Abstract
THE practical application of television moved a step forward on February 23, when a view of the whole progress of the British light-weight boxing championship was transmitted from the Harringay arena. On this occasion, for the first time, the television programme was relayed to three cinema theatres in the West End of London, where the public had paid for admission. A report in The Times states that two of these theatres used Baird apparatus, while the third used the Scophony system. These cinemas became in effect overflow meeting places, where those unable to watch the fight in the arena could still follow its progress in black and white pictures; and the view so provided on a fifteen foot screen was the equivalent of a ring-side seat. At the transmitting end, two cameras were used, one giving a general view of the ring with the spectators scarcely visible in the surrounding darkness, while the other gave a close-up view of the two boxers. The latter was used most of the time and enabled viewers to watch the detailed progress of the contest. With the exception of one or two occasions, when there appeared to be a loss of synchronism in the transmitted pictures, the apparatus worked quite satisfactorily, and the accompanying running commentary was up to the usual high standard for sound broadcasting. The successful transmission of this fight demonstrated that such an event is very suited to television, and that the inevitable technical difficulties of relaying the programme to cinemas have been largely overcome. As a result, according to a further announcement in The Times, Baird television apparatus is to be installed in some 350 cinemas controlled by the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation.
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Television in Cinemas. Nature 143, 370 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143370b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143370b0