The EMI story-the first and the greatest

By 1930, the His Masters Voice (HMV) Company had developed in their laboratories at Hayes a technique for mass printing of films on to paper stock and projecting them in a domestic episcope. However, in about 1930 the Company abandoned its short interest in making films. Early 1931, HMV and Columbia merged to form Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI). HMV had just completed its Abbey Road studios and the Columbia moving coil system was used to equip them. Work on television continued after the merger, based on converting the 150-line equipment to a 120-line 25 frame mirror-drum film scanner for transmission and a cathode-ray tube receiver. It was at this time that the system-design problems which would have to be solved if a worthwhile domestic entertainment service were to be set up began to emerge.