[QuadList] Question of the week-RCA AE 6000 editor

Tue Mar 8 03:03:34 CST 2011

David

It’s a pity we did not have forums back in the AE 600 days

The only contact was RCA who always said everyone else is happy it’s just
you

TEP did work well with TR 70’s it was just slow and we did not know any
better

It was a giant leap forward on the smiths block

Ours was not like your picture, much older and more crude 

It was pre time code and pre micro’s just a big logic counter of control
track

10 mins worth of counting from a tone bench mark on the cue track as Chris
said

Your picture might be a later version ??

If you used it to edit with a studio as a source you had to remember to turn
it to standby after the edit

Or when the counters were full it would stop the recorder

Same problem as AE 600 with a studio source 

Once you rehears the edit with studio and pressed stop to go for real it put
an out edit in at the stop point

It  would perform the studio edit and then stop at the out, it put there not
you , unless saw it and cleared it first

TrevorB

UK Member

From: David Crosthwait [mailto:david at dcvideo.com] 
Sent: 07 March 2011 22:30
To: videovault at sky.com; Quad List
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Question of the week-RCA AE 6000 editor

Hello Trevor,

Thanks for the insight and the confirmation of similar problems with the TR
600's. At least I can say now "It wasn't just me".

In regard to the TEP, here are two shots (for those who have no idea what we
are talking about):

The TEP actually worked pretty well with the TR-70's. However, it was a 10
second pre-roll on the record VTR and five seconds on the source. Edit 2 and
3 at NBC Burbank had TEPs. 

David

www.dcvideo.com

On Mar 7, 2011, at 9:08 AM, Trevor Brown wrote:

Ted thanks for the heavy weight credit

We had one three machine edit suite with equipped with TR600’s

If the crew leader had asked,  do you want to go and try and get the TR600’s
to lock up

or go see the nurse she needs to stick pins in someone’s eyes I might have
opted for the nurse

Like a lot of things the AE 600 was a good idea with poor implementation

It used an 8080 micro (big step up from RCA’s TEP is anyone remembers it
“Tape Editing Programmer”)

Machines had to be pulled into sync, but unlike previous systems that used
TSO to speed up or slow down the capstan

and create major servo disturbances  

The AE 600 reprogrammed a counter chain in the capstan servo

This was I think 4.3. 4 in pixlock  and either 4.4.4 or 3.4.3 to speed the
tape up or slow it down (cannot remember the original numbers or what they
were counting)

So the lock to station sync slipped one way or the other without major servo
disturbances, and so station lock was a quick recovery process after time
pulling the time codes into the correct sync

It was a poor lockup system and frequently failed

Worst was the non standard logic to drive it, it was complex with a mix
needing the third machine to stagger start

Numerous keystrokes and only an external event to drive the mixer, so if the
preview was OK you had to remember to reset the mixer or it would toggle the
wrong way on the print

Add to that a ¼ tape deck (again external event fired) to lift audio and mix
it across the edit which again needed re cueing after a preview

and the  operating alone could make grown men cry, before machine lock up
problems.

Easy to look at the director and ask is that what you wanted, it was so long
ago when you explained I have forgotten

and if you did like the P/V can I repeat it, I never smiled like the guys in
the picture

Trevor B

UK Member

From: quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com
[mailto:quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com] On Behalf Of Ted Langdell
Sent: 07 March 2011 15:54
To: Quad List
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Question of the week-RCA AE 6000 editor

Here's a shot of what looks very much like a version of the AE-6000 in an
RCA trade show booth:

http://www.oldradio.com/archives/hardware/TV/rca-tr600.jpg

Perhaps someone on the list remembers this particular booth?

Or the people in that shot or this one:

http://www.oldradio.com/archives/hardware/TV/rca-tr600(nab77).jpg

The guy in the blue suit and glasses could be the person sitting in the
director's chair at the editor console.

Ted

On Mar 7, 2011, at 7:36 AM, David Crosthwait wrote:

The answer is the 

RCA AE 6000 "Automatic Computerized Editing"  devise.

"A new sophisticated editing system providing optimum simplicity and
efficiency to enhance creative expression". (I've had some "creative
expressions" when editing with TR-600A's which cannot be printed here).

<RCA AE 6000 bro1x.jpeg><RCA AE 6000 bro2x.jpeg><RCA AE 6000 bro3x.jpeg><RCA
AE 6000 keyboard1.jpg><RCA AE 6000 screen1.jpg><RCA AE 6000x1.jpg><RCA AE
6000 bro4x.jpg>

I do not know if this product ever came out, but certainly from what I can
tell by pulling brochures from the DC Video file cabinet is that I picked up
this printed material in 1978 or so and it appeared to be a real product.
But I never heard of any implementation. Perhaps the heavy weights here on
the list i.e. Gary Adams, John Turner, Don Norwood, Chris Hill, Trevor Brown
and others who were associated with RCA gear (perhaps the recipient of a
sales pitch or two) could elaborate. If 1978 is an accurate time period for
this product to be marketed, then I think we have to keep in mind what the
competition was then i.e. Ampex ACE, CMX 340, ISC, Mach 1, and perhaps some
others that I've failed to mention. If one looks at the CRT display here,
it's a bit convoluted compared to the industry standard at the time (in my
opinion), that being the CMX 340. So perhaps the RCA AE 6000 was a little
too late to come to market. 

I once worked with a woman who had just come from a religious network
editing facility who had four TR-600A's tied to (I think) a CMX edit system,
and she swore by them. 

There were four 600As tied to a CMX 340 (no AE-6000) in edit five at NBC
Burbank, and those machines would move tape very fast, even dual edit record
under CMX control. However, they were not very reliable in other aspects.
That edit room had been originally projected to have four AVR-3's, but an
"upper level decision" placed the 600A's in that project instead. 

One last note: The brochure mentions that this editor has a "switcher
control system designed to interface with any 1600 series Grass Valley E-MEM
equipped switcher" (did not scan that page yet but can if someone wants to
see it). I can't recall RCA ever mentioning another major manufacturer in a
brochure, although I could be dead wrong. Perhaps this was a no brainer as
RCA was (?) totally out of the switcher business by then.

David Crosthwait

DC Video

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transfers and more...
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Not seen this before, but I'd say it's an RCA multi-machine edit controller
circa 1983-86.  

Perhaps a product that didn't make it into any facilities before the door
was shut and Nipper's doghouse closed.

Ted

Looks like a "super-duper" CMX type editing device for the TR-600 or above
RCA quads. BIG floppy drives to hold edit info (reminds me of the 4100
Chyron's). Buttons and panels very similiar to the TR-600 edit system at
Olympic Broadcasting Studio in Chicago mid to late 70's. Machines had come
from Montreal Olympics, no 2 quite alike, what complete DOGS. Thankfully the
truck had HS-100!

Pat

Good stumper.

It looks like it was done by either CDL or Telemation.

The 5 inch disc drives give it a time frame of the 70's or early 80's.

It has to be after the original CMX as the unit has some features that were
enhancements.

Have no idea other than that.

Chris Hill

_________________

On Mar 4, 2011, at 9:33 AM, Trevor Brown wrote:

Looks like an RCA AE600 edit panel 
You can clearly see the gold key as in 66 gold key 6 (Change Pal Phase)
There should be a Blue key too (edit replay)
Picture is a little burnt out to identify

Don't remember the 5 1/4 discs or the comments key board 

TrevorB
UK member

-----Original Message-----
From: quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com
[mailto:quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com] On Behalf Of David
Crosthwait
Sent: 04 March 2011 15:59
To: Quad List
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Question of the week

Here is a photo from the file cabinet.
The questions for the contest are:
What is it?
What is the model number?
Did anyone ever see one in action other than on the showroom floor? 
Was it a product that was "Dead On Arrival"?

Other documentation will be posted about what this is (or was supposed to
be) once the questions have been answered. 

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Ted Langdell

Secretary

Skype:    TedLangdell

e-mail:   ted at quadvideotapegroup.com

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