[QuadList] LA TV stations with quad and film chains back then

[Ted Langdell]

On Aug 15, 2008, at 9:57 PM, DCFWTX at aol.com wrote:

> n a message dated 8/15/2008 6:36:18 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
> ted at quadvideotapegroup.com writes:
>> Cohu.
>
> We have a winner!
>
> Even with worse registration, the colors were better.

Any idea why?  The way the encoder was set up?  More light into the  
optics?

>
> The TK 26 actually had a very nice picture also. The 28 was tied up  
> to a film cartridge projector,

I'll have to post an RCA Ad for the projector.

> and didn't have all of the options, plus vidicons and no plumbs. It  
> was an apparent scaled down purchase. The 27 had a lot of noise.
>
> It was just a sad situation for a lot of equipment there then.  
> Except for the ACR's, a much of the other gear was very worn. Even  
> the transmitter was a TT50 AH, very much pre-historic for that  
> time. The tape room had six VR 2000's and one 1200. There were two  
> editecs and a home made gang roll devise, not frame accurate.  
> That's how we edited The Jokers Wild.

I had lunch at Ensemble Systems in Nevada City today. The founder,  
David Wood was telling me about an edit controller he devised for  
Ampex Quads that had Recortec digital tape counters on them.

He pulled out the Binary Coded Decimal data from the counters, and  
then used thumbwheel BCD switches to program where the edit point(s)  
were made.  The machines were rolled back by hand, and started, and  
the box tripped the in and out points.

He says it worked pretty accurately if the operator kept the tape  
from slipping around the counter.

> However, many graduates of the KCOP VTR department went on to other  
> jobs as serious editors:  Pat Williams went to Fox to edit promos,  
> Rick Thompson went on to CBS, as did several others. Kris Trexler  
> and Larry Harris came through there also. I left and went to NBC  
> for 10 years.
>
> I should do a snapshot of who had what 2" VTR's in 1979 in Los  
> Angeles. Might be interesting to someone out there.

It would.

> One inch type C was just starting to be accepted slowly, but many  
> stations and post houses were heavily invested in quad. Every TV  
> station was all Ampex, except for NBC, which had mostly RCA. Even  
> the post houses (Compact, Vidtronics, CFI, Editel, & Unitel) were  
> all Ampex. The only RCA 2" edit bays were in Burbank. There was  
> some B format places i.e. Astin Zappia and Paradise Studios. There  
> was a truck running around town with 2 VPR-1 A format machines and  
> two TK 76's, doing Cal Worthington spots. But, without a doubt,  
> Compact had the fasted edit bays, and the most deluxe kitchen (with  
> full time chef) for client pampering! When you spent $600/hr. for  
> three machines and an editor at that time, you got just about  
> whatever you wanted or needed.
>
> "How do you want your steak, sir?  I suggest the Cabernet with that  
> fine meal! Are you in edit 1 tonight?"
>
> David


Ensemble is kind of like that. There's quite a kitchen there, and Mr.  
Wood is very interested in food and cooking. So he frequently  
prepares lunch. And did today.  It was very good.

On a slightly different topic... I can likely have loan of a  
BrightEye BE 90 Cross converter to see what happens when bumping Quad  
to HD.

Ted
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