[QuadList] Today's Label(s)--Lunchtime reading about Glenn-Armisted + Trivia Q's

[Ted Langdell]

Thought I'd sent this earlier today.  Too much going on.

Very cool posts, gentlemen (and I'm glad they're getting through from both of you)

David:  The labelling on the Jazz Singer indicates this was a copy.  Could you tell whether it was, for example, an RF dub or video out to video in?  RCA Labs Color, RCA Color or Low Band?

What did you observe or have to do during the transfer on the AVR-1?

I like the "Metadata" label.

David, do you see the deviation settings commonly found on this vintage of recordings?

Some background on the Glenn-Armisted, Inc. operations:

 "Broadcasting-Telecasting" (aka Broadcasting Magazine) July 20, 1959 issue reports
http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-07-20-BC.pdf

Tape Transition • Swift switch from 
optical film to video-taped television 
productions is seen in expected merger 
of two Hollywood majors — Mark 
Armistead Inc., renter of camera equip- 
ment, and Glen Glenn Sound Co., 
audio recorder for producers. Top 
executives of two production specialists 
indicated last week they're sold on 
merits of tape after inspecting live color 
productions at WBTV (TV) Charlotte, 
N.C., where two RCA tv tape racks are 
in regular operation. 

Special enthusiasm was voiced by 
Armistead and Glenn executives over 
quality of black-and-white image from 
color-taped programs. They indicated 
merger plans call for operation of mo- 
bile production vans that would be fully 
equipped for both studio and outdoor 
production, adding flexibility to out- 
door shots and bringing tv program- 
ming nearer to theatrical film versatility. 
Finally they point to inherent benefits 
of tv film over optical film and kine- 
scopes. 

The same issue has a Ampex VR-1000B ad that reports more than 410 Ampex Quads in operation worldwide (p 29) and there's a text blurb about Ampex distributing Marconi cameras with multi-standard capability to go with Ampex VTRs equipped with "Inter-Switch" that enables multi-standard recording.

RCA has an ad on P 44-45 touting electronic quadrature adjustment, sync regeneration, four channel playback EQ and built in test equipment.


Glenn-Armistad's remote trucks show up in this June, 1960 issue of RCA Broadcast News:
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RCA-Broadcast-News/RCA-108.pdf

That's also mentioned in this May, 1960 Broadcasting magazine wrap up of NAB, which has some good historical background a variety of Quad developments including "Autotec" from Ampex  (A virtual prize for the first person to describe what this was without looking) and Color VTR Standards.  
http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-05-09.pdf

SMPTE members can also look at the SMPTE May 1961 edition of the Journal for references to Glenn-Armisted in the Progress Report for 1960:
http://journal.smpte.org/content/70/5/323.full.pdf

The 90-minute Westinghouse syndicated "Steve Allen Show" was announced in May of 1962 as having technical facilities supplied by Glenn-Armistead, Inc., of Hollywood:  See Broadcasting P. 142:
http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1962/1962-05-14-BC.pdf

Photos including the G-A facilities and a lot of other photos and info (possibly RCA Broadcast News files??) are located at the UCLA Special Collections and are described here:
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8b85b80/entire_text/

The information doesn't seem to describe the donor or how the collection was acquired.

The collection includes: 

Box 70
Glenn-Armistead Mobile Unit Color Transparencies. (no date).

General note

With negatives. Part of/filed under TK-760.





There are photos and negs of many RCA Quads and accessories.

Would be cool if some knowledgable broadcasters with scanning skills had time to scan the images and documents so they could be put online.

(Same thing with the Ampex collection at Stanford U.

Finally, a trivia question:  When NBC equipped studio 8-H at 30 Rock for color, they renamed the studio. What did they call it?

Cheers!

Ted

Ted Langdell
Secretary
Skype: 	TedLangdell
e-mail:	ted at quadvideotapegroup.com
Web:	www.quadvideotapegroup.com
FB:		www.facebook.com/QuadVideotapeGroup

Eighth Annual Quad Videotape Group Lunch at NAB:  12:30pm on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, Las Vegas Convention Center. Location TBD




On Feb 11, 2015, at 8:38 AM, David Crosthwait via QuadList wrote:
> Subject: Today's Label
> 
>> Yes some labels are very, very basic (but I knew what this was)!
>> 
>> <The Jazz Singer Label.jpeg>
>> 
>> Additionally, I was down in Hollywood yesterday picking up a load of tapes that the client could not identify so that will be today's project.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> David Crosthwait
>> 
>> On Feb 11, 2015, at 7:58 AM, Don Norwood via QuadList wrote:
>> 
>>> From: "Don Norwood" <quadlist at digitrakcom.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [QuadList] Today's Label
>>> Date: February 11, 2015 7:58:36 AM PST
>>> To: "David Crosthwait" <david at dcvideo.com>, "Quad List" <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
>>> 
>>> Hi David:
>>>  
>>> Thanks for sharing!  Always interesting to see what turns up with early tapes.  We’ve gotten some from the late 50’s – early 60’s that include a “chain of title” form that shows, for instance, where an Ad Agency bought a tape from a TV station.  Even who authorized the purchase is sometimes shown, but not the cost.  I’d like to know what they paid for it!
>>>  
>>> Continuing your theme, here’s an old reel that came in just recently.  Great thing about these old tapes....no sticky shed!
>>>  
>>> <WLW%20Reel1[6].jpg>
>>>  
>>> Don Norwood
>>> Digitrak Communications, Inc.
>>> www.digitrakcom.com
>>>  
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> From: David Crosthwait <david at dcvideo.com>
>>>> Date: February 11, 2015 6:22:56 AM PST
>>>> To: Quad List <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
>>>> Subject: Today's Label
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Metadata!
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> 
>>>> David Crosthwait
>>>> DC Video
>>> 
>> 
> 
>>>> Videotape Transfers and More!
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