THE BUSINESS OF RESEARCHassets.cambridge.org/97805213/68216/index/... · Betamax (Sony), 22-3, 181,...

Index

Acoustical & Electromechanical Re-search Laboratory (A&ER), 68,87, 89, 90-2, 94

Adler, Robert, 170advanced materials control, 21advertising, 213Airco Technical Company (Canada),

163Alcoa, 227, 233Alexanderson Alternator, 35Alexanderson, Ernst, 35, 52Alic, James, 207Allied, 233AM signal format, 101, 135, 137,

153Ampex, 68, 91, 226antitrust litigation, 41, 81, 139-40Applied Research Group, 98Applied Technologies Division, 99Armstrong, Edwin, 54Arthur D. Little, 155AT&T, 8, 15-16, 31, 37, 43, 121, 218audio disc technology, 174, 203autocoater, 163, 185-6, 198, 201, 211Avco, 146, 150

Baker, Walter, 55, 64Ball, Henry, 125-6, 130-2, 138, 151,

160Banquet frozen foods, 12Barone, Stephen, 193basic materials research, 51basic science research, 69-75Bell & Howell, 132, 146, 149-50Bell Laboratories, 57Bendix, 233Betamax (Sony), 22-3, 181, 188-91,

194, 205-6, 208

Biewener, John, 171, 177, 179Bilby, Kenneth, 190, 205Bitting, Robert

assembles Video Playback SystemTeam, 124

background and experience, 118,228

conflict with RCA Laboratories,125, 178-9

heads new venture team, 118leaves RCA, 147relinquishes programming re-

sponsibilities, 140reports to Consumer Electronics

Division, 145succeeded by Bricker, 149warned of Japanese competition,

130Bradshaw, Thornton

analyzes VideoDisc failure, 217appointed chairman, 217focuses on core business, 217withdraws VideoDisc, 213

Brandinger, Jay, 207Bricker, Gordon, 149, 166, 171, 177Brown, George, 65, 86, 89, 92, 95,

106building-block research, 71-3, 7b,

78-80, 103, 224Burns, John, 11, 81-3, 84, 87, 171

cable television, 107-8, 151caddy, 16-17, 194, 200, 203California space program, 73Camden (N.J.) facilities, 44, 51-3,

56, 58, 60, 63, 70, 82, 91-2, 96,98-9, 117-18

245

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Index

capacitance systems, 5, 20, 22, 24,93, 97-8, 101-2, 135, 153, 156-7, 169, 175, 183, 208, 212; seealso Discpix, VideoDisc

Cartrivision (Avco), 22, 146, 150cathode ray camera, 53; tubes, 59CBS

building systems technology, 10color camera technology, 114color television systems, 61-2;

early sales, 65; kinescope op-posed, 66; withdrawn frommarket, 65

disc production capability, 208-9divisional structure, 61EVR videoplayer announced, 22,

100, 102; color version prom-ised, 109, 115; competitive RCAstance, 109, 111, 116-17, 168;press reaction, 120-1, 133; writ-ten off, 146; see also EVR

formed, 43Hytron acquired, 61McCoy joins, 208-9NBC rival, 43postwar systems RCA competitor,

61, 170, 226prewar RCA rivalry, 21, 61RCA disc agreement, 21, 208VHF TV spectrum requested, 61-

2; FCC grants, 62-3; decisionreversed, 64-5

CIT Financial Corporation, 26, 208,217-18

clean-room production, 21, 133,155, 163

Clemens, Jon, 97, 135, 137Close, Frederick, 227color encoding, 151Colortrak, 158-9, 207Columbia Pictures, 128compression molding, 203Conrad, Anthony, 13, 150, 156-7,

171, 179, 182, 184, 186-8, 190consumer electronics industry, 6,

24, 128, 183, 191, 194, 217Consumer Electronics Division (In-

dianapolis), 73, 96, 130-1, 133,136-7, 145-7, 207

Consumer Electronics Laboratory,90, 98-9

246

consumer safety issues, 17, 202Coronet Carpets, 12, 26cross-licensing agreements, 45, 68

Daniels, Josephus, 36David Sarnoff Research Center, 27,

29, 48, 61, 76, 78, 102, 104-5,225

see also RCA LaboratoriesDecca, 22, 134, 181decoding circuitry, 17deForest, Lee, 35Depression, 53, 56Discovision, 23Disco Vision Associates, 212Discpix, see also VideoDisc

capacitance technology, 96-7, 108feasibility goals, 112Morsey applies pressure on, 110PREVS decision against, 116project started, 96-8proprietary technology, 108Records Division dislikes, 117,

123renamed VideoDisc, 136Stanley-Tan report considers, 102,

107-8Teldec approach judged inferior,

135tentative introduction date, 116

discs, 15, 16, 17, 177coated, 15, 18, 92, 154-5, 162,

180, 185-6, 197-200, 202, 211conductive, 202-3, 226uncoated, 15, 92-3, 97-8, 199,

201-3Dynagroove, 87

electromechanical technologiesmastering, 15, 18, 112pickups, 15, 134recording, 101, 134, 154, 156, 201,

203electron beam equipment, 137, 163-

4electron beam technologies

mastering, 15, 17, 163-4, 180,186, 201

microscope, use in, 81, 101, 222recording, 92, 101-2, 153-5scanning, 151, 154






±ndex

Electronic Components Division, 80electronic retrieval devices, 15electronic systems, 217Electronic Videorecorder, see EVRelectronics industry, 218, 224electronics research, 68-9, 71-2, 90,

218Electronics Research Laboratory, 93,

98-9Emerson, 60Enders, William, 107-9, 112-13,

115, 130Engstrom, Elmer

backs long-range research, 83director of research and engineer-

ing, 69favors central funding, 56focuses on home information, 218head of RCA Laboratories, 80-1institutes research budget, 81notes Sarnoff's lack of formal

training, 229RCA president, 83replaced by Robert Sarnoff, 103research director, 51supports RCA Laboratories, 78supports Homefax, 89

European Common Market, 12Evanoff, George

appointed corporate staff mem-ber, 113

functions taken by Sonnenfeldt,171

marketing report videorecorder,1969, 116

marketing review prerecordedvideoplayers 1974, 165-6, 174

plan rendered obsolete by Phil-ips-MCA entry, 177

recommends Videodisc, 166EVR (CBS), 22, 100, 102, 108-9,

115-17, 119-21, 126, 129, 134-5, 146, 168, 226, 233

Ewing, Douglas, 70, 72, 82

Farnsworth, Philo, 53fast search capability, 20Federal Communications Commis-

sion (FCC), 52, 55, 61-3, 89,144

247

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)investigation, 41

film, see high-density informationstorage media

film companies, 142FM signal format, 54, 62, 101, 135,

137, 153follower strategies, 182-5Folsom, Frank, 60, 65, 81Ford, 12, 223Fotomat, 214"Four Star International," 140Fox, Len, 202, 226frame-by-frame information format,

92, 97, 117freeze-frame, 112, 161, 203-4Frey, Donald, 146, 149Frost & Sullivan videoplayer report,

195

General Electricannounces videodisc venture, 212divests RCA, 45electronics R&D, 69forms NBC with RCA, Westing-

house, 43Harrison (NJ) electric tube plant

transferred to RCA, 45, 51, 74nonmagnetic television recording,

92radio, little interest in, 50RCA, joint stake in, 31, 37-9rights to Alexanderson Alterna-

tor, 35standardization committees, ac-

tive in, 40, 55, 63-4supports JVC disc model, 212television research, 52, 60, 65views RCA disc demonstration,

198General Electric Laboratories, 44, 57Ginsberg, Charles, 68Goldmark, Peter, 61, 109, 170Goldsmith, Alfred N., 32, 49-50Goodman, Julian, 108government research contracts, 11,

58-9, 70, 75, 78, 82-5, 92Griffiths, Edgar H.

agrees to continue VideoDisc pro-gram, 190-5

appointed RCA CEO, 14, 188






Index

Griffiths, Edgar H. (cont.)chooses new VideoDisc leader-

ship, 206-7commits RCA to VideoDisc

launch, 21, 196-7, 205-6, 207-8follows traditional RCA policies,

205-6orders market report for Video-

Disc, 188prefers VideoDisc program can-

cellation, 184provides RCA Laboratories with

support base, 225questions importance of technol-

ogy leadership strategy, 182reviews VideoDisc program, 190-

5Sonnenfeldt link, 228

Gruber, Peter, 128

Halter, Jerry, 154, 156Hannon, William, 99, 118, 135Harbord, General James, 39, 58-9Harrison (NJ) facilities, 45, 51-2, 56,

58, 74Harvard Business School, speeches

at, 35, 42Hazeltine facilities, 63Hear-See player, 91, 94, 96Hertz, 12, 26Hewlett, Richard, 227high-density information storage

media, 15, 17, 218high-density recording, 90, 96, 134high-resolution recording, 222, 225Hillier, James

appointed head of RCA Laborato-ries, 82

attempts restructure of RCA Lab-oratories, 76, 78, 80, 84-5, 87-9, 224-5

attempts technology transfers,158-9, 174, 180

backs Videodisc program, 156,164, 171, 179

considers technology leadershipstrategy, 113-4, 230

corporate vice-president Research& Engineering, 89, 106, 108,164; replaced, 188

creates laboratory linkages withproduct divisions, 86-7

emphasizes home entertainment,85

investigates EVR, 100opposes Magtape, 150prefers Discpix, 115speech to IEEE, 76states RCA Laboratories planning

priorities, 84-5supports electron-beam technol-

ogy, 101-2technical background, 82vice-president RCA Laboratories,

76Hitachi, 209Hittinger, William, 148-50, 158,

188, 191holograms, 98-9, 132-3Holopix

becomes Holotape project, 104,107

description of technology, 98disc format dropped for tape,

107, 117hologram research, 98-9pricing goals, 100rival to Discpix project, 99, 102see also Holotape

Holotapebudget ended, 145candidate for home information

center, 121crash program at Laboratories,

115, 118-19, 223designed to rival CBS EVR, 120-

1, 134, 233gains corporate attention, 123-5,

230high component costs, 112loses corporate favor, 134, 136,

145, 156product divisions dislike, 153proprietary technology, 108, 115public demonstration, 104, 115,

117, 119, 120-1, 122, 128, 168relations with corporate staff

worsen, 119, 125research advances, 117, 118-19,

126, 132-3

248






Index

rivals Discpix and Phototape proj-ects, 107-9, 116, 117, 123, 127,130, 135

schedule adjustment, 130specifications reopened, 126, 132-

3target prices, 116, 129, 133, 178technologies involved, 111

Homefax, 89-90, 107, 121Honeywell, 13Husky Company (Canada), 163, 185Hytron, 61

IBM, 11, 12, 107, 111, 121, 212, 218,227

ICL, 13iconoscope, 52-3, 59Indianapolis facilities, 45, 60, 63, 73,

91, 94, 96, 132, 135, 145, 147,152-3, 157-9, 169, 179-80, 184,186-7, 196, 198, 200-2, 204,207, 211

information encoding, 131, 151, 204information storage formats, 15injection molding, 163, 203innovations, 1-7

incremental, 19, 35nonincremental, 35, 223

Institute of Electrical & ElectronicEngineers (IEEE), 76

Institute of Radio Engineers, 32Interim Research Planning Commit-

tee (IRPCO), 87-90Isom, Rex, 63, 117, 154, 158ITT, 12, 45

Japan Victor Corporation (JVC), 24,156, 199, 206, 212, 216

Japanese color television, 107Japanese competition, 23, 28, 111,

128-9, 131, 149, 155-6, 170,188, 191, 194-5, 216, 235

Japan, demonstrations in, 175-7,198-9

J. C. Penney, 209Johnson, James, 165Joliffe, Charles, 54, 61-2

Keizer, Eugene, 90-1, 96-8, 135,153

Kell, Ray, 100Korean War, 63, 70Kreuzer, Barton, 94, 96, 145-6, 149

Lancaster (PA) facilities, 60, 107,112, 136, 147

Land, Edwin, 227LaserDisc (Pioneer), 23lasers, 19, 96-9, 101, 124, 151, 169,

212see also optical mastering

Laservision (Philips-MCA), 23, 206,212

leadership strategy, 113-14, 182-4Lend-Lease Act, 57Lewis, Henry, 99Lockhart, Kenneth, 153long-playing (LP) records, 15-16,

140, 218

McCoy, Donaldadvises Colortrak on colorimetry,

159appointed chief technical officer

for VideoDisc, 180-1attempts VideoDisc technology

transfer, 159, 162-3, 169, 171attends Philips demonstration,

151demonstrates VideoDisc in Japan,

175develops disc production capacity

at CBS, 208-9director of Consumer Electronics

Laboratories, 123, 133reports on VideoDisc technical

problems, 177-9revises Holotape price upwards,

133McDermott, Thomas, 140-5, 147,

176, 205, 209Magnavision (Magnavox), 206Magnavox, 23, 146, 206magnetic technologies

discs, 91head pickups, 15recording, 92, 226tape, 14-15, 68, 91-2, 94, 148-50,

160, 165, 181, 191, 212videocassettes, 22

249






Index

magnetic technologies (cont.)videorecorders, 94-5videotape players/recorders, 22,

107, 111, 124, 129-30, 136Magtape

Bell & Howell arrangement, 132,149-50

Consumer Electronics Divisionprefers, 136

corporate backing decreases, 150,157

Hillier opposes, 15mass market economics lacking,

156programming, 144, 147project started, 132; ended, 148,

157, 167proprietary technology lacking,

156startup plan by Venture Group,

138-9, 145system, 146-7; difficulties, 147

Marconi (British), 31Marconi, Guglielmo, 31, 33-5, 53Marconi Wireless Company of

Americaconcentrates on growth, 32neglects technology, 33-5patents expiring, 35precedes RCA, 30sold to GE, 37U.S. Navy takes over, 36wireless research, 34-5

mastering systems, 15, 137, 153-4,175, 185-6, 193, 199-202

materials research, 222Matsushita, 10, 27, 154-6, 175, 183,

191, 195, 199, 205-6, 216, 234MCA, 23, 151, 161, 166, 168-9, 171,

177, 181, 206, 212, 217see also Philips N.V.

mediacontributes to VideoDisc failure,

216-18favors VideoDisc, 212negative effect on research, 233reaction to Magtape shelving, 148

Melpar, 82, 86Mills, Delbert, 108Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing

(3M), 111

250

MIT, 70, 118Morsey, Chase

background at Ford, 106, 223backs Corporate Venture Group,

122backs videoplayer research, 108-9cuts off Homefax support, 107heads corporate new product

planning, 106new marketing plan, 122puts pressure on Discpix, 110puts pressure on Holotape, 116,

121-2refuses McDermott funds, 144seeks programming director, 140sees CBS as threat, 109-10, 114-

15sets up Advanced Product Plan-

ning group, 107Motorola, 146

Nally, Edmund, 33, 37, 39National Research Council (NRC),

50National Television Standards Com-

mittee (NTSC)first, 55, 62second, 63-5

NBCand Alic, James, 207cable television project proposed,

107Discpix involvement suggested,

102financial difficulties, 206-7formed, 43President Julian Goodman, 108;

Robert Sarnoff, 11, 105; HerbertSchlosser, 20, 205

profits, 183programming expertise, 139, 141RCA disliked, 105, 124, 140Selectavision demonstration, 8Sonnenfeldt moves to, 206television costs, 60-1, 66"Today" show, 19"Tonight" show, 114

nonmagnetic technologiesapproach, 92, 94, 96-7, 102tape, 15videoplayers, 90






Index

Olson, Harry, 89, 91, 93optical technologies

discs, 22-3, 168images, 15mastering, 15systems, 24, 151-2, 161, 212

optics, 59, 222orthicon, 59Owens-Illinois, 233

patents, 222see also RCA patents

pattern innovations, 75pause capability, 20Philco, 68Philips, N.V.

Discovision, 23Japanese market sought, 174-5,

199-200Laservision made by Magnavox,

206MCA, joint venture with, 23, 168,

177, 181, 217, 233; videodiscdemonstrated, 168-9; presscoverage, 169-70; mass marketnot sought, 170, 183, 200, 233

North American, 23optical videodisc system demon-

strated, 151, 161; system fea-tures, 161-2, 165

organization, 10RCA VideoDisc rivalry, 162, 165,

169-71, 191, 195technology to Japan, 235videocassette system demon-

strated, 131, 149; compared toRCA Magtape, 131

videodisc technology, 169-70,195, 217

visited by RCA Venture Group,145

photographic images, 15, 22photolithography, 222Photophone sound recording, 44Photopix, 97,100Phototape, 100, 108, 110, 115pickups

laser, 15, 24magnetic head, 15optical, 174piezo electric needle or pressure,

251

15-16, 154-5, 174, 183, 234 (seealso capacitance systems)

pilot programs, 174-5, 179-80, 184,194, 196, 201, 211, 221

Pioneer, 23playback vs. recording concept, 188player design, 152-3, 178, 184, 196,

201, 203-4, 208-9, 212-13, 216,218

Playtape, 111playtime, 18, 151-2, 161-2, 181,

195, 203Polaroid, 227Pollack, Roy

Consumer Electronics Divisionhead, 148, 177

Group Vice President, 20, 188,207

opposes VideoDisc, 188, 190-1,227

replaces Sonnenfeldt, 206-7television turnaround, 207timing described as VideoDisc

failure, 217Prerecorded Electronic Video Sys-

tems (PREVS), 108, 110, 115-17prerecorded tapes, 217, see also pro-

grammingprocess control, 18, 222process innovation, 18programming, 112, 136, 139-44,

146-7, 165-6, 178, 181, 183-5,195, 201, 207, 209, 214-26

proprietary advantages, 9-10, 68,92, 103, 108, 115, 144, 155-6,180, 191, 194, 199-200, 225,234-5

radar research, 59Radio Company, 37

see also RCARadio Corporation of America, 12,

31, see also RCAradio industry,

buffs in, 33, 39early history, 32-40first stations, 38sales, 38-9, 42Sarnoff's Radio Music Box, 32, 38standardization of components,

40






Index

Radio Keith Orpheum (RKO), 94Radio Manufacturers Association,

55radio spectrum disputes, 54-5Radio Shack, 209Radio Trust, 41, 43; Justice Depart-

ment suit against, 44-5Radiotron Division, 40, 45, 51, 56Radiotron Standardization Commit-

tee, 40Ramberg, E., 92RCA (see also RCA Laboratories;

RCA research; RCA television)acquisitions, 12-13, 43, 121, 208

(see also RCA divestments)advanced development groups,

26, 72-3, 86-7, 94, 130-1, 135,145, 152-3, 162

Advanced Product Planning, 107,130

Board of Directors, 13, 81, 94, 177Broadcast Division, 91camera technology, 114Communications Research, 56computers, 10-14, 27, 82-3, 93,

106-7, 126, 144, 156, 164, 171,180, 190, 193, 233

consumer electronics, 8, 10-11,14, 191, 195

Consumer Electronics Division,15, 23, 26-7, 107-8, 110-11,117, 120, 124, 148-50, 152-3,157-8, 162, 201, 207-8

Consumer Electronics Laboratory,123, 159

Consumer Electronics Sales &Marketing, 207

corporate facilities, 178corporate staff organization, 12-

13, 106, 130, 144, 161, 164, 166,225; strengthened by R. Sar-noff, 106

cross-licensing, 37dealers, 8, 19-21, 25, 40, 60, 164-

6, 183, 191, 194, 195, 207, 209,213-16, 218

development costs, 83diversification, 43divestments, 208, 217-19Electronic Components, 11, 107

financial difficulties, 13-14, 143-4, 197, 213, 217, 225

government contracts, 11, 107Government Systems Division, 80holding company structure, 45Home Instruments, 11, 94, 102,

108-9 (see also Consumer Elec-tronics Division)

image, 12, 19-20, 28, 105, 190,205, 228

Industrial Electronics, 82, 86integrated systems strategy, 21joint ventures, 12License Laboratory, 50-1licensing, 13, 27, 41, 50, 56, 65,

71, 80-4, 86, 105, 135, 145-6,150, 154, 164, 169-70, 174-5,178-9, 183-5, 191, 193, 199,206, 211, 216, 231, 234

Licensing Department, 23, 193,231

Licensing Division, 184management shake-up, 182, 188"Manhattan Project," see Video-

Disc product programManufacturing Company, 54manufacturing locations, 59, 60,

66, see also Camden, Indianapo-lis, Lancaster

marketing, 104-6, 112, 130, 144,165, 183, 194, 226, 231

New Business Programs, 171operating divisions organization,

1970, 12organization 1965, 11origins, 37overseas licensees, 13, 106patents, 10, 37-8, 40-1, 54, 56-7,

60, 65, 81, 131, 171, 186, 202product divisions, 17, 72, 80, 82,

86-8, 226-7Professional Broadcast Division,

94-5Professional Broadcast Equip-

ment, 11Records Division, 26-7, 87, 91,

102, 111-13, 117, 123-4, 136,139-41, 152-6, 158

Research Center, 14, 26 (see alsoRCA Laboratories)

252






Index

research and development bud-gets, 26, 78, 149

Research & Engineering, 188, 193sales, 26, 39, 102satellite research laboratory, 26service, 11service company, 60shareholders, 13, 85, 187, 190Special Programs, 142, 145, 147strategy, 229-35

diversification, 106, 223focus on R&D, 74research control, 50, 56, 58research role played down,105-6review, 165

Systems Research Laboratory, 86,90-4, 96, 98

technical organization, 8, 10technology transfers, 65, 157-60vacuum tube technology, 40venture group, 113-16, 122-6,

129-32, 135-8, 141, 145-7Victor, 45, 52, 60Video Playback Systems Team,

124see also Selectavision; VideoDisc

RCA Laboratories, 5-7, 15, 17, 46,76, 131, 136-7, 144-5, 150-1,153-9, 164, 174, 177-9, 186-7,190, 197, 201-3, 211, 218, 224-6,231

back prerecorded video concept,107-9

budgets introduced, 81corporate control of, 110criticized by Robert Sarnoff, 104-

5electronics focus, 48, 68-9fundamental research emphasis,

69group rivalries, 82, 88increased staff, 83leadership change, 81magnetic tape focus, 94-5New Business & Research Evalu-

ation, 89, 98, 107postwar staff, 67-70Princeton facility built, 58, 61Princeton University ties, 58, 70

product division links, 80, 86-7,105

relation to corporate staff, 225restructuring, 87Section 13 1/2, 93seed money, 86, 94-5share in corporate R&D budget,

78staff divisions, 70-1strategic planning, 84-5television, color, focus on, 66

RCA researchadvanced electronics, 51, 58allocated corporate funds, 56applications-oriented stress, 82combination of groups involved,

51color television emphasis, 61core electronics technology, 83data processing, 82, 85, 88, 93early history, 49-52entertainment electronics focus,

85fundamental, emphasis on, 91funding by manufacturing divi-

sions, 55; corporate, 56long-range emphasis, 56, 83organization, 17, 26, 45, 159-60product-oriented focus, 88-90radio, 50, 54staff goals, 222television, 52-3; as pattern inno-

vation, 75RCA television

black and white, 52color, 8, 10-12, 14, 52, 107, 157-8early research, 52field testing, 54iconoscope, 52-3, 59investment costs, 53orthicon, 59patent protection, 54sales, 138, 207singled out by Sarnoff, 53spectrum, 54-5standardization, 55, see also Na-

tional Technical StandardsCommittee

real-time mastering, 18, 133, 137,151, 154, 164, 178, 200, 203

253






Index

replication, 193, 200research, negative stereotypes of,

220-1research and development (R&D)

definition, 221institutional character, 224joint ventures, 234managing, 220-35mistrust of, 220-1

researchers, 220-1, 226Rhodes, Roland, 153, 162Riverhead (Long Island) facilities,

49,56Rockefeller Center demonstrations,

168, 178, 197Rockville Road facilities, 184, 211roll-out plans, 179, 194, 208, 211,

219Royal Navy (British), 33

Sanyo, 29Sarnoff, David

alarmed by EVR, 100anniversary presents, 49, 67, 223backs Laboratories, 225builds company, 9cites importance of self-obsolesc-

ence, 49commitment to innovation, 227commitment to technological

leadership, 41-2, 46-7continuing leadership, 11creates corporate research center,

4-5dislike of bureaucracy, 46early years Marconi, 31-6early years RCA, 37-9entrepreneurial vigor, 118executive vice-president, 45failing health, 113focus on home information, 218;

on innovation, 291; on tele-vision, 52-5

frequent visitor to Laboratories,48-9

known as the General, 48, 54, 67,100

lack of formal engineering train-ing, 229

leadership becomes less effective,67

254

leadership style, 30, 47, 205Navy service, 36pressure on researchers, 223promotes licensing abroad, 84,

234RCA career, 29receives Japanese award, 84relies on color television, 85research strategy, 231speech "Message to Broadcasters/'

1947, 30speech to Harvard Business

School, 1928, 35, 42spokesman for Cold War, 73supports color television, 62-5;

electronics, 72; Homefax, 89;RCA Laboratories, 78, 83; re-search, 56-7; VideoDisc, 20

Sarnoff, Robertappoints McDermott, 140-1; Son-

nenfeldt, 171CEO, 103commits RCA to technological

leadership, 170dislikes CBS competition, 114ends Magtape, 150introduces Selectavision, 104loses faith in Selectavision, 231modifies David Sarnoff's research

strategy, 11, 231planning session, 171presents Holotape, 120-2PREVS presentation, 115replaced, 182reviews VideoDisc, 156-7style of management, 12, 104-10survives reshuffle, 164, 166VideoDisc, 168, 179

Sauter, Jack, 25-6, 207Savage, Donald, 113scanner module, 131scanning electron microscope, 137Schairer, Otto, 56Schlosser, Herbert, 20, 205, 207Screen Actors Guild, 142Sears, 209Selectavision

business plan, 183corporate budget, 145dealers, 194early products, 190






Index

label, 205program announced, 117, 231projects, 15, 147, 159, 165, 228,

232status report, 150

Selectavision Holotape, see HolotapeSelectavision Magtape, see MagtapeSelectavision VideoDisc, see

VideoDisc product programSelectavision Business Develop-

ment, 145semiconductors, 80, 86, 200-1, 217,

222sensors, 17Sharp, 209Siemens, 10, 13signal encoding, 15, 92, 96-7, 203signal-to-noise ratio, 18, 96, 152skipped field approach, 131SLX (Sony), 166solid-state research, 69, 91, 158Sonnenfeldt, Richard

appointed to VideoDisc, 171assesses Japanese competition,

199-201backs VideoDisc continuance,

194-5cancels pilot operations, 201effectiveness, 228familiarity with statistical process

control, 222goes to NBC, 206-7imposes schedules, 186management approach, 180presides at VideoDisc demonstra-

tion, 168-9presses for improvements, 197-8promotional abilities, 190qualifications, 171reassigned, 206reports to Conrad, 179, 182-4solidifies control, 178-9staff vice president for VideoDisc,

168studies VideoDisc, 174, 177visits Indianapolis, 180

Sony, 23, 94, 129-30, 166, 181-2,188, 190-1, 194-5, 197, 208

Sorenson Consulting Group, 112-13Stancel, Al, 154-5standardization, 138, 193, 206

255

see also National Television Stan-dards Committee

Stanley, Thomas, 93, 96, 98, 102,107-8, 113, 115, 123, 125, 160

Stanley-Tan Report, 102-3, 107statistical process control, 222stereo, 20, 213, 217stop motion, 112stylii, 17, 93, 153, 158, 169, 175, 177,

184, 194-5, 198, 201-4systems

advantage, 166approach, 51, 90, 113-14, 122,

139, 197innovation, 20, 61, 66, 113Research Laboratories, 65

takeover threats, 217Tan, Henry, 102tape

formats, 131replication, 131, 133transport mechanism (TTM), 132,

149technology

leadership, 184-5, 190, 193obsolescence, value of, 35, 49, 85,

205sharing, 60transfer, 86, 135, 179-80, 223,

232, 235Telefunken, 10, 22, 35, 134, 145,

152, 181television (see also television, black

and white; television, color)defense-related research, 55early experimental station, 52FCC restricts syndication, 144field testing, 54interests sacrificed to radio, 143-4market decline predicted, 84orthicon used in, 59production technology improved,

59RCA alienates industry, 65regulatory environment, 54standards, 55, 62-5; RCA stan-

dard adopted, 65Worlds Fair broadcast, 55

television, black and whiteobsolescence foreseen, 85






Index

television, black and white (cont.pricing experience, 226programming, importance of, 139RCA mass-market receiver, 60roll-out marketing pattern, 219Sarnoff insists on its introduction,

60success frequently cited, 228technology sharing, 60

television, coloradvent of, 61burden on RCA consumer divi-

sions, 80commercial broadcasting begins,

65golden age, 8growth predicted, 85importance as RCA product, 120improvements, 193Japanese competition, 107, 188,

191manufacturing investments, 191pricing experience effect, 226programming scarcity, 139Sarnoff tries to force develop-

ment, 223Sonnenfeldt influenced by experi-

ences of, 194Sony enters market, 181-2Systems Research Laboratory role

in developing, 86, 92Zenith gaining market share, 107,

182-3; losing to RCA, 208Teldec, 22, 134-5, 137-8, 151-2,

154, 160, 181Texas Instruments, 228Thompson Brandt, 10Thomson (France), 151Thorn, 10time-shift capacity, 167Toshiba, 10, 209transistors, 91, 94turntables, high-speed, 17

UHF spectrum, 62Umatic (Sony), 23, 129, 166United Fruit, joint owner of RCA,

31, 37United States

Congress defeats Navy proposal,36

256

House Marine & Fisheries Com-mittee, 36

Justice Department, 44Navy, 35-37Office of Naval Research, 69Office of Scientific Research &

Development, 59Senate, 55Supreme Court, 63

vacuumcoating techniques, 180, 222tubes, 51, 59, 80

Van Cortland Park (NY) facilities,49-50, 52

venture groups, use of, 104, 113-14, 228

see also RCA venture groupVHF spectrum, 54-5, 62VHS (Matsushita), 22-3, 27-8, 205-

6VHS (RCA), 205Victor Talking Machine, 43-4, 51,

56videocassette recorders (VCRs), 23,

131, 149, 206, 208, 212, 214,216-19, 229

Videodisc development projectadvanced development groups

involvement, 152-6; technologytransfer to, 157-61, 169

background, 75, 97, 136 (see alsoDiscpix)

research, 28, 137-8, 152-5; re-search team low morale, 123

Sarnoff, Robert, backs, 148, 156-7technical performance goals, 18,

152, 177technology, 150-1; compared to

competition, 151-2, 161-2Webster supports, 164, 179-80

VideoDisc product programaccelerated development, 196-7,

207announced, 168-9Bilby supports, 190business plans, 166, 177-8, 182,

188-9, 194competition, 181, 188, 194, 199,

216-17






Index

Conrad commitment to, 157, 182,187

Consumer Electronics Divisionunenthusiastic, 27

dealers negative toward, 214-15demonstrations in Japan, 174-7,

199description, 16, 19feasibility questioned, 190-5Griffiths and, 182, 188, 196, 197,

208Hillier supports, 164, 179, 188introduction, 8, 19-22, 24-5;

scheduled, 178, 187, 191, 199-200, 206, 213; too late, 229

investment costs, 26, 165, 196,204; losses, 213, 218

lessons of, 200, 226management staff, 207-8, 225manufacturing, 21, 162-4, 185-6,

198, 201, 211marketing, 25-6, 188-9, 194, 209,

211, 219pilot program, 180, 184-5, 196,

201Pollack opposes, 190-1, 188, 227press hostility, 217pricing, 20, 23-4, 178, 188-9, 200,

204, 208, 213, 216production discontinued, 213programming, 20, 140-4, 146,

165-6, 183, 209-11proprietary advantages, 185, 191,

193-4, 199RCA Laboratories involvement,

27, 137-8, 150-1, 200-5, 211risks, 21, 195, 208sales, 213, 216Sarnoff, R. supports, 148, 156,

182Sonnenfeldt heads, 168, 171; con-

solidates, 178-9; reassigned,206

stereo version, 213, 217strategy assumptions, 218-19technology improvements, 170,

181, 188-9, 211videodisc systems

description, 14-15, 17-18magnetic tape competition, 212;

price advantage over, 206

257

marketplace entrance, 181, 212next-generation, 180Philips' features, 170RCA publicity, 151, 168research applications, 281technology, 174, 200

videoplayers, 14, 17, 22, 90, 103,129, 183, 195, 221-2, 225-6,230, 232, 234

videotape recorders, 68, 90-2, 149,193, 195, 200, 205, 226

videotapes, 23, 214-26vidicon, 97, 99, 112, 124

Wards, 209Warner, John, 40Warren, Ray, 96, 124, 131-2, 137,

149, 160Watson, Thomas, 227Webster, William

background, 89, 98budget cutbacks managed, 145criticizes erratic funding, 225discounts CBS videoplayer

claims, 100electromechanical recording op-

posed, 154Electronics Research Laboratory

experience, 93fosters competition among re-

searchers, 91Laboratories head, 89, 98magnetic tape opposed, 130pressured to promote VideoDisc,

179PREVS strategy meeting, 113-14;

project backed, 223VideoDisc examined, 138; seeks

product status for, 156, 158-9,164

videoplayer technology, unde-cided on, 123

Wertheim Report, 211Western Electric, 233Western Union, 43Westinghouse

color camera, 114divests RCA stock, 34electronics R&D, involvement in,

69






Index

Westinghouse (cont.) Waters Guild, 142facilities given to RCA, 50-1, 73-

4 Xerox PARC, 224NBC, forms with RCA and GE,

43 Young, Owen D., 37, 38radio, little interest in, 50RCA, joint stake in, 31, 37-9 Zeiss, William, 170standardization, participation in Zenith, 27, 65, 107, 170, 182, 188,

committees on, 40 190, 208WJZ, joint project with RCA, 38 Zworykin, Vladimir, 52-3

Woodward, J., 92

258






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