[QuadList] History - what is the REAL story--details, source(s)

[Ted Langdell]

Hi, Park,

On Apr 23, 2009, at 6:10 PM, C. Park Seward wrote:
> Perhaps some of you can point to the true stories.


My source for the stories I've related about Ampex and RCA about  
patents and color and Ampex-Sony re: patents and transistors is  
chronicled in Albert Abramson's book "The History of Television  
1942-2000"

Timeframe for what led to the Ampex-RCA patent exchange is 1957, and  
is found in various parts of Chapter 4" The Ampex Revolution,"

http://books.google.com/books?id=JMTnTBmt7F0C&pg=PA60&dq=The+Ampex+Revolution#PPA70,M1

See particularly parts of Page 72, 75, 76, and in the following  
chapter "Europe turns Down NTSC" pages 77 (bottom left through middle  
right columns) where we learn that the third NBC machine was sent to  
RCA and reverse engineered.

Bottom left of page 78 has the invitation to Ampex execs to see that  
machine playing RCA Labs Color at RCA in Camden... with a comment from  
Ginsburg about being able to see that RCA had used much of the Ampex  
machine.  The balance of the story is on pages 78, 79, including taped  
color transmission tests from Camden to New York and Burbank.

The essence of the patent swap is that Ampex gave RCA access to the FM  
recording method (and other important aspects of making things work)  
and RCA held the color recording method.

The cross licensing language and scope may have included the RCA  
transistor technology Allan Dent mentioned in his post just a little  
bit ago.

The following pages have more about the ordering and delivery of  
machines, and the background on how the Ampex transverse recording  
method came to be named "Quadruplex" by RCA's H. A. Lind, author of  
the paper on the TRT-1 presented at NAB in Los Angeles 51 years ago.   
I'll try to post that paper soon.

Abramson's book says NBC "Burbank's Videotape Central" began recording  
color in late April, 1958, on eight Ampex units converted to use RCA  
Labs Color, and one RCA-built color machine. A monochrome RCA machine  
was in use as were three monochrome Ampex machines.

Ampex demoed its color system at NAB in 1958. A description of the  
system is on page 82. It was very different from the RCA method, and  
didn't use any of the RCA patents Ampex could have used.

Page 85 (bottom left to upper right) has details of what was happening  
with both companies Quad products at NAB in 1959. The VR-1000B was  
introduced, and featured a 36db SNR.

Later pages in the chapter denote the development of Japanese helical  
recorders, and how that affected Ampex.

Last two lines of Page 89 and top of 90 describe the famous VR-8000  
shipment to Chicago.


The Ampex and Sony story about the transistors (development of  
transistor circuitry, actually) is
here: http://books.google.com/books?id=JMTnTBmt7F0C&pg=PA92&dq=From+Helicals+to+High+Band
beginning on the right column of page 92.

> 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? And if they did record it in Burbank, why not at WRC?  
> I was told this week it was recorded at WRC.
>
> Let's set history straight!
>
>
> Best,
> Park

I spent much of this afternoon with James Snyder of the Library of  
Congress talking about this and other things.
He's going to pull up the LoC's copy, shoot pictures and see what  
other paperwork is with it... and what that reveals.

James has been told that a special RCA color recorder was send from  
RCA Labs to WRC-TV for the dedication... so it may be that one tape  
was recorded at WRC-TV and another was recorded in Burbank.

If that's the case, determining who has which tape, and getting photos  
of them in their current states would be helpful.

The tape we saw at the UCLA screening is from the Eisenhower Library.

As related on http://quadvideotapegroup.com/EiesnhowerQuadRestoration.htm
Don Kent describes using the Eisenhower Library tape to make the D-2  
master:

Kent says "When we got the tape from The Eisenhower Library it was in  
a mahogany box with blue velvet lining." I'll ask him whether he  
remembers any particular labels or indications of where the tape was  
recorded.

"About two-thirds through the show the audio crapped out.  NBC had the  
backup telco line, so they switched to it (during David Sarnoff's  
speech).  Sounded like a phonecall!  I ran it through an equalizer and  
did what I could to match it, but there just wasn't much there."

He says the same thing in another e-mail and describes that "network"  
sound we all know from those years.

Sooo... I'm sure we'll hear/see something from James as he can get  
materials retrieved at LoC, and perhaps put in calls or e-mails to  
find and get pix of the Eisenhower Library tape.

I hope this helps provide some clarity to the situation.

Still in Vegas after a good NAB... and heading home tomorrow (Sat.)

Ted

Ted Langdell
Secretary
Skype: 	TedLangdell
e-mail:	ted at quadvideotapegroup.com

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