[QuadList] TCR-100

Sat Nov 5 12:26:32 CDT 2011

Think EPIS was short for "Electronic Program Identification System". Had early serial # TCR-100 at KVRL-26 Houston, think that was 43rd installed in the country. Later TCR-100A (new and improved) at WSNS-44 Chicago.

When running the TCR one sound better follow another in the right order. You could be down the hall or across the room and instantly know something was very wrong!

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Sent: Saturday, November 5, 2011 9:23:26 AM
Subject: QuadList Digest, Vol 41, Issue 7

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Link to film/video clips re: David C's reply	to"Park's at
      Penn State--where it's very snowy" (Trevor)
   2. Re: Link to film/video clips re: David C's reply to"Park's at
      Penn State--where it's very snowy" (Dennis Degan)
   3. Re: TCR-100 EPIS (Gary Adams)
   4. Re: TCR-100 EPIS (Gary Adams)
   5. Re: TCR-100 EPIS (Dennis Degan)
   6. Re: TCR-100 EPIS (Dennis Degan)
   7. Re: TCR-100 EPIS (Glenn Gundlach)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2011 11:18:59 -0000
From: "Trevor" <videovault at sky.com>
To: "'Quad List'" <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Link to film/video clips re: David C's reply
	to"Park's at Penn State--where it's very snowy"
Message-ID: <001501cc9bac$b8007660$28016320$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Interesting our early TR100's did not have that panel, we did have the
editor which sits far right and was well to put it bluntly a little naff
It always pre rolled from SOM so you could spend quite some time waiting for
an edit to rehearse itself.

Our's were early machines as we went from them to BCN 100 and then to MARCs

So I wonder if it was a later edit controller

TrevorB
UK Member 

-----Original Message-----
From: quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com
[mailto:quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com] On Behalf Of Scott Thomas
Sent: 05 November 2011 04:56
To: Quad List
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Link to film/video clips re: David C's reply
to"Park's at Penn State--where it's very snowy"

Hey Dennis,

I have a question about the TCR-100's there at NBC. The one I briefly used
at my first station did not have that keypad and electroluminescent display
on the far left of the machine. I do remember visiting WFLA in Tampa in the
late 1980s and seeing two TCRs. One with and one without the display. What
was the display used for?

When I visited that station, they were in the process of installing two
Panasonic MARC II systems. Engineers from Panasonic were there, trying to
get their machines to talk to WFLA's Utah Scientific automation.

Scott Thomas
WINK-TV
Fort Myers, FL

On Nov 4, 2011, at 12:38 PM, Dennis Degan wrote:

> 
> 		On Nov 4, 2011, at 10:30 AM, David Crosthwait wrote:
> 
> > Likewise, engineering had the TCR's running in top shape for this
important part of the broadcast. It may be hard to believe, but when that
TCR rolled (2 second pre-roll) and was taken (placed on air), that one
single TCR and it's head, playing that cart, was going to millions of
viewers in the U.S. Talk about reliance on something going right! And that
is why two machines were gang-rolled just in case something did go wrong and
the backup had to be placed on air (rare).
> 
> 		I add:
> 
> 	And here are the 6 TCR's in New York involved in this endeavor,
shown in 1976 and 1978:
> 		<http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/515356897/>
> 		<http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/515357017/>
> 		<http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/515329694/>
> 			TCR machines 31 & 32 seemed to do the bulk of the
work:
> 		<http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/515329586/>
> 
> 			Dennis Degan, Video Editor-Consultant-Knowledge Bank
> 					     NBC Today Show, New York
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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>
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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:42:38 -0400
From: Dennis Degan <DennyD1 at verizon.net>
To: Quad List <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Link to film/video clips re: David C's reply
	to"Park's at Penn State--where it's very snowy"
Message-ID: <2E5984B0-ACEF-485B-8371-D64C3D62B460 at verizon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

		On Nov 5, 2011, at 12:56 AM, Scott Thomas wrote:

 > Hey Dennis,
 > I have a question about the TCR-100's there at NBC. The one I  
briefly used at my first station did not have that keypad and  
electroluminescent display on the far left of the machine. I do  
remember visiting WFLA in Tampa in the late 1980s and seeing two TCRs.  
One with and one without the display. What was the display used for?

		I answer:

	That panel was an RCA option called "EPIS" (I forgot what the letters  
stand for).  It was a simple (by today's standards) tape ID system.   
Carts would be recorded with EPIS info.  As a cart played (or even  
during pre-cue), the EPIS data was read.  The info could be sent to an  
automation system so that accurate on-air commercial data could be  
written to the as-aired log.
	I don't remember anything more about EPIS than what I've described  
and I probably got some of it wrong anyway.   ;)

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

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2011 09:22:22 -0400
From: "Gary Adams" <garyada at ix.netcom.com>
To: "'Quad List'" <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] TCR-100 EPIS
Message-ID: <007901cc9bbd$f3dcf490$db96ddb0$@netcom.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Dennis is correct as usual.  "Electronic Program Identification System".
Was a fairly simple ID system.  While most customers considered it an
expensive and not necessary add on, I convinced many that it saved
incorrectly loaded spots several times.  While you can easily check the
carts loaded in the belt, you did not know which two were actually threaded
prior to a break.  A simple matter of looking at the log and visually seeing
what are the next two to run.  I would say it saved us the expense in make
goods assuming you consider make goods cost money. There was no easy method
of exporting this data but I don't doubt some smart techs did.  In the
latest models, a bar code was added to the carts that would interface to an
automation system.  This was part of the random access feature.  There were
not many of those in use.

Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com
[mailto:quadlist-bounces at quadvideotapegroup.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Degan
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2011 8:43 AM
To: Quad List
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Link to film/video clips re: David C's reply
to"Park's at Penn State--where it's very snowy"

		I answer:

	That panel was an RCA option called "EPIS" (I forgot what the
letters  
stand for).  It was a simple (by today's standards) tape ID system.   
Carts would be recorded with EPIS info.  As a cart played (or even  
during pre-cue), the EPIS data was read.  The info could be sent to an  
automation system so that accurate on-air commercial data could be  
written to the as-aired log.
	I don't remember anything more about EPIS than what I've described  
and I probably got some of it wrong anyway.   ;)

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

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2011 09:35:31 -0400
From: "Gary Adams" <garyada at ix.netcom.com>
To: <garyada at ix.netcom.com>,	"'Quad List'"
	<quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] TCR-100 EPIS
Message-ID: <007f01cc9bbf$ca24cd10$5e6e6730$@netcom.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

I should add, the EPIS data was recorded as a short audio burst much like
time code right after the SOM (Start of Message).  Once the deck passed
this.  I'm sure the ACR-25 was a bit more elegant in this area.  

Gary

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:56:30 -0400
From: Dennis Degan <DennyD1 at verizon.net>
To: garyada at ix.netcom.com, Quad List <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] TCR-100 EPIS
Message-ID: <02E1752C-5566-40BC-ACD7-1A1767222358 at verizon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

		On Nov 5, 2011, at 9:22 AM, Gary Adams wrote:

 > "Electronic Program Identification System".  Was a fairly simple ID  
system.  While most customers considered it an expensive and not  
necessary add on, I convinced many that it saved incorrectly loaded  
spots several times.  While you can easily check the carts loaded in  
the belt, you did not know which two were actually threaded prior to a  
break.  A simple matter of looking at the log and visually seeing what  
are the next two to run.  I would say it saved us the expense in make  
goods assuming you consider make goods cost money. There was no easy  
method of exporting this data but I don't doubt some smart techs did.

		I offer:

	At NBC, EPIS was linked to the Hazeltine automation system:
		<http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/515347244/>

		Gary added:

 > In the latest models, a bar code was added to the carts that would  
interface to an automation system.  This was part of the random access  
feature.  There were not many of those in use.

		I point out:

	EPIS was pretty necessary at the network level.  Spots aired  
nationally and obviously generated more revenue than local spots.   
EPIS allowed verification that the correct cartridge was playing, not  
just loaded in the belt.  EPIS data was displayed on the output video  
of the machine for operator verification (the display would blank out  
when the tape was playing).  The bar code system could only tell the  
automation which cartridge was loaded in the belt.
	Though my responsibilities at NBC covered TCR maintenance at the time  
(as well as other quad VTRs in 30 Rock), I didn't and still don't know  
much about EPIS.

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

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:00:19 -0400
From: Dennis Degan <DennyD1 at verizon.net>
To: garyada at ix.netcom.com, Quad List <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] TCR-100 EPIS
Message-ID: <4DE42918-752B-4045-9E06-BFA90491BC6A at verizon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

		On Nov 5, 2011, at 9:35 AM, Gary Adams wrote:

 > I should add, the EPIS data was recorded as a short audio burst  
much like time code right after the SOM (Start of Message).  Once the  
deck passed this.  I'm sure the ACR-25 was a bit more elegant in this  
area.

		I say:

	I worked with both.  I never saw or maintained an ACR-25 that was  
equipped with Ampex's EPIS-like system (I don't even remember its  
name).  And the only EPIS-equipped TCRs I ever worked with were those  
at NBC.

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

------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2011 09:23:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: Glenn Gundlach <stratus46 at yahoo.com>
To: Quad List <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] TCR-100 EPIS
Message-ID:
	<1320510200.47004.YahooMailClassic at web161202.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

The Ampex equivalent was IDA but I don't remember what the acronym stood for. I worked at the CBS affiliate in Madison Wis and the lone ACR-25 had IDA but possibly not from day one. The IDA displayed two lines of text in the video and was 10 -15 chars each. I don't remember the data entry method either. Getting old is not good.?
The Madison machine also had the Studio Film and Tape Exchange DOM-5 (Diagnostic Online Monitor) to flag errors. The shop was 15 feet from the ACR and I'd sometimes hear a load error and be in front of the machine before the computer beeped its error.?

Glenn Gundlach (G?)
--- On Sat, 11/5/11, Dennis Degan <DennyD1 at verizon.net> wrote:

From: Dennis Degan <DennyD1 at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [QuadList] TCR-100 EPIS
To: garyada at ix.netcom.com, "Quad List" <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Date: Saturday, November 5, 2011, 9:00 AM

??? ??? On Nov 5, 2011, at 9:35 AM, Gary Adams wrote:

> I should add, the EPIS data was recorded as a short audio burst much like time code right after the SOM (Start of Message).? Once the deck passed this.? I'm sure the ACR-25 was a bit more elegant in this area.

??? ??? I say:

??? I worked with both.? I never saw or maintained an ACR-25 that was equipped with Ampex's EPIS-like system (I don't even remember its name).? And the only EPIS-equipped TCRs I ever worked with were those at NBC.

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

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