Stereo Pioneer Carl Eilers Dead at 83

Heart Attack Fells Stereo, TV, Radio Pioneer Who Spent 50 Years with Zenith

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/23/2008 10:26:00 AM

Stereo, TV and radio pioneer Carl Eilers died June 20 of an apparent heart attack at his home in River Forest, Ill. He was 83.

Eilers spent 50 years with Zenith, including pioneering pay TV and collecting a number of related patents through the development of Zenith Phonevision. Eilers himself was granted 21 patents.

Eilers helped to develop the multichannel television sound (MTS) system adopted as the industry standard in 1984. He was also a member of the company's HD development team. Eilers also helped to develop the FM-stereo standard adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1961.

The Consumer Electronics Association said of Eilers that he “holds a unique place in the annals of consumer-electronics technology history as co-developer of two key industry standards.”

Zenith received two technical Emmy Awards for its development of stereo TV and HDTV.

Eilers is survived by his wife, Sandra; a son, John; and daughter Janet Ames.

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