Kid Bits: How Television/Video Works

This very basic one camera show is interesting as far as it goes--which, unfortunately, isn't very far. Using short segments, the program offers one instructor sitting before a television set (on which we see the instructor sitting before a television set) ostensibly explaining the following subjects: high-frequency, the TV converter, TV color, TV signals, and video. True to the title, however, these short clips are truly "bits"--they either graze the surface of the topic (as in the sections on video and TV signals) or else they spend an inordinate amount of time dissecting a relatively unimportant facet of the technology: how to play with the TV converter box, for example. While the host is laid back and easy to listen to, the program ultimately fails in that it doesn't really live up to its title. Children may come away with some understanding of how television works, but since neither a video camera nor a VCR (or even a videocassette) are shown in the program, it's misleading to include the word "video" in the title. Not recommended. (Available from: Chip Taylor Communications, 15 Spollett Drive, Derry, NH 03038.)