First day of BBC television
The world's first scheduled, high-definition (as then defined; meaning 240-line) television programmes were broadcast on 2 November 1936 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. They had been preceded by a number of low-definition BBC test broadcasts, as well as a 180-line Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk service, from Berlin, since March 1935.
Background
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The British Broadcasting Corporation, already an established radio broadcaster since the mid-1920s,[1][2] began making experimental television broadcasts in 1929.[3] Low definition (30-line) television transmissions under government license commenced in August 1936.[4]
The BBC Television Service officially launched on 2 November 1936.[5][6] This is often described as the world's first regular high definition television service.[7][8][9][10][nb 1] Programming included short ad-hoc performances by musicians, with the duration limited as "lookers in" (as viewers were called) were found to experience eye strain through looking at the small screens then in use.[11][12]
Line-up
[edit | edit source]The BBC's official publication, The Radio Times, listed the opening one-hour schedule – the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – starting at 3 pm, as:[5]
- 3:00 – Opening of the BBC Television Service
- 3:15 – Interval; time, weather
- 3:20 – British Movietone News
- 3:30 – Variety
- 4:00 – Close
From 9 pm to 10 pm, pre-recorded films and more news were screened.[5] The films included Television Comes to London, a pre-made fifteen-minute documentary about the launch, shot on 35mm film.[11] It was the BBC's first television documentary.[11]
Opening
[edit | edit source]The first person heard and seen was the announcer, Leslie Mitchell.[11]
According to advance publicity in The Radio Times, the opening was then to be:[13]
by Major the Right Hon. G.C. Tryon, M.P., H.M. Postmaster-General
Mr. R.C. Norman (Chairman of the BBC) and the Right Hon. the Lord Selsdon, K.B.E. (Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee) will also speak.
Variety
[edit | edit source]The Radio Times billed the Variety performers as:[5]
- Adele Dixon – Musical Comedy Star
- Buck and Bubbles – Comedians and Dancers
- The Lai Founs – Chinese Jugglers
however, in the event The Lai Founs did not appear.[11]
Dixon performed a specially commissioned song, "Television", written by James Dyrenforth and Kenneth Leslie-Smith.[11] The event made Buck and Bubbles (Buck Washington and John W. Bubbles) the first black people to appear on television.[11]
The musicians were billed as The BBC Television Orchestra, led by Boris Pecker and conducted by Hyam Greenbaum.[5] The producer was listed as Dallas Bower.[5]
Technology
[edit | edit source]The broadcast was made from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace ("Ally Pally") in London,[5] using the 240-line Baird intermediate film system,[11] on the VHF band.
BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the Baird system and the 405-line Marconi-EMI system. The decision to use the Baird system for the first week was made on a coin toss.[11] The use of the two formats made the BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00.[14]
Alexandra Palace housed two studios (one for each system), various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself.
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ The first regular electronic television service in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, as Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk. Broadcasting from the Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow, it used a 180-line system, and was on air for 90 minutes, three times a week.
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- First regular hi-definition television service – BBC page.
