[QuadList] History - what is the REAL story

[Dennis Degan]

			On Apr 23, 2009, at 9:10 PM, C. Park Seward wrote:

 > Story two:
 > The WRC-TV dedication with Sarnoff and Eisenhower was recorded in 
Burbank OR at WRC.  Was the AT&T microwave Long Lines good enough for 
color in 1958?

			I agree:

	I had trouble believing that the WRC dedication was recorded in 
Burbank as well.  I have no direct involvement of course (I was 7 years 
old in 1958 and living in Atlanta, GA), but thinking about it 
logically, the videotape (or 'television tape' as RCA called it) would 
have to be a lot noisier at the end of more than 100 or so microwave 
links across the country.  Perhaps it was good enough for B&W but color 
would be problematic.  I remember how noisy color video was over TELCO 
back in the '70's in the South.  It must have been worse in 1958.
	Here's a thought:  It's doubtful that Washington had a direct TELCO 
link to the West Coast.  Most likely, the feed from Washington 
travelled through New York, first over NBC's direct Wash-to-NY link, 
then entered the 'round robin' in New York on its way to Burbank.  It 
is possible that the tape was recorded in New York and not in Burbank.  
Burbank could have viewed the feed but may not have been the location 
where the tape was made.
	The link between New York and Washington was a high-quality one.  It 
was actually two feeds; one in each direction, separate from the 'round 
robin'.  Because the distance between Washington and New York was much 
shorter than the distance between Washington and Burbank, the link was 
certainly cleaner than anything feeding Burbank.  I'll bet that the 
second WRC dedication tape was actually recorded in New York.  It's 
either that or BOTH tapes were made at WRC.  Maybe one was recorded in 
an outside remote truck and the other was recorded in the WRC building, 
I don't know.  But I REALLY think the second tape was recorded in New 
York.

			Dennis Degan, Editor-Consultant-Knowledge Bank
	  				NBC Today Show, New York