[QuadList] Happy Birthday, NBC Videotape Central, Burbank

[David Crosthwait]

The RCA modulator was direct color recording but of a non-standard nature. Heterodyne was the process of color recovery/conversion (the scheme to get a reduced bandwidth, somewhat unstable but watchable color picture off tape and over the air with FCC waiver) until the direct recovery method was developed some years later (Ampex Colortec). 

At "The Reel Thing" St. Louis, 2009, I made a presentation on the recovery of the Cyd Charisse special, an RCA modulator color program. Part of that presentation was a display of a typical NBC Burbank work order indicating the mode of the recording. A portion of that work order is displayed here:



In 1958 at the beginning of "Color City" color recordings, the operator had a choice of using the Ampex modulator on the Ampex machines for mono or the RCA modulator for color although I have encountered mono recordings using the RCA modulator scheme on Hope black & white programs from 1959. VTR 1 & 3 were VR 1000's. They were transports with no overhead bridge. In the rack were both modulators.

Best Regards,

David Crosthwait
DC Video
Archived Media Transfer and Re-mastering Services

177 West Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA. 91502
818-563-1073
818-563-1177 (fax)
818-285-9942 (cell)

david at dcvideo.com
www.dcvideo.com
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On Apr 29, 2012, at 7:32 PM, Ted Langdell wrote:

> Yesterday, Saturday, April 28, 2012 marked the 54th anniversary of the dedication of Videotape Central at NBC Burbank. The tape facility inside 3000 West Alameda (at Olive Ave.) cost $1.5 million in 1957-58 dollars.
> 
> NBC began time-zone delay from the Burbank tape facility when Daylight Savings Time kicked in. 
> 
> The facility included one RCA Color Video Tape Recorder and eight Ampex black-and-white machines that could record color using with RCA Labs hetrodyne electronics.
> 
> Soon, three more RCA Broadcast Color Recorders were at work.
> 
> Pre-recording programs in Burbank happened later, among them the Fred Astaire specials, and other programs recorded initially with the RCA Labs color process.
> 
> Ted
> 
> Ted Langdell
> Secretary
> 
> Please trim posts to relevant info when replying.
> 
> Change subject to reflect thread direction. Thanks.
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