The History of Television, 1942 to 2000

Albert Abramson published (with McFarland) in 1987 a landmark volume titled The History of Television, 1880–1941 (“massive…research”—Library Journal; “voluminous documentation”—Choice; “many striking old photos”—The TV Collector). At last he has produced the follow-up volume; the reader may be assured there is no other book in any language that is remotely comparable to it. Together, these two volumes provide the definitive technical history of the medium. Upon the development in the mid–1940s of new cameras and picture tubes that made commercial television possible worldwide, the medium rose rapidly to prominence. Perhaps even more important was the invention of the video tape recorder in 1956, allowing editing, re-shooting and rebroadcasting.
This second volume, 1942 to 2000 covers these significant developments and much more. Chapters are devoted to television during World War II and the postwar era, the development of color television, Ampex Corporation’s contributions, television in Europe, the change from helical to high band technology, solid state cameras, the television coverage of Apollo II, the rise of electronic journalism, television entering the studios, the introduction of the camcorder, the demise of RCA at the hands of GE, the domination of Sony and Matsushita, and the future of television in e-cinema and the 1080 P24 format. The book is heavily illustrated (as is the first volume).

The late Albert Abramson worked at CBS for over 30 years as a cameraman, videotape editor, and sound technician, and was the author of several books and articles on the history of television aside from the two-volume set from McFarland. He lived in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Albert Abramson
Foreword by Christopher H. Sterling
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 319
Bibliographic Info: 364 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008 [2003]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3243-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0639-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments     vi

Foreword     ix

Introduction     1

1 Television and World War II (1942–1945)     3

2 The Postwar Era (1946–1949)     18

3 The Second NTSC and Color (1950–1953)     37

4 The Ampex Revolution (1954–1956)     60

5 Europe Turns Down NTSC (1957–1960)     77

6 From Helicals to High Band (1961–1964)     92

7 Solid-State Cameras (1965–1967)     105

8 Television’s Finest Hour: Apollo 11 (1968–1971)     122

9 The Rise of Electronic Journalism (1972–1976)     140

10 Television Enters the Studios (1977–1979)     173

11 Introduction of the Camcorder (1980–1984)     186

12 The Death of RCA, or the G.E. Massacre (1985–1989)     206

13 The Grand Alliance (1990–1994)     232

14 “E-Cinema” and the 1080p24 Format (1995–2000)     252

Notes     265

Selected Bibliography     301

Index     303

Choice Outstanding Academic Title. A Library Journal Starred Review. Finalist, Moving Image Book Award—Kraszna-Krausz Foundation
“the foremost reference work on the technical history of TV…no reference work available in print right now matches the attention to detail…significant…should stand as the authority for years to come…highly recommended”—Library Journal; “spellbinding…enlightening and eye-opening…should be required reading for all communication and television majors and for anyone developing new [media]…highly recommended”—Choice; “comprehensive, well-documented, highly-illustrated”—Chattanouga Airwaves; “it’s all covered…takes in the entire world scene and gives credit to the work done in other countries…mind-boggling”—Big Reel; “highly recommended”—E-Streams; “an important book”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly; “a major achievement and a fascinating read”—Kraszna-Krausz Foundation.