hartford. Owned by Entravision, the station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 46...
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
for at least two years, ending in 1969. The station would run conventional (non-subscription) programming during the day as an "independent," and then switch to Phonevision encoded programming in the evening.
Phonevision concept
The concept behind Phonevision involved making Hollywood films available to home viewers at $1 per movie (equivalent to $/movie after inflation). Viewers were required to purchase a descrambler unit that sat on top of the TV, plugged into the TVs antenna leads and also into the telephone line. Someone wishing to view a movie would call the Phonevision operator, who would add them to the viewer queue. A signal sent via phone lines would allow the box to descramble the signal and at the end of the month, viewers would be billed for the movie on their regular telephone bill. Some of Zenith's 1951 model TV sets were equipped with a special connector for Phonevision, and included a section in the owner's manual explaining the Phonevision concept, providing instructions on how to order, and a schedule for film broadcasts.The Theatre Owners of America called the service a monumental flop. However, according to then Zenith president Eugene F. McDonald
Eugene F. McDonald
Eugene F. McDonald founded Zenith Radio in 1921, a major American radio and electronics concern.He was born in 1886 in Syracuse, New York. His father was variously remembered as a storekeeper and insurance salesman. McDonald dropped out of high school at age 14 to help support the family.In 1904,...
, the service was a roaring success. Even though the three films initially available to the first 300 test households were more than two years old, only about 18 percent of Phonevision viewers had seen them at the movies, and 92 percent of Phonevision households reported that they would prefer to see films at home.
Technical information
The system operated by switching a delay line in and out of the video, which chopped the picture into slats (like looking through an open venetian blind). Half of the slats would be shifted to the right by a significant amount. Decoding reversed the process and slid the other slats over the same amount, realigning the picture. The video information was also reversed in phase, exchanging black and white. The audio was processed by "frequency inversion scrambling," shifting the audio spectrum up 2.625 kHz in frequencyFrequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
. This produced audio that sounded much like single sideband radio except that only high frequencies were present. Decoding of the audio was done by a dual-conversion processor. The audio was first shifted up 31.5 kHz, and then shifted down 34.125 kHz, producing a net "downshift" of 2.625 kHz. 31.5 was double the horizontal sweep frequency of 15.750 kHz, and 34.125 kHz was 13/6 ths of 15.750, giving a convenient frequency reference. The frequency tolerance was so tight that if encoded audio were recorded during a Phonevision broadcast, and then played back later into a homemade processor running on normal network programming, a slight frequency error could be detected in the restored audio. Also, when the station switched to local sync to run a local commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
, the frequency change could be heard.
One of the major limitations of the Phonevision system was that due to the delay line being switched in and out, color could not be broadcast, as the 3.58 MHz phase lock necessary for NTSC color broadcasting could not be held. This limitation contributed to the demise of the system, along with the FCC authorization of subscription programming in 1969.