General TV History

[killy06]

I’d wear Joel Creasey’s boyfriend too.

[Kubi]

Damn!

[Techster]

A snippet of BTQ’s news presentation from 1997, as part of tonight’s Flashback segment.

7 News Brisbane (7NewsBrisbane)

[TheHubMan]

I’m not gay but I’d fuck him. noice

[theduytv]

Hey @myfriend…

…??? ???

[TelevisionAU]

STV8 Mildura was part of VIC TV from January 1990 when the station was sold by Bond Media to ENT Limited who owned VIC TV (BTV6/GMV6)

[Tane04]

I still maintain that VICTV is a better name than WIN Victoria.

[jb76]

I wonder what would have happened if Great Eastland Television had of become a permanent fixture on the TV landscape in Southern NSW and Northern NSW (incorporating DDQ10/SDQ4, NRN11/RTN8, NRN9/ECN8) - Perhaps CBN8/CWN6/MTN9 would of become part of the Northern NSW region as opposed to Southern NSW

[Moe]

@Tane04

I still maintain that VICTV is a better name than WIN Victoria.

I’m sure it was particularly appreciated in Albury and Deniliquin.

[msheldrick]

It’s the Redbubble stock photo guy lmao.

[Daniel_Anderson1]

@shadowmask

From the time those programs were first telecast. There were many variations on how an originating station would present a program for other stations to take, but for the most part where a program was live the output of the OB or downstream studio control would be put onto the link for the other stations taking the program. When network originating stations started to network their general programming, the set up was that a clean VTR feed was given, or, depending on the network, a Presentation mixer output feed taken before the keyer to avoid the RPGs etc. Importantly, a clean VTR feed had to be switched to black during the commercial break, as the process of the VTR operator (or automation) spooling the tape and cuing up the segment during the commercial break could upset the sync signals and cause disturbance on the link. Once this system was up and running most programs were dealt with this way: clean program source, Black, clean program source. But because of some sports having many tight throw breaks, like AFL and Cricket, with verbal instructions to roll to the break, it was fairer to stations to give them an OB / studio output, they wouldn’t be necessarily having to match the Sydney Station exactly, and could even sit out an after goal or cricket over break if necessary.
The “dirty” feed of late night was only switched out to the network link when the first station needed it. Of course there are exceptions and variations to everything, 7 had a fairly sophisticated system of having HSV being an alternate feed provider to the ATN for alternate programming, but with the 9 network if it wasn’t shown on TCN, stations had to fend for themselves with running tapes, with GTV studio outputs for the Footy show, etc.
Before the satellite program service provided by the networks, some regional stations had to make do with off-air or permanent presentation linked feeds, so they were effectively always on a dirty feed.

And with fox airing matches ad free, i assume that ox takes the ob output.

[theduytv]

(https://youtu.be/4WtREvc8iAo?t=34)

[theduytv]

EARLY SIGNS OF SIX NETWORK ???

[theduytv]

So much NSW translators… WTF???

Meanwhile in the West…

But…

Actually,…

What happened to the “gray area” actually, @myfriend ??? (BTV9 Warrnambool, BTV10 Hamilton, BTV11 Portland, …)

[Si-Co]

@shadowmask

From the time those programs were first telecast. There were many variations on how an originating station would present a program for other stations to take, but for the most part where a program was live the output of the OB or downstream studio control would be put onto the link for the other stations taking the program. When network originating stations started to network their general programming, the set up was that a clean VTR feed was given, or, depending on the network, a Presentation mixer output feed taken before the keyer to avoid the RPGs etc. Importantly, a clean VTR feed had to be switched to black during the commercial break, as the process of the VTR operator (or automation) spooling the tape and cuing up the segment during the commercial break could upset the sync signals and cause disturbance on the link. Once this system was up and running most programs were dealt with this way: clean program source, Black, clean program source. But because of some sports having many tight throw breaks, like AFL and Cricket, with verbal instructions to roll to the break, it was fairer to stations to give them an OB / studio output, they wouldn’t be necessarily having to match the Sydney Station exactly, and could even sit out an after goal or cricket over break if necessary.
The “dirty” feed of late night was only switched out to the network link when the first station needed it. Of course there are exceptions and variations to everything, 7 had a fairly sophisticated system of having HSV being an alternate feed provider to the ATN for alternate programming, but with the 9 network if it wasn’t shown on TCN, stations had to fend for themselves with running tapes, with GTV studio outputs for the Footy show, etc.
Before the satellite program service provided by the networks, some regional stations had to make do with off-air or permanent presentation linked feeds, so they were effectively always on a dirty feed

These are the sort of posts I love - the technicalities of how networking and shared programming was handled in the past.

I’m surprised about the need to fade to black while spooling tapes back and forward between segments. That’s the first I’ve heard that this could cause genlocking issues etc.

[shadowmask]

More of an issue with the microwave links not liking it, rather than equipment at the station, where a frame sycroniser was used to re-sync the feed.
In any case it was good practice to switch a program source feed to black in case any station failed to roll their break, as an enthusiastic tape operator, would be spooling the tape forward within 2 seconds after the commercial break started.

[Si-Co]

@shadowmask

More of an issue with the microwave links not liking it, rather than equipment at the station, where a frame sycroniser was used to re-sync the feed.
In any case it was good practice to switch a program source feed to black in case any station failed to roll their break, as an enthusiastic tape operator, would be spooling the tape forward within 2 seconds after the commercial break started.

Staff at the ITV stations were trained to wait a good ten seconds after an end-of-part before re-cueing the tape for this very reason. Most programmes on ITV ended with a burnt-on full screen caption at the end of each part, which was always held for ten seconds or so to allow stations to sit on the caption should their ads fail to run. The rule was never recue until this caption had faded!

[Daniel_Anderson1]

I know that Southern Cross in Tasimaina used to sit out goal breaks all the time during AFL matches, i wonder if there were any others that did that?

[shadowmask]

I don’t know that any others did as a matter of procedure, but there were plenty of circumstances where a Station would sit it out due to some issue with the commercial playing.

[ando9185]

@Daniel_Anderson1

I know that Southern Cross in Tasimaina used to sit out goal breaks all the time during AFL matches, i wonder if there were any others that did that?

I remember when Nine (WIN) first got the rights to the AFL and it was the first time we’d ever had to put up with ads! For the matches that Ten had, Southern Cross would always take and show ad-free until later on when they might have to run them at the same time as TDT and with those games they actually advertised the no ad breaks as a point of difference between the two. Once Seven regained the rights, Southern Cross started taking the ads between play.