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Nippon TV Network Initiates Eastern Hemisphere Swing to Tint Medium Featuring Live Colorcasts and Taped NBC Programs

The Japanese people have always taken a strong and lively interest in television as an educational and entertainment medium. There are more TV receivers in Japan than in any other overseas nation -except Britain - including the USSR. Moreover, the Japanese lead the world in color television ... with the exception of the United States.

The first color-tv equipment brought into Japan was an RCA 3-vidicon color-film camera chain, in 1957. The Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) initiated the movement to color TV and has continued to develop color broadcasting. Live-color cameras were added, then two color-tv tape recorders. Color receivers were subsequently installed at railway stations, public halls and parks to arouse consumer interest.

Other tv stations began experimental colorcasting during 1958. The Japanese Government, after three years' study, approved commercial color-casting in September, 1960. Licenses were issued to NTV, NHK, JOKR in Tokyo and to YTV and ABC in Osaka.

The Japanese people have shown great interest in color tv - particularly since NTV began its series of regularly-scheduled color programming. They devote several hours each evening to color programming in the Tokyo area.

NTV's color programming averages two to three hours daily; NHK and JOKR augment this schedule with one hour of color programming per station per day.

The programming includes dramatic, musical and variety shows as well as broad coverage of sporting events because the Japanese are avid sports fans. Baseball, ice-skating events, skiing and soccer - picked up with a battery of RCA Color Cameras - are the more-important sports colorcasts.
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As a public service (ein Staats-ender wie unsere ARD/ZDF-Anstalten), NTV has installed 50 color receivers at strategic points along Tokyo's "main street," the Ginza and in other places, including the Tokyo railroad station. During color telecasts, these receivers draw overflow crowds.

Although several hundred RCA Color-TV Sets have been imported by the stations for their promotional activities, the energetic Japanese TV industry now produces color sets, most of which use RCA picture tubes. Nine manufacturers now make color receivers in Japan. Sales are gradually gaining in volume.
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The Nippon TV Network installed Japan's first color-TV tape recorder during 1959. This equipment was one of RCA's earliest units. It was shipped via air so that it could immediately be placed in service to augment the network's experimental color-programming schedule. The results were so spectacular that NTV has installed a second RCA Color-TV Tape Recorder in its Tokyo station.

One of NTV's earliest color-programming efforts was to rebroadcast an NBC tape of the Perry Como Show. This was the result of an agreement between the two networks that ironed out the legal aspects of the rebroadcast. Now, NTV can offer a unique variety of colorful programming including an extraordinary amount of American as well as Japanese talent.
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NBC and NTV found that the RCA TV Tape Recorder offered an important program-exchange advantage in that its design does not require that the headwheel assembly used to record a program - say, in New York - be sent with the recorded tape to assure high-quality playback at the distant location.

The design and manufacturing precision in the RCA headwheel assemblies, combined with electronic quadrature-control, affords a playback-picture precision thought impossible only a short while ago.

Of course, the reverse is also true ....., tapes recorded in Japan may tie rebroadcast in the United States with great precision and high program quality. When this takes place, American TV viewers will have the pleasure of seeing the exquisite beauty in programming that only the aesthetic Japanese talent can create.
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FIGS. 1 - 3. Typical studio shots in Japanese color tv programming.

FIG. 4. Mr. Fukui, Managing Director NTV, Mr. Shoriki. Chairman, NTV, Mr. Shibata. Managing Director, NTV. (Above) Mr.. Shimizu, President,. NTV.

FIG. 5. Mr. Shirokura, Manager, Mr. Kazaml. Chief, Transmitting Department, NTV, at RCA 10 kw TV Transmitter.

FIG. 6. RCA color monitors and master monitor at NTV sub-control room.

FIG. 7. A bird's-eye view of Nippon Television Network Corp.

FIC 8. Mr. Twamoto. Mr. Nagata. Mr. Fukui< Mr. Nomura, Mr. Ikeda, Mr. Wada. Mr. Tanakc. Mr. Iso, Mr. Shirakura, Mr. Yoshikawa.

FIG. 9. RCA TV Tape Equipment at NTV. Mr. Harazaki. Engineer, Mr. Iso, Manager, Engineering Department at NTV.

FIG. 10. Mr. Yoshikawa, Manager, Engineering Division at NTV.

FIG. 11. Deep interest by the Japanese in color television is reflected by the size and attention of this throng viewing color programs of an outdoor demonstration.