In the days before widescreen, active speakers and Dolby Digital modules, the catalogue of 1985 stated that: “it would be foolish to spend more money that you needed. Why pay for multiple features and facilities when all you wanted was the best possible picture quality, good sound and instant remote access to all available UHF TV channels?”. Unfortunately, those days have long since gone!
The most sensible and economic answer to such a modest set of demands was right there, it stated, in the ‘traditional’ Beovision 5102, 7102 and 8102. All three sets were identical; it was only the size of the tubes that differed. You obtained the same type of picture tube as in the luxury sets (the Beovision 5502, 7702 and 8802 range, for example): automatic colour balance, high reliability… and a bright, clear, natural-looking picture. Sound quality was 6 watts RMS.
The remote control was identical too – the Beovision Video Terminal was used on all of the sets. You could tune across the entire UHF band and store up to 32 station frequencies in the set’s microcomputer memory for instant recall. The Beovision Video Terminal made it easy to control.
Sound output was 6 watts. Connections were provided for an extension speaker and a tape recorder; the tape socket had an alternative function – you could use it to feed the TV sound through a hi-fi system. And connecting a Loop Amplifier would allow a person with a hearing aid to enjoy TV sound more fully.
All three models could be supplied with or without Teletext facilities. The slim-line cabinets were identical in design but offered an alternative in materials and finish: a furniture-crafted wood cabinet finished in rich-grained natural teak or rosewood; Beovision 5102 was also finished in natural grey.
Beovision 7700 was a 22″ colour TV with remote control of up to 16 stations. You could also adjust brightness, colour and sound levels – and switch the TV off – without moving from your chair.
True high fidelity sound was a natural accompaniment to the excellent video performance of this set, thanks to a 14 watts sound amplifier and log-line dual speaker system. There were also sockets for connecting optional headphones and an extension loudspeaker, and an additional connection for recording the TV sound on a cassette deck or feeding it through your hi-fi system.
“As yet, none of us need 32 TV channels, let alone 100. But satellite re-broadcasting systems and cable TV, including regional and community networks, might soon change that” (1983 catalogue)
Therefore, Bang & Olufsen equipped all the luxury Beovision models with an advanced digital tuner that had the capacity for receiving 100 UHF channels, 32 of which could be stored in the set’s microcomputer memory for instant recall at the touch of a button.
The real boon for most viewers is that you could locate, store and recall any of these stations without leaving your armchair. All you had to do was touch a key on the Beovision Video terminal. So although B&O gave its “future-safe” luxury TV range more micro-electronics, more features and more connection possibilities than ever before, they made, at the same time, all the complex technology even more accessible – instantly. To borrow a phrase from the computer industry, Bang & Olufsen’s ’02-Series’ TVs were “user-friendly”.
Beovisions 5502, 7702, 8802 and 9002 all shared the same advanced chassis design and offered the same user-benefits. They were true “luxury” sets because many ‘extras’ offered by other companies, were given as standard by Bang & Olufsen.
The Beovision Video terminal supplied with Beovisions 5502, 7702, 8802 and 9002 offered a plethora of operational benefits. In addition there was also an advanced ‘tune and store’ function that allowed you to operate the automatic tuning system from the comfort of your chair.
One touch of the ‘tune’ button started the digital tuner scanning the wavelengths of the UHF band. When it found a station, it stopped – giving you the opportunity to either reject or accept it. If it was an unsatisfactory reception from a distant transmitter (or simply a station you don’t like!), you just pressed ‘tune’ again to continue the search. When you found a station you enjoy, on a channel giving a good, clear reception, you could instruct the set’s microcomputer to remember that transmission frequency by pressing ‘store’ followed by your own choice of pre-set programme number (e.g. for BBC2 you might designate pre-set number 2). Thereafter, whenever you wanted to watch BBC2, you simply touch button ‘2’ on your remote Terminal.
Up to 32 different TV stations could be located and stored in this way, so your Beovision really is ‘future-safe’ because it has plenty of spare capacity to accommodate new programme sources as and when they come ‘on stream’.
The latest type of Beovision Video terminal also had a button marked ‘sound’. This was only effective with Bang & Olufsen stereo TVs – Beovision 7802 and Beovision 8902.
Beovision 5502 had a 50cm screen and measured 62cm wide, 40cm high (71.5cm including stand) and 39cm deep.
Beovision 7702 had a 22″ screen. Dimensions were 67.5cm wide, 43.5cm high ( 76cm including stand) and 41.5cm deep.
Beovision 8802 had a 26″ screen and measured 77cm wide, 49cm high (80cm including stand) and 45.5cm deep.
All three models had slim cabinets finished in a choice of natural teak or rosewood. White finish was available to special order.
Beovision 5500 had a 50cm High Bright tube with automatic contrast regulation, so the picture always looked bright and clear, with true-to-life colour even in daylight viewing.
Quality was not compromised simply because it was physically a small set. Picture and sound reproduction used the same high technology as that featured on the 26″ Beovision 8800. The remote control system wa also identical, with up to 16 channels available for instant selection.
Beovision 5500 – like the other Beovisions in this family – was exceptionally cool running, with maximum power consumption under 75 watts – less than an ordinary light bulb! Because less heat was generated inside the set, vital components were exposed to less physical stress and therefore had a longer working life. High reliability was, and still is, an important factor when choosing a new TV.
If remote control or access to Teletext was not required, then Beovision 5000 was a suitable alternative offering manual selection of up to 12 stations. The rest of the facilities offered by this television set were the same as its more luxurious brother, the Beovision 5500.
These high quality remote control colour TVs had 8 channels which could be pre-tuned for instant access via the infra-red Video Terminal. Volume level and picture adjustments could also be made without moving more than a finger. Bass and treble tone and picture contrast adjustments were made via the controls sited behind the set’s front fascia.
All models used the 30AX in-line self-converging picture tube with its High Bright characteristics. Bang & Olufsen’s unique Permanent Colour Truth circuitry ensured that the balance between colours was always correct. Together, these features guaranteed a top quality picture that would not deteriorate as the set got older.
Teletext was available as an optional feature on all three models. When fitted, Teletext was accessible via the same Video Terminal used for ordinary entertainment viewing.
Beovisions 5100, 7100 and 8100 came complete with a smooth gliding undercarriage. Apart from screen size and cabinet options, they were technically identical in all respects.
Sound output was 6 watts RMS. Connections were provided for an extension speaker and tape recorder; the tape socket had an alternative function – you could use it to feed the TV sound through your hi-fi system. (From B&O Catalogue Supplement Winter 1982/83)
Beovision 4002 and 4402 were colour receivers with 26″ screens. Natural colours, sharp, precise image definition and high-fidelity sound reproduction are all features you can take for granted, according to the 1970 – 80 Bang & Olufsen product catalogue. Their high reliability levels were due to modular construction techniques and low heat-generation. Beovision 4002 consumed only 110 watts – less than a black and white set of years previously.
Both sets were extremely easy to use. There were facilities for presetting up to eight stations so that subsequent programme selection was just a matter of pressing one button. This turned the set on at the same time.
Beovision 4402 had the additional convenience of a cordless (ultrasonic) remote control. The set could also be supplied equipped for Teletext reception. There was automatic synchronisation of VCR programmes on all channels.
” Beovision 3000 Colour SJ is a colour television receiver built like a deluxe PAL receiver with a delay module for the PAL system. The receiver is compatible, which means it is capable of receiving either black-and-white or colour programmes, and the transition is automatic so that you avoid manual operation of buttons or similar controls “
In the summer of 1963, Bang & Olufsen began the development of the first colour television, with engineer Bent Moller Pedersen and an apprentice. Testing the new receivers was still a problem, because there were not many places where colour test cards could be received. It came as a relief to the technicians when, in 1966, Hamburg began to broadcast test cards.
A Bang & Olufsen colour television laboratory with three technicians was set up for a week at a pub 25 km north of Hamburg! In 1967, Bang & Olufsen began producing colour televisions – not without a certain cautious scepticism. Director Jens Christian Sonderup wrote to retailers in the summer of 1967: “At the moment, no one can say with any degree of certainty how sales of colour televisions will develop. Let us be clear about one thing, though: colour television will not be the bread and butter of the sector during the coming season… We must all hope and believe that the radio sector will prove to be a match for colour TV. in B&O circles, let us as usual err on the side of healthy development.” Weighing in at 52 kg, the Beovision 3000 Colour S.1 was an investment for the company in a market that was still feeling its way between different international standards.
The introduction of colour television brought with it some new concepts that were unknown in the days of black-and white reception: colour saturation and colour tone. The picture tube was now 63cm, but it could not be manufactured with sufficient perfection and accuracy for the three electron guns in the picture tube to line up properly on the interior of the picture tube. It was therefore necessary to make some manual adjustments (convergence adjustments) in production as well as in subsequent servicing. The set had to be adjusted at regular intervals. That had also been taken into consideration in this unit. Chief Engineer Knud Hoist and Engineer Bent Moller Pedersen wrote the following instructions with the service technicians (rather playfully) in mind: “Here is B&O’s unconventional solution on the deployment of the convergence buttons. Remove the small panel at the front of the set by lifting it with a coin. The flap can then be pushed far back enough to allow easy access to the convergence buttons while, at the same time, their effect can be seen by looking at the screen. One reason why we have done this is in order not to impose a requirement for future colour TV technicians to be born with extra-long arms!
Despite the director’s cautious scepticism, Chief Engineer Knud Hoist had no doubt that colour television was the way ahead. Speaking in a radio lecture, he said: “If we don’t open the front door to colour television by introducing a Danish colour TV, it will come in by the back door as foreign broadcasts over our borders. Continuing to exclude colour television for much longer from parts of the country that are not covered by Germany will create such a great demand backlog that both the manufacturing sector and the retail sector will both find it difficult to cope when it is finally released. It would be much more desirable to accept what is otherwise an inevitable, slow penetration of colour television into Denmark – and to act accordingly.”
” Its 625-line only circuitry initially made it of limited use, as BBC1 and ITV were not widely receivable on this standard, leaving BBC2 as the only viewable programme. Beovision 3000 made up for this though by offering the best quality colour picture yet seen, so good in fact that in certain areas it remained unsurpassed for years after it was withdrawn. When B&O released its first solid state colour sets in 1974, these had to be modified in the field, as their contrast levels seemed ‘washed out’ compared to the then 6 year old 3000s!
Quality was achieved at the cost of considerable complexity. It is well known that cost was not a factor in the design of the 3000, and so any extra parts or stages that could possibly up the performance were added without question. The result was a set with 18 valves, 53 transistors and 48 diodes arranged on two massive chassis. Technical highlights included decoder circuitry working at high voltage to improve colour linearity, DC controlled static convergence, apparently less susceptible to mains voltage variations, separate line scan output stage and EHT generator employing two transformers and two sets of large valves, which improved geometry and dimensional stability, an electronic EHT stabiliser which helped to ensure uniform focusing, and of course, a comprehensive audio amplifier employing three transistors, one valve and heavy negative feedback, all driving a high quality loudspeaker.
These sets demonstrated to the new British market that B&O’s televisions were every bit as good as their audio, and started a long line of development which can be directly traced to the current models. “
” Beovision 3000 Colour SJ is a colour television receiver built like a deluxe PAL receiver with a delay module for the PAL system. The receiver is compatible, which means it is capable of receiving either black-and-white or colour programmes, and the transition is automatic so that you avoid manual operation of buttons or similar controls “
In the summer of 1963, Bang & Olufsen began the development of the first colour television, with engineer Bent Moller Pedersen and an apprentice. Testing the new receivers was still a problem, because there were not many places where colour test cards could be received. It came as a relief to the technicians when, in 1966, Hamburg began to broadcast test cards.
A Bang & Olufsen colour television laboratory with three technicians was set up for a week at a pub 25 km north of Hamburg! In 1967, Bang & Olufsen began producing colour televisions – not without a certain cautious scepticism. Director Jens Christian Sonderup wrote to retailers in the summer of 1967: “At the moment, no one can say with any degree of certainty how sales of colour televisions will develop. Let us be clear about one thing, though: colour television will not be the bread and butter of the sector during the coming season… We must all hope and believe that the radio sector will prove to be a match for colour TV. in B&O circles, let us as usual err on the side of healthy development.” Weighing in at 52 kg, the Beovision 3000 Colour S.1 was an investment for the company in a market that was still feeling its way between different international standards.
The introduction of colour television brought with it some new concepts that were unknown in the days of black-and white reception: colour saturation and colour tone. The picture tube was now 63cm, but it could not be manufactured with sufficient perfection and accuracy for the three electron guns in the picture tube to line up properly on the interior of the picture tube. It was therefore necessary to make some manual adjustments (convergence adjustments) in production as well as in subsequent servicing. The set had to be adjusted at regular intervals. That had also been taken into consideration in this unit. Chief Engineer Knud Hoist and Engineer Bent Moller Pedersen wrote the following instructions with the service technicians (rather playfully) in mind: “Here is B&O’s unconventional solution on the deployment of the convergence buttons. Remove the small panel at the front of the set by lifting it with a coin. The flap can then be pushed far back enough to allow easy access to the convergence buttons while, at the same time, their effect can be seen by looking at the screen. One reason why we have done this is in order not to impose a requirement for future colour TV technicians to be born with extra-long arms!
Despite the director’s cautious scepticism, Chief Engineer Knud Hoist had no doubt that colour television was the way ahead. Speaking in a radio lecture, he said: “If we don’t open the front door to colour television by introducing a Danish colour TV, it will come in by the back door as foreign broadcasts over our borders. Continuing to exclude colour television for much longer from parts of the country that are not covered by Germany will create such a great demand backlog that both the manufacturing sector and the retail sector will both find it difficult to cope when it is finally released. It would be much more desirable to accept what is otherwise an inevitable, slow penetration of colour television into Denmark – and to act accordingly.”
” Its 625-line only circuitry initially made it of limited use, as BBC1 and ITV were not widely receivable on this standard, leaving BBC2 as the only viewable programme. Beovision 3000 made up for this though by offering the best quality colour picture yet seen, so good in fact that in certain areas it remained unsurpassed for years after it was withdrawn. When B&O released its first solid state colour sets in 1974, these had to be modified in the field, as their contrast levels seemed ‘washed out’ compared to the then 6 year old 3000s!
Quality was achieved at the cost of considerable complexity. It is well known that cost was not a factor in the design of the 3000, and so any extra parts or stages that could possibly up the performance were added without question. The result was a set with 18 valves, 53 transistors and 48 diodes arranged on two massive chassis. Technical highlights included decoder circuitry working at high voltage to improve colour linearity, DC controlled static convergence, apparently less susceptible to mains voltage variations, separate line scan output stage and EHT generator employing two transformers and two sets of large valves, which improved geometry and dimensional stability, an electronic EHT stabiliser which helped to ensure uniform focusing, and of course, a comprehensive audio amplifier employing three transistors, one valve and heavy negative feedback, all driving a high quality loudspeaker.
These sets demonstrated to the new British market that B&O’s televisions were every bit as good as their audio, and started a long line of development which can be directly traced to the current models. “
Like other Bang & Olufsen colour TVs, Beovision 3602 had the automatic cut-off regulating circuit which ensured natural colours throughout the set’s useful lifetime. The in-line picture tube allowed for easier and better convergence in order to avoid the usual discoloured edges – not least when viewing a black & white transmission.
Internally the Beovision 3602 was identical to the Beovision 3502 so one obtained the same outstanding picture quality and equally good sound reproduction from the large, forward-facing loudspeaker.
On the easy-touch panel one could select programmes and turn on the set in the same action. Regulators that are not used often are hidden in tow touch-release compartments – one for sound and one for video adjustments. Power consumption was exceedingly low – only 110 watts and the low heat generation made this set suitable for placing in a shelving unit.
Optional accessories: Mobile X-shaped undercarriage or trumpet-shaped stand, both in polished alloy.
Beovision 3702 was a 56cm colour TV with small outer dimensions, a highly advanced construction throughout and the most logical operation facilities then on the market.
The ultrasonic remote control was designed to be operated with one hand and its most important regulators could be ‘read’ by the finger tips. These regulators – for brightness, colour saturation and sound are set in relief, so there was no need to look. The user could feel which position was which by the tactile buttons.
Any of eight pre-set stations could be called, and, by pressing the special reset facility, all adjustment levels including sound, would revert to their predetermined basic levels.
Beovision 3702 could be switched off at the main ‘off button on the set’s simple operation panel. Or one could switch it off with the remote control module in which case, the set goes into stand-by position. By pressing one of the programme selectors there is a picture on-screen within 5 seconds together with sound. The picture tube was of the in-line type which needed fewer adjustments and consumed less power – only 115 watts.
The chassis was modular and there was an automatic cut-off regulating circuit to maintain long-term colour purity. Beovision 3702 could accommodate a VCR without further technical adjustment and could be fitted with a special optional kit to reproduce sound through a hi-fi system. Two pre-stamped blanks on the set’s fascia allowed for the insertion of a headphone or extension speaker terminal and switch.
