Alexandra Palace television station

The BBC's 405-line service, opened November 2, 1936 From this hilltop in north London the BBC began a regular high-definition service, and for a while it ran a live contest between two technologies, alternating week by week between Baird's 240-line system, which relied on intermediate film, and Marconi-EMI's 405-line all-electronic system. The electronic system was the one kept, which settled the argument between mechanical and electronic television in practice. Just as important was the move from laboratory novelty to a scheduled service with programs to watch, which is what gave people a reason to want a set.