RCA Color Projection Television

RCA Color Projection Television

In October of 1951, RCA demonstrated it’s first color projection unit at The Colonial Theater. The guests saw an RCA color film on the unit and a live feed from NBC Studio 3H (where the live “coffin” color cameras were being tested). The projected images made a picture that was 9 by 12 feet. This photo is from a few years later and is being installed at NBC’s newest color studio at The Ziegfeld Theater, which would become the home of Perry Como. This new unit made a picture that was 18 by 28 and projected it’s image on a screen above the stage so the audiences on the main floor and in the balcony could see the shots being taken by the 4 TK41s. This unit has a 42 inch mirror, a 26 inch lens and uses 80,000 volts. There was also a black and white version and several were in use in New York’s television theaters including CBS Studio 50 (Ed Sullivan), and NBC’s properties like The International (Show Of Shows) and Hudson Theaters (Tonight With Steve Allan). In 1951, several dozen of the monochrome projectors were in use across the country in cities that were part of the Theater Television Network that carried occasional live, closed circuit programs like prize fights, races and other special interest events.

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