Radio: Canning the Rainbow

Television, which everybody talks about but seldom sees, is still largely in the talking stage—but the talk is getting bigger. Arguing television’s case before the FCC, CBS Executive Vice President, tele-conscious Paul W. Kesten, said that he had just seen a “miracle.” The miracle: the first transmission of full color by television.

CBS had sent out from the tower of Manhattan’s Chrysler Building a picture of a tanned beauty on a sailboat against an azure water background. It had crossed over a half dozen Manhattan spires, arrived with “beautifully detailed color” and “superb clarity” at CBS’ midtown head quarters, a half-mile away.

Added CBS: the first full-color television receivers, made by General Electric, will be ready by the end of January—but they will just be samples.