§ 17. Mr. Woodburnasked the Postmaster-General what progress has been made with the provision of adequate and efficient colour television equipment; and whether this is available for export and European use.
§ Mr. BevinsI understand that the industry has developed various kinds of colour television equipment: exports so far have been for research and development purposes.
§ Mr. WoodburnHave the right hon. Gentleman's Department and the B.B.C. perfected television to such an extent that colour television is now quite practical? Is it the reluctance of the private manufacturers to develop this service which is keeping it from being available to the general public? If private enterprise cannot do this, cannot the right hon. Gentleman's very brilliant engineers devise methods of having colour television produced at a cheap and possible price?
§ Mr. BevinsAs the right hon. Gentleman says, much work has been done on colour television, but the principal obstacle to its introduction at the moment —at least one of the obstacles—is that it is not possible to produce sets for less than about £200, as I indicated in the House last week. This is a subject which will be dealt with in the next Report of the Television Advisory Committee. I think that we would be well advised to wait for that.
§ Mr. WoodburnTwo hundred pounds is not much more than some people pay 406 for a "black and white" set. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] With mass production, is it not possible for that price to be very much reduced and brought within range of the "black and white" price?
§ Mr. BevinsThat may well be, but that is only one factor. There are many other technical factors, as hon. Gentlemen well know. It is the technical factors which will be dealt with in the next report of the Television Advisory Committee.