Sony Micro-TV Model TV5-303
Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
45 mm ISO 800 for 1/50 sec. at ƒ/9.0
1960s Portable Sony TV was a Hit with Showa Emperor and Frank Sinatra!
Location: Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, Koganei, Tokyo
Timestamp: 13:28 on October 25, 2023
Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6
45 mm ISO 800 for 1/50 sec. at ƒ/9.0
Sony unveiled its 5-inch portable TV, the Micro-TV (Model #TV5-303), to the world on April 17, 1962, and it hit the U.S. market with a bang on October 4th of the same year. The grand launch took place at Sony’s state-of-the-art New York showroom on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue, with over 400 guests, including the esteemed Consul General of New York.
This incredibly compact micro-television, available in silver and black versions, became an instant sensation. Demand soared to unprecedented levels, leaving Sony struggling to keep pace. Despite shipping sets by sea straight from the assembly line, the company couldn’t meet the eager market's needs.
With rival manufacturers hot on their heels, Sony took a bold step by chartering a Pan American airliner to expedite the TVs to the U.S., capitalizing on the momentum they had generated.
It wasn't only six months later in early 1963 that Hayakawa Electric introduced similar portable televisions to the U.S. market, trailing behind Sony's groundbreaking Micro-TV.
During a factory tour in March 1962, the Showa Emperor and Empress of Japan received an exclusive preview of the Micro-TV. Sony's co-founders, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, went to great lengths, requesting Their Imperial Majesties to maintain strict confidentiality regarding the yet-to-be-announced Micro-TV.
This act of secrecy mirrors the practices of today's tech giants like Google and Apple. However, this request sparked controversy, leading to sensational headlines in Japan's major weeklies, including articles with headlines such as "Emperor is Hushed Up!" These weekly publications (週刊誌), often regarded more as politically provocative tabloids than bastions of high journalistic standards, may have inadvertently amplified the buzz surrounding the Micro-TV.
Adding to the Micro-TV's allure was a surprise admirer – the legendary Frank Sinatra. After being given a sneak peek in April 1962, Sinatra was so captivated by the TV5-303 that he expressed a desire to take one back to the States. Acknowledging the limitations of the Japanese model in picking up U.S. channels, Morita pledged to deliver a U.S. spec model to Sinatra as soon as they were available.
True to his word, Morita personally delivered the television to Sinatra at Paramount Pictures in October, the day after the sets went on sale, fulfilling his promise and cementing the Micro-TV's status as a technological marvel of its time.
The Sony TV5-303 Mini-TV that I photographed can be seen on display in the “House of Kunio Maekawa,” which is just one of the many vintage and preserved structures on display at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Tokyo.
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