European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 5, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Ii 1, tubes change size As a div draws closer television. Picture tubes like so Many of us Are getting wider. Not just bigger but stretched out sideways so they look More like movie theater screens. These new tubes being developed for the much ballyhooed High definition televisions of the future will have screens nearly twice As wide As they Are tall. also have higher Quality pictures a and breathtaking prices. An International standards setting group the International radio consultative committee this summer adopted the new wide screen tubes As the world Standard for a div whenever it finally arrives. The future cathode Ray tubes will have a 16-to-9 a aspect ratio,�?T1 or screen Width is. Height. That compares with the relatively boxy 4-to-3 shape of today a tubes. In today a system a screen.4 inches wide would be 3 inches tall in the same fashion a screen 24 inches wide would be 18 inches tall. Under the new system a screen 32 inches wide would be 18 inches tall a a much wider rectangular shape. To sets incorporating wide screen crts will be available in Europe this fall for use in a new to system that is an interim step towards the Crystal Clear pictures promised by a div. Wide screen sets should be available in the United states by 1993. But they won t be cheap. Estimates of the initial prices of these sets generally Range from $3,000 to $5,000. As with other modern electronic gadgets though prices Are expected to fall dramatically once a mass Market develops. Will the typical Couch potato like these sets a a we re going to have a real consumer Survey starting this fall a says a Joseph Donahue a senior vice president at Thomson consumer electronics which has joined with Philips consumer electronics to introduce wide screen to Sas i Emmatt la a to or Lisa Taylor looks at a 40-Inch television screen at the a Post Exchange in Frankfurt West Germany. New to s will be both larger and wider to accommodate High definition television. In Europe. But Donahue like most other to manufacturers say the 16 9 system w ill definitely be the television screen of the future. Quot the Only Issue is the hour and the Day arrive he said. The wide screen sets arc part of a worldwide trend towards larger screens. Donahue said eight to manufacturers have invested $ billion in . Facilities to Crank out 4 3 tubes in the 27-Inch to 36-Inch Range and they could retool quickly to produce 16,9. Proponents of wide screen tvs claim viewers will find the wider aspect irresistible. Imagine they say being Able to see a quarterback hand off the football to a running Back and at the same time see blockers battling Down Field. it be Nice they add to be Able to see the full image of theatrical motion pictures when they re shown on to instead of having the sides Cut off by the Squarish shaped sets in us Eloday the higher Resolution of these screens will allow viewers to sit relatively closer to their sets without seeing the lines that make up the picture says William Connolly president of Sony America corp s advanced sgt stems division. This will enhance the feeling of being a inside Quot the action on the Large screen. A number of manufacturers have Demon Sara cd these new picture tubes Over the past year or so but they re not expected to be introduced in. The United states until after the Federal. Com mimic Al ions commission sets the technical standards for a div about three years from How. However european viewers will get a look at wides screen tubes this fall when Ehn Mson and Philips Roll out sets Tor use with to format known As d2-m u. U2-Maf i. A so called extended definition television Edv system that offers improved pictures digital sound and wide screens without being Tull High definition to. A True a div system is scheduled to be introduced in Europe in time for the 1 992 olympics. Japan could begin regular a div satellite broadcasts in 1993. Many . Companies Are betting the it a w ill follow the same process first approving Edv in order to Cushion the Multi billion Dol Lar costs of converting existing to networks stations and Cable to systems to full Iida v. Stay tuned for More developments a a soc la in d press a Bubble wrap becomes pop Art a few years ago Francine Mcmillan a business executive in new York got hold of some Bubble pack those air filled plastic bubbles used to insulate packages. She took n Home kicked off her heels and a As Many other people have done a started popping the bubbles with her feet. Quot not Only did 1 get a great foot Massage it also helped ease my tension Quot she recalls. A a a thought to myself a gee would t it be great if they sold this stuff Over the counter a a a Mcmillan founder of a courier service figured out a Way to do just that. She commissioned an artist to design four party scenes for children and adults on 6-by-2-foot banners. Then she covered the banners with air filled bubbles called them a party Poppers Quot and introduced them this Spring at a stationery Trade show in new York. Now it seems people can to wait to gel their hands and feet on them. The got orders lined up throughout the i Hided states and Europe Quot Mcmillan says the concept is simple enough Lang the party Poppers up As decoration then when you re ready for entertainment put them on the floor take off your shoes and Start popping. One of her designs a marching hand on a red w hit and Blue Banner is a natural for National holidays. Quot instead of fireworks guests can burst their party Poppers which sound a sol like firecrackers when they re popped Quot she says. Mcmillan has expanded into desktop pop pers Quot for the stressed out 1 he Lei a a Hy-6-Inch sheets which she Calls pressure Poppers Quot and1 a a finc r Are Coxe cd with tiny air hubbies that a an be popped by hand. T h
