Session: 1234567891011121314151617         Page 140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179 of 755

track for two things: color and a wider spectrum that will allow more stations in many communities.”

For a good part of the early days of black and white television, we were really a two to two- and-a-half network country because there were many communities where you couldn't put more than two VHF stations. In order to get in there with black and white even, you had to go up into UHF. And UHF receivers weren't very dependable and very few entrepreneurs wanted to invest in UHF transmitters because there weren't any receivers. People didn't buy receivers because there weren't any programs. It was a chicken and the egg situation.

It was Kesten and Goldmark, in coming up with the system who said, “Color is going to be the ultimate, and we need more elbow room, so let's take the whole thing up into the UHF.”

And they made that decision shortly after the war?

No.

Before the war?

No, no, it was made in the late forties. And by that time, there were so many black and white receivers that it would have been a very difficult thing to superimpose a new system, although I was perfectly willing to try it. I had so much confidence in the superiority of our pictures and the need for a system that was located at one place in the spectrum. Because even today, the system we have is part in VHF and part in the UHF and UHF is only surviving today because of cable. Because as a cable customer, you don't care whether it