LOEWE ART T 28 YEAR 1988.

 

THE LOEWE ART T28 is the FIRST Digital Television from LOEWE.

With this model series LOEWE has joined definitely the Digital technology in all his Products.

These sets were the flagship of LOEWE in 1988 and it's the model which introduces the LOEWE CHASSIS C9000 110C9.

This chassis LOEWE C9000 was used  in models :

LOEWE 66420, 66423, 66425, 66426, 66445, 66448, 66449, 66450, 66460, 66472, 66480, 66490, ART1, ARTS24, CONTUR-T24, CONTUR-T28, CONTUR-T63, CONTUR-T70, PROFI-T28, PROFI-TV28, S824, STUDIO-T24, STUDIO-T28.

MITSUBISHI CT2529EST, CT2839ETX

It features the ITT DIGIVISION Digital Technology but LOEWE has developed his own CHASSIS design  and fitted many models with it.

 LOEWE was calling his own Chassis with the name Mikro-Digital to explain the new technology used in this set, which  is a DIGITAL Colour television receiver or set !!

 LOEWE  ART  T28  Colour television receiver or set , are known in which the majority of signal processing that takes place therein is carried out digitally. That is, a video or television signal is received in a conventional fashion using a known analog tuning circuit and then, following the tuning operation, the received analog television signal is converted into a digital signal and digitally processed before subsequently being converted back to an analog signal for display on a colour cathode ray tube.
In a conventional television receiver, all signals are analog-processed. Analog signal processing, however, has the problems at the video stage and thereafter. These problems stem from the general drawbacks of analog signal processing with regard to time-base operation, specifically, incomplete Y/C separation (which causes cross color and dot interference), various types of problems resulting in low picture quality, and low precision of synchronization. Furthermore, from the viewpoints of cost and ease of manufacturing the analog circuit, a hybrid configuration must be employed even if the main circuit comprises an IC. In addition to these disadvantages, many adjustments must be performed.

In order to solve the above problems, it is proposed to process all signals in a digital form from the video stage to the chrominance signal demodulation stage. In such a digital television receiver, various improvements in picture quality should result due to the advantages of digital signal processing.

Digital Signal Processing DIGVISION ITT in Brief:

 FOR several years now the use of digital techniques in television has been growing. A considerable impetus came initially from the need for high -quality Tv standards conversion. The IBA's DICE (Digital Intercontinental Conversion Equipment) standards converter came into operational use in 1972. It's success demonstrated convincingly the advantages of processing video signals in digital form - digital signals are neither phase nor level dependent. The trend since then has been towards the all - digital studio: digital effects generators have been in use for some time, and digital telecines were announced earlier this year. An earlier example of the application of digital techniques to television was the BBC's sound-in-syncs system, in which the sound signal is converted to digital form so that it can be added to the video signal for network distribution. The sound-in-syncs system first came into use in 1969, and is was  widely employed in pay tv systems alongside with video scrambling methods in the 80's.  Digital techniques have already appeared on the domestic TV scene. The teletext signals are digital, and require digital processing. In modern remote control systems the commands from the remote control transmitter are in digital form, and require digital decoding and digital - to -analogue conversion in the receiver before the required control action can be put into effect. Allied to this, digital techniques are used for the more sophisticated channel tuning systems. The basic TV receiver itself continues to use analogue techniques however. Are we about to see major changes here? 
ITT Semiconductors in W. Germany have been working on the application of digital techniques to basic TV receiver signal processing since 1977 with the supervision of the Engineer Micic Ljubomir, and at the recent Berlin Radio Show presented a set of digital chips for processing the video, audio and deflection signals in a TV receiver. The set consists of a' couple of l.s.i. and six v.l.s.i. chips - and by very large scale integration (v.l.s.i.) we're talking about chips that contain some more 200,000 transistors. What are the advantages? 
For the setmaker, there's reduction in the component count and simpler, automated receiver alignment - alignment data is simply fed into a programmable memory in the receiver, which then adjusts itself. Subsequently, the use of feedback enables the set to maintain its performance as it ages. From the user's viewpoint, the advantages are improved performance and the fact that extra features such as picture -within -a -picture (two pictures on the screen at the same time) and still pictures become relatively simple to incorporate. The disadvantage of course is the need for a lot of extra circuitry. Since the received signals remain in analogue form, analogue -to -digital conversion is required before signal processing is undertaken. As the c.r.t. requires analogue drive signals, digital -to -analogue conversion is required prior to the RGB output stages - the situation is somewhat different in the timebase and audio departments, since the line drive is basically digital anyway and class D amplifier techniques can be used in the field and audio output stages. In between the A -D conversion and the various output stages, handling the signals in digital form calls for much more elaborate circuitry - hence those chips with 200,000 or so transistors. The extra circuitry is all incorporated within a handful of chips of course, but the big question is if and when the use of these chips will become an economic proposition, taking into account reduced receiver assembly/setting up costs, compared to the use of the present analogue technology - after all, colour receiver component counts are already very low. With the present digital technology, it's not feasible to convert the signals to digital form at i.f. So conversion takes place following video and sound demodulation. Fig. 1 shows in simple block diagram form the basic video and deflection signal processing arrangement used in the system devised by ITT Semiconductors. Before going into detail, two basic points have to be considered - the rate at which the incoming analogue signals are sampled for conversion to digital form, and the number of digits required for signal coding. Consider the example shown in Fig. 2. At both (a) and (b) the signals are sampled at times Ti, T2 etc. In (a) the signal is changing at a much faster rate than the sampling rate. So very little of the signal information would be present in the samples. In (b) the rate at which the signal is changing is much slower, and since the sampling rate is the same the samples will contain the signal information accurately. In practice, the sampling rate has to be at least twice the bandwidth of the signal being sampled. Once you've got your samples, the next question is how many digits are required for adequate resolution of the signal, i.e. how many steps are required on the vertical (signal level) scale in Fig. 2 The use of a four -digit code, i.e. 0000, 0001 etc., gives 16 possible signal levels. Doubling the number of digits to eight gives 256 signal levels and so on. ITT's experience shows that the luminance signal requires 8 bits (digits), the colour -difference signals require 6 bits, the audio signal requires 12 bits (14 for hi-fi quality) while 13 bits are required for a linear horizontal scan on a 26inch tube. These digital signals are handled as parallel data streams in the subsequent signal processing. Returning to Fig. 1, the A -D and D -A conversion required in the video channel is carried out by a single chip which ITT call the video codec (coder/decoder). A clock pulse generator i.c. is required to produce the various pulse trains necessary for the digital signal processing, and a control i.c. is used to act as a computer for the whole digital system and also to provide interfacing to enable the external controls (brightness, volume, colour etc.) to produce the desired effects. In addition, the control i.c. incorporates the digital channel selection system. The video codec i.c. uses parallel A-D/D-A conversion, i.e. a string of voltage comparators connected in parallel. This system places a high premium on the number of bits used to code the signal in digital form, so ITT have devised a technique of biasing the converter to achieve 8 -bit resolution using only 7 bits (the viewer's eye does some averaging on alternate lines, as with Simple PAL, but this time averaging luminance levels). The A -D comparators provide grey -encoded outputs, so the first stage in the video processor i.c. is a grey -to -binary transcoder. As Fig. 3 shows, the processes carried out in the video processor i.c. then follow the normal practice, though everything's done in digital form. The key to this processing is the use of digital filters. These are clocked at rates up to 18MHz, and provide delays, addition and multiplication. The glass chroma delay line required for PAL decoding in a conventional analogue decoder consists of blocks of RAM (random-access memory) occupying only three square millimeters of chip area each. As an example of the ingenuity of the ITT design, the digital delay line used for chroma signal averaging/separation in the PAL system is used in the NTSC version of the chip as a luminance/chrominance signal separating comb filter. Fig. 4 shows the basic processes carried out in the deflection processor i.c. This employs the sorts of techniques we're becoming used to in the latest generation of sync processor i.c.s. Digital video goes in, and the main outputs consist of a horizontal drive pulse plus drives to the field output and EW modulator circuits. The latter are produced by a pulse -width modulator arrangement, i.e. the sort of thing employed with class D output stages. The necessary gating and blanking pulses are also provided. A further chip provides audio signal processing. One might wonder why the relatively simple audio department calls for this sort of treatment. The W. German networks are already equipping themselves for dual -channel sound however, and the audio processor i.c. contains the circuitry required to sort out the two -carrier sound signals. These chips represent a major step in digitalizing the domestic TV receiver. It seems likely that some enterprising setmaker will in due course announce a "digital TV set". The interesting point then will be whether the chip yields, and the chip prices as production increases, will eventually make it worthwhile for all setmakers to follow this path (in 1984).



Therefore digital television signal processing system introduced in 1984 by the Worldwide Semiconductor Group (Freiburg, West Germany) of International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation is described in an ITT Corporation publication titled "VLSI Digital TV System--DIGIT 2000."

In that system color video signals, after being processed in digital (binary) form, are converted to analog form by means of digital-to-analog converters before being coupled to an image displaying kinescope. The analog color video signals are coupled to the kinescope via analog buffer amplifiers and video output kinescope driver amplifiers which provide video output signals at a high level suitable for driving intensity control electrodes of the kinescope.

The LOEWE  ART  28   Is a multistandard set and relates to a digital multistandard decoder for video signals and to a method for decoding video signals.
Colour video signals, so-called composite video, blanking and sync signals (CVBS) are essentially composed of a brightness signal or luminance component (Y), two colour difference signals or chrominance components (U, V or I, Q), vertical and horizontal sync signals (VS, HS) and a blanking signal (BL).
The different coding processes, e.g. NTSC, PAL and SECAM, introduced into the known colour television standards, differ in the nature of the chrominance transmission and in particular the different systems make use of different colour subcarrier frequencies and different line frequencies.
The following explanations relate to the PAL and NTSC systems, but correspondingly apply to video signals of other standards and non-standardized signals.
The colour subcarrier frequency (fsc) of a PAL system and a NTSC system is fsc(NTSC) = 3.58 MHz or fsc(PAL) = 4.43 MHz.
In addition, in PAL and NTSC systems the relationships of the colour subcarrier frequency (fsc) to the line frequency (fh) are given by fsc(NTSC) = 227.50 * fh or 4•fsc(NTSC) = 910 • fh fsc(PAL) = 283.75 * fh or 4•fsc(PAL) = 1135 • fh so that the phase of the colour subcarrier in the case of NTSC is changed by 180°/line and in PAL by 270°/line.
In the case of digital video signal processing and decoding the prior art fundamentally distinguishes between two system architectures. These are the burst-locked architecture and the line-locked architecture, i.e. systems which operate with sampling frequencies for the video signal, which are produced in phase-locked manner to the colour subcarrier frequency transmitted with the burst pulse or in phase-locked manner with the line frequency, respectively.

The principal advantage of the present invention is a color television receiver is provided having a fully digital color demodulator wherein the luminance signal and the chrominance signals are separated and digitally processed prior to being converted to analog signals in that the all-digital signal processing largely eliminates the need for nonintegratable circuit elements, i.e., particularly coils and capacitors, and that the subcircuits can be preferably implemented using integrated insulated-gate field-effect transistor circuits, i.e., so-called MOS technology. This technology is better suited for implementing digital circuits than the so-called bipolar technology.

The  LOEWE  ART  28   is a multisound tv digital sound processing.

It has a  DTI.(dti digital transient improvement pertains to a circuit for steepening color-signal transitions in color television receivers or the like particularly in DIGIVISION DIGIT2000 . ) circuit arrangement  designed for use in digital color-television receivers or the like and contains for each of the two digital color-difference signals a slope detector to which both a digital signal defining an amplitude threshold value and a digital signal defining a time threshold value are applied. At least one intermediate value occurring during an edge to be steepened is stored, and at the same time value of the steepened edge, it is "inserted" into the latter.
The bandwidth of the color-difference channel is very small compared with the bandwidth of the luminance channel, namely only about 1/5 that of the luminance channel in the television standards now in use. This narrow bandwidth leads to blurred color transitions ("color edging") in case of sudden color-signal changes, e.g., at the edges of the usual color-bar test signal, because, compared with the associated luminance-signal transition, an approximately fivefold duration of the color-signal transition results from the narrow transmission bandwidth.
In the prior circuit arrangement, the relatively slowly rising color-signal edges are steepened by suitably delaying the color-difference signals and the luminance signal and steepening the edges of the color-difference signals at the end of the delay by suitable analog circuits. The color-difference signals and the luminance signal are present and processed in analog form as usual. This circuit arrangement is designed for use in digital color-television receivers or the like and contains for each of the two digital color-difference signals a slope detector to which both a digital signal defining an amplitude threshold value and a digital signal defining a time threshold value are applied. At least one intermediate value occurring during an edge to be steepened is stored, and at the same time value of the steepened edge, it is "inserted" into the latter. This is done by means of memories, switches, output registers, and a sequence controller.
ADVANTAGE - Increased picture sharpness and highly improved signal-to-noise ratio.

• Naturally, Pictures produced by this set are simply stunning and even the sound is superb with his special developed Sound boxes incorporated in the set itself.

• LOEWE has gained a lot of superior level with the introduction of this model series.

• It has many features: DTI / Multistandard / Teletext / OSD / tone control / 2 AV SCART Socket / Square Screen (FSQ PHILIPS CRT TUBE) External Speaker Power output / Front Display / Stereo and bi-lingual sound.

A SCART Connector (which stands for Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs) is a standard for connecting audio-visual equipment together. The official standard for SCART is CENELEC document number EN 50049-1. SCART is also known as Péritel (especially in France) and Euroconnector but the name SCART will be used exclusively herein. The standard defines a 21-pin connector (herein after a SCART connector) for carrying analog television signals. Various pieces of equipment may be connected by cables having a plug fitting the SCART connectors. Television apparatuses commonly include one or more SCART connectors.


Although a SCART connector is bidirectional, the present invention is concerned with the use of a SCART connector as an input connector for receiving signals into a television apparatus. A SCART connector can receive input television signals either in an RGB format in which the red, green and blue signals are received on Pins 15, 11 and 7, respectively, or alternatively in an S-Video format in which the luminance (Y) and chroma (C) signals are received on Pins 20 and 15. As a result of the common usage of Pin 15 in accordance with the SCART standard, a SCART connector cannot receive input television signals in an RGB format and in an S-Video format at the same time.


Consequently many commercially available television apparatuses include a separate SCART connectors each dedicated to receive input television signals in one of an RGB format and an S-Video format. This limits the functionality of the SCART connectors. In practical terms, the number of SCART connectors which can be provided on a television apparatus is limited by cost and space considerations. However, different users wish the input a wide range of different combinations of formats of television signals, depending on the equipment they personally own and use. However, the provision of SCART connectors dedicated to input television signals in one of an RGB format and an S-Video format limits the overall connectivity of the television apparatus. Furthermore, for many users the different RGB format and S-Video format are confusing. Some users may not understand or may mistake the format of a television signal being supplied on a given cable from a given piece of equipment. This can result in the supply of input television signals of an inappropriate format for the SCART connector concerned.

This kind of connector is todays obsoleted !

One more comment about digital in 2000..............

Over the years we have learnt that one of the most important things in video/ TV technology is selecting the best system to use. We have also seen how difficult this can be. Prior to the start of the colour TV era in Europe there was an great to-do about the best system to adopt. The US NTSC system seemed an obvious choice to start with. It had been proved in use, and refine- ments had been devised. But alternative, better solutions were proposed - PAL and Secam. PAL proved to be a great success, in fact a good choice. 

The French Secam system seems to have worked just as well. Apart from the video tape battles of the Seventies, the next really big debate concerned digital TV. When it came to digital terrestrial TV (DTT), Europe and the USA again adopted different standards. 

One major difference is the modulation system used for transmission. Coded orthogonal frequency   division multiplexing (COFDM) was selected for the European DVB system, while in the USA a system called 8VSB was adopted. COFDM uses quadrature amplitude modulation of a number of orthogonal carriers that are spread across the channel bandwidth. Because of their number, each carrier has a relatively low bit rate. 

The main advantage of the system is its excellent behaviour under multipath reception conditions. 8VSB represents a rather older,  pre phase modulation technoogy: eight  state amplitude modulation of a single carrier, with a vestigial sideband. The decision on the US system was assigned to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), reporting to the FCC. The system it proposed was approved by the FCC on December 26th, 1996. The curious date might suggest that there had been a certain amount of politicking. In fact there had been an almighty row between the TV and computer industries about the video standard to adopt, the two fearing that one or other would gain an advantage as the technologies converged. It was 'resolved' by adopting a sort of   "open standard"  we are talking about resolution and scanning standards here - the idea apparently being that the technology would somehow sort itself out.

 There seems to have been rather less concern about the modulation standard. 8VSB was adopted because it was assumed to be able to provide a larger service area than the alternatives, including COFDM, for a given transmitter power. Well, the USA is a very large place! But the US TV industry, or at least some parts of it, is now having second thoughts. Once the FCC had made its decision, there was pressure to get on with digital TV. In early 1998 there were announce- ments about the start of transmissions and broadcasters assured the FCC that DTT would be available in the ten areas of greatest population concentration by May 1999. Rapid advances were expected, with an anticipated analogue TV switch -off in 2006. So far however things have not gone like that. At the end of 1999 some seventy DTI' transmitters were in operation, but Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association estimates suggest that only some 50,000 sets and 5,000 STBs had been sold.

 There have been many reports of technical problems, in particular with reception in urban and hilly areas and the use of indoor aerials, also with video/audio sync and other matters. Poor reception with indoor aerials in urban conditions is of particular concern: that's how much of the population receives its TV. The UK was the first European country to start DTI', in late 1998 - at much the same time as in the USA. The contrast is striking. ONdigital had signed up well over 500,000 subscribers by the end of 1999, a much higher proportion of viewers than in the USA. Free STBs have played a part of course, but it's notable that DTT 's reception in the UK has been relatively hassle -free. In making this comparison it should also be remembered that the main aim of DTT technology differs in Europe and the USA. 

The main concern in Europe has been to provide additional channels. In the USA it has been to move to HDTV, in particular to provide a successor the NTSC system. There have been plenty of channels in the USA for many a year. For example the DirecTV satellite service started in mid 1994 and offers some 200 channels. Internationally, various countries have been comparing the US and European digital systems. They have overwhelmingly come down in favour of the DVB system. There have been some very damaging assessments of the ATSC standard. The present concern in the US TV industry results from this poor domestic take up and lack of international success. Did the FCC make a boob, in particular in the choice of 8VSB? Following compara- tive tests carried out by Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc., the company has petitioned the FCC to adopt COFDM as an option in the ATSC standard. Not only did its tests confirm poor reception with indoor aerials: they also established that the greater coverage predicted for 8VSB failed to materialise in practice. Could the USA have two DTT transmission standards? It seems unlikely. It would involve dual standard receivers and non  standardisation of transmitters. In the all important business of system selection, it looks as if the FCC got it wrong.

              ....................................   It is obviously wasteful to duplicate terrestrial TV transmissions in analogue and digital form. Sooner or later transmissions will all be digital, since this is a more efficient use of spectrum space. The question is when? It would suit some to switch off the analogue transmitters as soon as possible. 2006 has been suggested as a time to start, with ana- logue transmissions finally ending in 2010. All very neat and tidy. Whether it will work out in that way is another matter. Strong doubts are already beginning to be aired. 

 The government has, quite properly, laid down conditions to be met before the switch off occurs. Basically that the digital signal coverage should equal that achieved for analogue TV, currently 99.4 per cent of the population, and that digital receiving equipment should be available at an affordable price. The real problem is that there is a difference between a coverage of 99.4 per cent and 99.4 per cent of the population actually having digital receiving equipment. Why should those who are interested in only free - to -air channels go out and buy/rent a digital receiver? It is already becoming evident that this represents a fair chunk of the population. 

The ITC has warned the government that the 2006-2010 timetable is in jeopardy. Peter Rogers, the ITC's chief executive, has said "we need to persuade people only interested in watching free -to -air television to switch to digital. "

Unless we do, there will be no switch - over." Well not quite, because the analogue receivers will eventually wear out and have to be replaced. But that could take a long, long time. Meanwhile many people will expect to be able to continue to watch their usual TV fare using their existing analogue receivers. 

Research carried out by Culture Secretary Chris Smith's department has established that between forty and fifty per cent of the population expects the BBC licence to cover their TV viewing, which means what they get at present in analogue form. A substantial percentage of the population simply isn't interested in going digital. In fact take up of integrated receiver -decoders, as opposed to the free digital set -top boxes, has so far been very slow. 

Of five million TV sets sold in the UK year 1999 , only 10,000 were digital. There are important factors apart from overall coverage and how many people have sets. There is the extension of coverage, which becomes more difficult to achieve eco- nomically as the number of those not covered decreases. There is the problem of reception quality. And there is the question of domestic arrangements and convenience. Extending coverage to the last ten fifteen per cent of the population by means of conventional terrestrial transmitters will be expensive. Mr Smith's department seems to have conceded that other methods of signal delivery may have to be adopted - by satellite, by microwave links or by cable. The latter has of course never been economic where few households are involved. 

The frequency planners have been trying to find ways of increasing coverage even to well populated areas. There are so many areas where problems of one sort or another make the provision of DTT difficult. Satellite TV is the obvious solution. 

The time may well come when it is wondered why anyone bothered with DTT. Signal quality is becoming an increasingly important factor as the digital roll out continues. In areas where the signal is marginal, viewers could experience the extreme irritation of picture break up or complete loss like even todays. This is quite apart from the actual quality of the channel, which depends on the number of bits per second used. There is a maximum number of bits per multiplex, the total being shared by several channels. The fewer the bits, the poorer the picture in terms of definition and rendering. 

There have already been complaints about poor quality. The question of domestic arrangements is one that has not so far received adequate public attention. Most households 2000 nowadays don't have just one TV set that the family watches. They have a main one, probably, almost certainly one or more VCRs, and several other sets around the house to serve various purposes. What 'the percentage of households that have digital TV' should really mean is the percentage willing to replace all this equipment. It will be expensive, and people would not be happy if they were told to throw away their other equipment when they get a single nice new all  singing all dancing widescreen digital TV set. It fact there would be uproar. The move from analogue to digital is not like that from 405 to 625 lines, which went fairly smoothly.

In those days few people had video equipment or a multitude of sets. The transition to digital is not going to be smooth, and the suggestion of a switch off during 2006-2010 already looks totally unrealistic. Unless the government subsidises or gives away digital TV sets - and why should it? - people will expect their existing equipment to continue to be usable.  

So it's likely that analogue TV will be with us for many years yet. But that would be the end of analogue too. 

.............................Indeed...............................

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The Loewe brand values have been shaped consistently over a long period of time. It all began in Berlin in 1923, with the brothers Dr. Siegmund and David Ludwig Loewe. Since then, one principle has always been adhered to: setting new standards with innovation for the senses.

Loewe established an impressive level of quality as early as 1931, with the first public television transmission worldwide. Loewe has been producing quality made in Germany at its location in Kronach since 1948. In the last 20 years, in addition to the Art 1 from 1985 becoming a design classic, Loewe has received numerous national and international awards.

In 2005, Loewe became the leading premium flat screen television provider. It made its breakthrough with the Loewe Individual: the first flat screen television with individualised housing versions, set-up options and inset colours. In 2008, with the Loewe Connect, Loewe heralded a new, digital television age where non-system end devices could be connected to a flat screen television set. One year later, Loewe combined uncompromising ultraslim design with leading state-of-the-art technology in the Reference range. In 2010, Loewe ultimately introduced the Mediacenter, which provides perfect entertainment networking throughout the home. Another step towards the future.

Loewe AG (pronounced [ˈløːvə]) is the parent company of the German Loewe group. The Loewe group develops, manufactures and sells a wide variety of electronic, electrical and mechanical products and systems, and specialises in the field of consumer and communication technology. The company was founded in Berlin in 1923 by brothers Siegmund and David L. Loewe. The company has its headquarters and sole production facilities in Kronach, Franconia. Today, the range has expanded to include televisions, Blu-ray players, DVD recorders, hard disk recorders, multiroom systems, speakers and racks. The trend is shifting from individual products to complete home entertainment systems. Loewe AG is also represented internationally by sales partners and subsidiaries. These include subsidiaries in the Benelux countries, France, Italy, Austria and the UK. There are exclusive Loewe Galeries acting as flagship stores in many cities around the world, including Madrid, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Copenhagen, Vienna, Moscow and Hong Kong.


LOEWE Company history
It all began in 1923 in Berlin, when Dr Siegmund Loewe and his brother David Ludwig Loewe established a radio manufacturing company called Radiofrequenz GmbH. Their work with the young physicist Manfred von Ardenne in 1926 led to the development of the triple tube, which was first used in the Loewe OE333 radio receiver. This tube prompted Loewe’s multi-tube production and is today lauded as the world’s first integrated circuit.

Television development began at Loewe in 1929. The company worked together with British television pioneer John Logie Baird. In 1931, Manfred von Ardenne presented the world’s first fully electronic television to the public on the Loewe stand at the 8th Berlin Radio Show.

When Hitler came to power in Germany, Siegmund Loewe had to emigrate to the USA in 1938, where he developed friendship with yet another forced emigrant, Albert Einstein.

In 1949, Siegmund Loewe regained possession of company property and took over as chairman of the supervisory board. In the 1950s, Loewe began producing the Optaphon, the first cassette tape recorder, and manufacturing televisions in Kronach. 1961 saw the first European video recorder, the Optacord 500, enter mass production.

In 1962, the family company tradition ended with the death of Siegmund Loewe. Subsidiaries of the Philips group took over the majority of shares. Under this management, which continued until 1985, the company increasingly specialised in the development and production of televisions.

In 1963, the first portable television, Loewe Optaport, was launched. It had a 25cm screen and built-in FM radio. The first Loewe colour televisions were launched along with the introduction of colour television in Germany. Loewe revolutionised television production in 1979 with a fully integrated chassis (everything on a single board). The first European stereo television followed in 1981.

In 1985, management made Loewe a privately owned company again after Philips sold its shares. In the same year, Loewe created the Art 1, a new generation of TVs with a focus on design.

The CS1 represented another international first in 1995 as the world’s first fully recyclable television. At this time, the course was also set for systematic further development as a multimedia specialist.

1998 marked two more milestones in the company history: the launch of the Xelos @ media, the first television with internet access, and that of the Spheros, the first Loewe flat-screen television. In the following year, Loewe AG became a publicly listed company.

With the Individual, the first flat-screen TV with individual housing options, set-up solutions and inset colours, Loewe took a decisive step and became a premium flat-screen TV manufacturer.

Loewe Connect, the world's first smart TV with fully integrated network capability for wireless access to picture, music and video files on a computer or external hard drive followed in 2008.

LED technology was adopted at Loewe in 2010 in the new Individual. In the following year, Loewe introduced 3D picture display to its Individual range.


01.07.2019 With Loewe, it's over now, here is why..............

The plant in Kronach remains largely deserted from this Monday on: The Upper Franconian TV manufacturer Loewe ceases operations. Most of the more than 400 employees no longer show up for work.

Loewe has been in a crisis for years and now, at least for the time being, the production of televisions in Kronach, Upper Franconia, has come to an end. On Monday, the bankrupt manufacturer with a long tradition ceases operations. The majority of the more than 400 employees are released from work and do not have to come to work. According to the provisional insolvency administrator Rüdiger Weiß, only a core team of ten to fifteen employees remains.

The remaining few employees will continue to look for a rescuing investor in the coming months. One of the most urgent tasks for the insolvency administrator and the Loewe works council is now to negotiate a social plan for the workforce. According to Weiß, he hopes to be able to conclude this by mid-July.

Although the employees are currently released from their duties and no longer receive a salary from Loewe, no one has been dismissed so far. This can only be done after an agreement has been reached on a social plan and a reconciliation of interests. According to Weiß, if no investor is found, the employment contracts could be kept until the end of October at the latest.

Dispute with IG Metall

According to the insolvency administrator's assessment, it will take that long even in the event of another rescue until there is clarity. "We expect the investor process to take another four months," said Weiß. "We will do everything we can to find someone, there have already been initial discussions with investors.

For Loewe, this is the second crisis in a few years to threaten its very existence. "Loewe has been running a loss-making business for years," said Weiß. "Everyone in the company agrees that the compensation structure is not appropriate. To cover personnel costs alone, annual sales of EUR 150 million would be required; for a black zero, we would need sales of EUR 180 million. In fact, it was 120 million in the end."

However, there are fierce disputes with the trade union. The Bavarian IG Metall district manager Johann Horn accuses the British investment company Riverrock of deliberately refusing Loewe new loans. There is some evidence that "the financial investor Riverrock is waiting until Loewe has finally bled out, only to earn money with the ruins of the company afterwards," Horn recently said. In addition, he pointed out that the investor wanted to implement such drastic wage cuts and worse working conditions.

Postbank plays an important role

According to IG Metall, Riverrock has kept Loewe afloat in the past with a double-digit million euro loan, but has now refused a new loan. The former management has also pledged the Loewe brand name to Riverrock.

The preliminary insolvency administrator rejects these accusations: "I cannot understand the criticism of IG Metall," said Weiß. In the presence of the union, all possible models for restructuring had been agreed. "We needed EUR 5.5 million to continue operations until the end of the year and a further EUR 3.4 million for a qualification and employment company for all employees.

According to Weiß, Riverrock was willing to finance this company - but made it dependent on Postbank's decision to take over Loewes' outstanding debts, to pay them on behalf of Loewes and to collect them from customers. So far, Postbank has refused to do so.

LOEWE HISTORY IN GERMAN:
Loewe war und ist immer ein besonderer Betrieb - und bis ins 21. Jahrhundert aktiv und in privatem Besitz. Nicht nur «das erste IC», die Röhre 3NF ist da zu erwähnen, sondern auch die Mitentwicklung des elektronischen Fernsehens in Deutschland.

1923: Radiofrequenz-GmbH und Loewe-Audion GmbH, Berlin-Friedenau;
1926: Aktiengesellschaft D.S. Loewe, Berlin-Steglitz;
1930: Radio-Aktien-Gesellschaft Dr. S. Loewe;
1933 (nach): Löwe-Radio AG;
1942: Opta-Radio AG;
1949: Loewe-Opta AG;
1965: Loewe Opta GmbH, Kronach.
Radios: 1923 bis 1926, Loewe 1927 bis 1978. TV-Fabrikation danach.


Nach Studium der Physik und Elektrotechnik promoviert Siegmund Loewe (Berlin 6.11.1885-28.5.1962 USA) unter Max Wien mit magna cum laude zum Dr. phil. Er tritt bei der Firma Telefunken ein und wechselt 1915 zur Firma Huth, wo er die Leitung der Laboratorien und der Patentabteilung übernimmt. 1918 mietet Loewe in Berlin SW61 eine 7-Zimmer-Wohnung und erstellt mit einer kleinen Entwicklungsgruppe einen Telefonie-Röhrensender, dessen Sendungen in dem nicht weit entfernten Haus des Scherl-Verlages von Otto Kappelmayer zu empfangen sind. Um seine Kenntnisse zu erweitern, begibt sich Loewe in die USA. Einen ausführlichen Bericht von und über Loewe finden Sie in [1-99], woraus Sie erkennen können, dass Loewe das treibende Element für den Rundfunk in Deutschland war. Wie er gegen den Monopolanspruch von Telefunken/Lorenz/Huth (Funkkartell «Rundfunk GmbH») kämpfte und weitere Details finden Sie in [6-121].

Nach seiner Rückkehr aus den USA wird das Versuchslabor von Loewe zum Kristallisationspunkt der jungen Funktechnik. Im Dezember 1921 erhält Loewe Besuch von Lee de Forest, und sie verbessern gemeinsam Röhren. 1921 entstehen auch zwei grundlegende Patente für den Konus-Lautsprecher. Loewe eröffnet ein zweites Laboratorium und gründet 1923 die Loewe-Audion-GmbH für die Herstellung von Radioröhren sowie die Radiosender GmbH.

Im Dezember 1921 lernt der Realschüler Manfred von Ardenne den Radiopionier Loewe in einem Elektrikergeschäft kennen und ist darauf häufiger Gast in den Laboratorien von Loewe. Ein Autor schreibt, dass Loewe zum «Ziehvater» des jungen von Ardenne wird und er in der Familie aufgenommen ist, doch von Ardenne beschreibt dies in seinem Buch «Eine glückliche Jugend im Zeichen der Technik» (DDR) nicht.

Die wahrscheinlich 1923 gegründete Loewe Radio GmbH führt der jüngste Loewe-Bruder Bernhard. Das D bei D.S. Loewe steht für den älteren Bruder, David (Teilhaber).

Radiofrequenz GmbH und Loewe-Audion GmbH (1923-27):
Am 22.1.23 erwirbt Dr. Siegmund Loewe die seit 1918/19 bestehende Mechanische Werkstatt Grüttner & Lütgert in Berlin-Friedenau und gründet die Radiofrequenz GmbH. Die ersten Geräte sind für den Export bestimmt. Davon sind mir die Typen EA51, EA52 und EA54 bekannt. EA steht für «Empfangs-Apparat».

Im Jahr darauf stellt der Betrieb die Ziffer 9 vor die laufende Nummer. Der Sprung von EA958 auf EA980 deutet auf andere Artikel hin (z.B. Trichterlautsprecher und kombinierte Geräte etc.). Nachher ist keine Nummernsystematik mehr zu erkennen, ausser den Buchstabenkombinationen wie OE (Orts-Empfänger), FE (Fern-Empfänger), KV (KW-Vorsetzer), RO (Rückkopplungs-Ortsempfänger) etc.
1927 gibt Loewe den Namen Radiofrequenz auf und verwendet seinen eigenen Namen. Die drei Geräte OE333, 2H3N und NVG gibt es unter beiden Namen, da sie Loewe 1927/28 ohne neue Modelle weiter produziert. Mehr als eine Million dieser Geräte lassen sich zum Stückpreis von 39.50 RM verkaufen, und die Tagesproduktion erreicht zeitweise 2000 Einheiten.

Im Oktober 1923 gründet Loewe eine weitere Gesellschaft zur Herstellung von Rundfunkröhren mit dem Namen Loewe-Audion GmbH, ebenfalls an der Niedstrasse 5 in Berlin-Friedenau gelegen. Zuerst entstehen dort Wolfram-, dann Thoriumröhren als «Sparröhren». Im September 1924 meldet Loewe die grundlegenden Patente zur Dreifachröhre mit integrierten Bauteilen an, die 1926 als 3NF mit dem «Loewe Ortsempfänger OE333» einen legendären Ruf erreicht.

Loewe, Löwe, Opta, Loewe-Opta
Die Schrift «Loewe-Story» aus dem Hause Loewe-Opta zeigt die Abbildung eines «Detektor-Empfängers» mit zwei Steckspulen, der angeblich zur Eröffnung des Rundfunks bereitstand. Es ist aber ein umfunktionierter Sperrkreis für den Empfänger 2H3N, Baujahr 1927, was auch aus dem Firmenschild mit «Berlin-Steglitz» hervorgeht.

1926 entsteht die Aktiengesellschaft D.S. Loewe, Berlin-Steglitz. Als zweites Gerät unter der neuen Marke Loewe bzw. Loewe Radio gilt der auf der Funkausstellung im September 1926 gezeigte Fernempfänger 2H3N zu RM 150. Auch Lautsprecherboxen mit Loewe-Konus-Lautsprecher und Stoffbezug im «Südsee-look» sind nun erhältlich. Wegen der steigenden Anzahl Rundfunksender treten Trennschärfeprobleme auf, so dass die Dreifachröhre für den Einbezug einer Rückkopplung einen siebten Anschluss erhält. Diese «3NF7» baut Loewe ab 1928 in alle OE333, 2H3N und in das dritte Gerät, den RO433 ein. Die elektrische Schallplatten-Abtastdose LR150 erregt Aufsehen; Gewicht 260 g! Die Dose verlangt einen Abspielwinkel von 55 Grad. Die 3NF gibt es nun auch mit Oxydkathode als 3NFB mit einem Verbrauch von 0,13 statt 0,34 A Heizstrom - zudem beträgt die Verstärkung etwa das Doppelte. Weitere Details zu Firmengründungen von Loewe siehe [638967]. Es sind dies z.B. die Eudarit-Pressgut GmbH für Bakelitgehäuse etc. und die Ortophon-Apparatebau GmbH für den Lautsprecherbau.

1929 bringen die Loewe-Firmen den «Vollnetzanschluss-Empfänger R533» heraus, der mit einer nochmals verbesserten Dreifachröhre, der 3NFW mit indirekter Heizung, ausgestattet ist. 1929 entsteht Loewe's Berliner-Radio-Handels-Aktiengesellschaft. Die Baird Television Company Ltd., London, bietet Loewe die Auswertung und Entwicklung ihrer Schutzrechte und Entwicklungsarbeiten auf dem Fernsehgebiet in Deutschland an. Da dieses Angebot die finanziellen Möglichkeiten von Loewe übersteigt, regt Dr. Loewe eine Beteiligung von Zeiss Ikon, Dresden, und Robert Bosch, Stuttgart, an. Es kommt Mitte 1929 zur Gründung der Fernseh-AG in Berlin, die 1939 im Firmenverband Robert Bosch aufgeht.

1930 fasst Loewe verschiedene seiner Firmen unter dem Namen Radio-Aktien-Gesellschaft Dr. S. Loewe zusammen und mit dem EB100W (1931 EB100G) beginnt die Reihe der Empfänger mit integriertem Lautsprecher.

Im Auftrag der Loewe-Firmen bringt von Ardenne aus seinem eigenen Labor 1930 erste brauchbare Vorschläge zur Helligkeitssteuerung, um auf einem Bildschirm ein gut modulierbares Bildraster zu schreiben. Meine gasgefüllte Braun'sche Röhre aus dem Labor von Ardenne zeugt für die Forschung um 1926.

Auch auf der Senderseite entwickelt Loewe elektronische Medien auf der Grundlage des «Flying-spot-Abtasters», um Filme elektronisch übertragen zu können. Am 25.4.31 veranstalten Dr. S. Loewe und M. von Ardenne in den Lichterfelder-Laboratorien eine Vorführung vor der Fachpresse. Bald darauf kann Loewe die Qualität der mechanischen Systeme erreichen und übertreffen. Siehe [1-127f]. 1932 geht von Ardenne eigene Wege. 1933, ein Jahr vor den Mitbewerbern, erkennt Dr. Loewe die Notwendigkeit von Allstrom-Apparaten und bringt den 1-Kreis-Empfänger «Edda» auf den Markt. (Ganz so richtig ist das nicht: zumindest Emud kommt 1931 mit «Allstrom», EE). Zu der Zeit halten sich Wohnungen mit Gleich- bzw. Wechselstrom etwa die Waage und eine Familie, die umzieht, kann den transformatorlosen Apparat weiterverwenden. Der Apparat führt die Allstrom-Dreifachröhre WD33. Das Allstromkonzept führt Loewe auch für Mehrkreis- und Superhet-Empfänger mit den Röhren WG34, WG35 und WG36 fort.

Auf dem in England bestellten Sattelschlepper mit einer Fernseh-Sendereinrichtung steht anlässlich der Premiere vom Juli 1934 in London gross der Namenszug Radio A.G. D.S. Loewe. Das Regime in Deutschland lässt die Firma jedoch bald in Löwe-Radio AG umtaufen und 1942 in Opta-Radio AG. Loewe wandert 1936 in die USA aus und gründet dort die Loewe Radio Inc. Er hat 1938 aus dem Vorstand in Deutschland auszuscheiden.

1941-44 fertigen die Opta-Betriebe ausschliesslich Rüstungsgüter; Opta-Radios sind dann Fremdtypen [638966-19]. Man gliedert Grassman in den Opta-Betrieb ein. Es entstehen Auslagerungsbetriebe, z.B. in Oberlungwitz in Sachsen. In Berlin-Weissensee entsteht während des Krieges ein Betrieb für Röhrenbau [DRM94].

Noch im März 1945 verlagert das Unternehmen eine wichtige Kriegsfertigung nach Küps bei Kronach. Dies ist die Keimzelle der neuen Firma, denn 1948 kann S. Loewe seine Wiedergutmachungsansprüche durchsetzen und erhält das Sagen beim demontierten Hauptwerk in Berlin und der Auslagerungsstätte in Küps bei Kronach. In Küps fabriziert Loewe ab 1946. Gemäss «Loewe-Story» gibt es vor November 1947 den «Kronach», wahrscheinlich 547W, in einer Auflage von zwei Geräten pro Tag. Ein getrenntes Werk in Düsseldorf-Heerdt offeriert als Firma Opta-Spezial GmbH von 1950 bis 1954 Opta-Spezial-Radios [6-124]. Konsul Bruno Pieper wirkt als Generaldirektor.

Jedenfalls: Auf der Leipziger Messe von 1947 sind wieder Loewe-Entwicklungen zu sehen. Die Firma erzeugt 1950 mit dem «Optaphon» das erste deutsche Kassetten-Tonbandgerät. 1961 ist Loewe mit dem «Optacord 500», einer für den privaten Gebrauch konzipierten Video-Anlage, führend beim Bildschirmtext und baut vor allem modernste TV-Empfänger - ein Steckenpferd von Dr. S. Loewe. Er stirbt 1962.

Bis 1978 fertigt die Firma Radios in Berlin, löst diesen Betrieb aber auf. Der Mitarbeiterbestand bei Loewe beträgt Ende der 80er Jahre ca. 1500. Die Loewe Opta GmbH, Kronach, gehört in den 90er Jahren zu 51,9 % der Management GBR (Gesellschaft leitender Mitarbeiter der GmbH) und zu 48,1 % zu Matsushita (Panasonic), wobei eine gute gegenseitige Befruchtung für das Hauptprodukt, TV, zum Tragen kommt.

Loewe in Ostdeutschland:
Opta Leipzig, ab 1950 VEB Stern-Radio Leipzig genannt, geht 1952 im VEB Fernmeldewerk Leipzig auf. Die Radioproduktion endet 1950/51.

Nach dem Krieg versuchen Loewe-Mitarbeiter des Zweigwerkes in Oberlungwitz in Sachsen, Maschinen und Vorrichtungen nach West-Berlin zu transportieren, doch die Sowjets verlangen, dass diese Güter in die Röhrenfabrik Berlin-Weissensee gelangen.

Dieser Loewe-Betrieb arbeitet mit der Röhrenfabrik in Berlin.

Loewe hat auch in anderen Ländern Produktionsstätten, so z.B. in Grossbritannien. Vor allem aber auch Handelsniederlassungen, wie Loewe Radio S.A., 3 quai de Willebroeck, Bruxelles (adress in 1932).

Literature

• 75 Jahre Loewe (1923-1998). Und die Zukunft geht weiter, author's edition 1998
• Kilian J.L. Steiner: Ortsempfänger, Volksfernseher und Optaphon. Die Entwicklung der deutschen Radio- und Fernsehindustrie und das Unternehmen Loewe 1923-1962. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2005, ISBN 978-3-89861-492-4
• Frank Keuper, Jürgen Kindervater, Heiko Dertinger, Andreas Heim (Hrsg.): Das Diktat der Markenführung. 11 Thesen zur nachhaltigen Markenführung und -implementierung. Mit einem umfassenden Fallbeispiel der Loewe AG, Gabler Fachverlage, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8349-0852-0

References

• "Loewe klang 5 active speaker - Winner - Entertainment - German Design Award". www.german-design-award.com (in German). Retrieved 2017-09-13.
• https://www.loewe.tv/de/legal/impressum
• 
  
• "German technology manufacturer Loewe declares bankruptcy"
• 
  
• Loewe AG: self-administration insolvency, a corporate press-release
• 
  
• "Investor consortium to rescue high-end TV maker Loewe". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
• 
  
• "Münchener Investor übernimmt Loewe". Handelsblatt. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
• 
  
• "German Design Award Winners".
•  
•  

Einzelnachweise

loewe.tv: Impressum
Loewe bild 7 - Gold - Entertainment - German Design Award. Abgerufen am 9. Oktober 2017.

http://www.nordbayerischer-kurier.de/nachrichten/loewe-gliedert-markenrechte-aus_627658

NDR: Manfred von Ardenne - Herr des Fernsehens. Abgerufen am 9. Oktober 2017.

NDR: Manfred von Ardenne - Herr des Fernsehens. Abgerufen am 9. Oktober 2017.

Loewe. Abgerufen am 13. September 2017 (englisch).

Radioapparate. In: Berliner Adreßbuch, 1924, Teil 2, S. 475.

Kilian J. L. Steiner: Die „Arisierung“ der Radioaktiengesellschaft D. S. Loewe in Berlin-Steglitz. In: Christof Biggeleben u. a.: „Arisierung“ in Berlin. Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-938690-55-0, S. 226.

radiomuseum-bocket: Der OE333 Ortsempfänger. Abgerufen am 8. November 2016.

radiomuseum.org: Ortsempfänger OE333. Abgerufen am 28. Januar 2016.

radiomuseum.org: Röhre 3NF. Abgerufen am 28. Januar 2016.

Die Loewe-Röhre 3NFB – Analyse einer Mehrfachröhre. (PDF; 170 kB)

Kilian J. L. Steiner: Die „Arisierung“ der Radioaktiengesellschaft D. S. Loewe in Berlin-Steglitz. In: Christof Biggeleben u. a.: „Arisierung“ in Berlin. Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-938690-55-0, S. 226.

Kilian J. L. Steiner: Die „Arisierung“ der Radioaktiengesellschaft D. S. Loewe in Berlin-Steglitz. In: Christof Biggeleben u. a.: „Arisierung“ in Berlin. Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-938690-55-0, S. 226.

Joachim Hofer: Loewe will leben. In: Handelsblatt. 17. Juli 2013, S. 16 f.

Letzte Chance für Loewe. In: Handelsblatt. 17. Juli 2013, S. 1.

Loewe hofft auf den reichen Retter. Handelsblatt, 16. Juli 2013, abgerufen am 16. Juli 2013.

Loewe schwört trotz Krise auf Luxus-Geschäftsmodell. inFranken.de, 31. Juli 2013, abgerufen am 1. August 2013.

Loewe: Partner kommt aus China. inFranken.de, 31. Juli 2013, abgerufen am 1. August 2013.

Loewe: Kapitalmaßnahmen auf den Weg gebracht. (Nicht mehr online verfügbar.) Loewe AG, 7. August 2013, archiviert vom Original am 5. Oktober 2013; abgerufen am 1. September 2013.  Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis.

Restrukturierungsprozess vor dem Abschluss. (Nicht mehr online verfügbar.) Loewe AG, 16. September 2013, archiviert vom Original am 26. September 2013; abgerufen am 17. September 2013.  Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis.

TV-Hersteller Loewe meldet Insolvenz an (1. Oktober 2013)

Loewe AG: Insolvenzverfahren in Eigenverwaltung bestätigt. (Memento des Originals vom 4. Oktober 2013 im Internet Archive)  Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis. Ad-hoc-Meldung auf: corporate.loewe.tv, 1. Oktober 2013.

TV-Hersteller in der Krise: Loewe meldet Insolvenz an. auf: spiegel.de, 1. Oktober 2013.

Bevollmächtigter gibt sich für Loewe optimistisch. FAZ.net. 13. Oktober 2013

Insolventer TV-Hersteller: Loewe-Käufer machen Rückzieher. Spiegel Online, 24. Februar 2014, abgerufen am 24. Februar 2014.

Stargate Capital übernimmt Loewe, Handelsblatt, am 21. März 2014

Neue Hoffnung für Loewe: Finanzinvestor übernimmt TV-Gerätebauer. In: Heise Online. 22. März 2014, abgerufen am 23. März 2014.

Loewe findet neuen Investor. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 22. März 2014, abgerufen am 23. März 2014.

Andreas Wilkens: Loewe-Rettung in trockenen Tüchern. 9. April 2014, abgerufen am 9. April 2014.

Loewe: 2016 noch kein Gewinn | Nordbayerischer Kurier. Abgerufen am 28. August 2017.

Loewe. Abgerufen am 9. Oktober 2017 (englisch).