SVs & SCUs Family watching TV (3 shots)
CUs Test patterns for channels form Britain & Germany (11 shots)
Background: Radio and television aerials are fast becoming out-moded in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
A new concept in radio and television diffusion -- by way of underground cables and community reception units -- should soon see the end of the forests of aerials covering rooftops in many cities.
The new system -- developed by a major electronics company -- is becoming a standard part of new buildings in both countries. Reception units are located in tower block basements, ensuring perfect viewing for all inhabitants.
In new townships, all television sets are connected to central stations, which receive radio and television signals by cable and parabolic reflectors.
As well as providing clear reception for up to ten domestic and foreign channels, the community system allow local television stations to provide a kind of village newspaper on the screen.
In mountainous parts of Switzerland -- where aerials have been prohibited -- helicopters are used to find suitable locations for community reception centres. Monitor screens in the helicopters pinpoint ideal locations for the reception unites. Precision is needed because often, one or two metres (yards) -- even a few centimeters (inches)--can radically affect the picture and sound quality.
In Holland -- as in most other countries--rooftop aerials have been the most common means of picking up radio and television signals. Over the years, forests of aerials have grown over the suburban sprawl of the country's towns and cities. Most houses have more than one aerial, to pick up foreign television broadcasts.
But all that is rapidly changing. A new concept in radio and television diffusion -- by way of underground cables and community reception centres--should see the end of aerials within a matter of years. In Zoetmerter -- a satellite town of Den Haag in Holland -- a parabolic reflector was installed on top of a block of flats to feed tow German channels into the cable network. The signals are controlled by sophisticated equipment in the tower basement.
The community reception system -- developed by a major electronics firm -- is becoming a standard part of new buildings. The haphazard reception of aerials is replaced by perfect viewing for anything up to eleven channels. The reception centres receive broadcast from many different countries and feed them in the cable simultaneously. A switch of the dial brings a clear picture form Germany, England or Switzerland.
In Switzerland, aerials are prohibited and the move towards community aerials and reception centres has been underway for some time.
In mountainous parts of the country, helicopters are used to pinpoint the ideal spots for community reception units. The helicopters are fitted with scanning equipment and monitor screens.
The helicopters cover mountainous areas that would take men weeks to climb to. Precision is essential. Often, a few metres -- even a few centimeters -- can radically alter the quality of the picture and sound transmitted to private television sets.
As well as providing clear reception for domestic and foreign television broadcasts, the community aerials also allow local television stations to provide a kind of local newspaper on the screen.
The development of community reception centres goes hand in hand with other developments in satellite communications. In the age of fast global transmissions, community reception centres have been providing a picture quality far superior to the out-moded domestic aerial.