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Old 7th Mar 2007, 12:41 am   #1
ORTF_&_Co
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Default On-line videos about history of Television

Hello,

I couldn't find that type of thread in this forum. I hope it won't be redundant with one already existing here !

So here's my proposal : if you know or find some interesting links with (or of) videos that show Television in the past, in particular under it's technical aspect, please post them here so we can share them together.

Many thanks in advance,

Louis

First posts... My visit inside ITN Source website (homepage : http://www.itnsource.com/.
Sorry these videos aren't systematically listed in the good chronological order.
I here follow ITN Source site's listings, but some documents show dates that look fanciful... The most interesting ones are shown in bold red letters. All of them are tagged for free preview copyright protection.

(Note : when searching, if one of the pages shows "Sorry - no results were found for this search", simply go back to previous results' page with your browser's left arrow, and click again on the required page's link)


1) "SEEING BY WIRELESS" (1929) :
"Lovely film showing early television transmission techniques - features George Gee and Mamie Watson... (see the long whole text on the webpage itself)

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00036537.WMV


2) A small part of abovesaid video is visible again in the following one : "HERE'S TO THE MEMORY part 4"
"... Shots of projector room and an early hand cranked optical toy. John Logie Baird striving to create television (timeline at 2mn45s) . B.B.C. Broadcasting House. History of radio stars of the 1930s. Two comediennes perform a comedy skit - it is Gert and Daisy. A radio announcer changes a record..."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00070512.WMV


3) "THIS DAY : 18th FEBRUARY"
"Feb 1956 - TV antennas in 1956, for first independent television. Earlier shots of aerials for first broadcasts in 1935. Television in its early stages: spinning wheels, flickering lens, etc. 1920s CU buffer belt keeps gentlemen at distance when dancing. VS Rag in Birmingham..."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00081320.WMV


4) TIME TO REMEMBER - CAME THE DAWN ( 1925 ) reel 4
"... Pathe have rights to clips in Time to Remember programmes but not to commentary or whole programme as screened... John Logie Baird is seen making tests of his television transmitting equipment. C/Us of various parts of the equipment. Basil Rathbone's commentary is an ironic discussion of the effect television was to have on the cinema. He sarcastically states: "such a device could never have the slightest effect on the motion picture trade, oh not a chance!"... Night shots of a busy London street and of "toffs" at a coffee stall..."

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00075361.WMV


5) TIME TO REMEMBER - THE TIME OF THE THREE KINGS ( 1936 ) - reel 1
"...London street scenes. Lots of buses. VS of trams. (timeline at 4mn25sec.)Shots of early BBC Television programme being made. VS of Tommy Handley and Ronald Frankau as Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom. Sound overlays London traffic scenes..."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00075603.WMV


6) SUN (1940)
A TV cathode ray tube and a TV receiver are shown from 1mn47sec timeline.

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00042807.WMV


7) RADIO QUEEN SELECTED (1939)

"Various shots beauty queens parading in special BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation / Company) studio at show. London. M/S of winner Patsy Kent being interviewed in front of Television camera."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this short video (0mn37sec) : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00020421.WMV


8) TV COMES TO ALEXANDRA PALACE (1937)

This is certainly the most complete and the most interesting video about the coming of Television in Britain. Some pics, in particuliar of the TV tower being built on Alexandra Palace, are really terrific !

"Television studio in Alexandra Palace, London. Several shots around the new experimental television studio. A girl is filmed to demonstrate cameras and TV at work. Various shots showing erecting the television aerial at Alexandra Palace, London. Aerial goes high up on the top of the tower. Various shots inside studios, staff restaurant, director in his office, technicians at work, cameramen, make up, control room, etc. Cataloguer's note : Year not found in the old record although the item suggests that it is 1938 when the first public television recording takes place."

(In fact, the EMI-Marconi 405 lines system was eventually adopted on February 8th, 1937 after a trial period in competition with the outdated 240 lines Baird system from November 1936. It looks logical that the tower was built just before this trial period launch).

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00091907.WMV


8) POSTMASTER GENERAL VISITS TV STUDIOS

"Postmaster General Major Tryon arrives at Alexandra Palace television studios... Various shots of the Postmaster General Major Tryon arriving at Alexandra Palace television studios. Good shot of a man recording the arrival with a television camera. M/S tilts up to show the famous television aerial above the studios."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00016379.WMV


9) BERLIN RADIO EXHIBITION FIRE (1935)

"The fire at the German Radio Exhibition which includes a demonstration of early television...MS. A television set on a turntable which spins to show the valves in the back. MS. a man posing for the television cameras. WS. of the crowded hall with a big screen with the man's head showing (a very good shot of an early public demonstration of television) CU. television set. WS. night exterior a fire at the exhibition hall..."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00012255.WMV

Note : interesting technical and historical details about Berlin TV tower on following Wikipedia webpage : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funkturm_Berlin


10) HOSPITAL OPERATION TELEVISED (Australia - 1940)

"Item showing filming of first televised operation. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Australia. MS surgeon and sister working on patient with television camera in foreground. CU nurses and surgeon. CU's television camera filming. Back view trainee nurses watching operation on television screens. CU television screen, showing operation..."

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00065441.WMV


11) UNCLE SAM'S TELEVISION (1940)

"Long item showing the development of American television. People gather around a television set in a living room at a 'Tele Party' - view of the New York World's Fair is on the screen. Various shots of TV sets being assembled in a factory; commentator explains how the sets work (I still don't understand!). High angle views over the New York skyline as commentator talks of waves being transmitted from the Empire State Building.
Then we see various shots of technicians at RCA / NBC Television Studios in New York's Radio City preparing for a transmission. Views through the camera show the studio upside down. Good footage of an orchestral recital being broadcast while the director in the control room or gallery gives instructions through microphone / headphones to the television cameramen. (Note: some damage to last section of film)"

Note : The equipment shown on this video is RCA 441 lines, that was used since 1938 (after a temporary 343 lines definition in 1937) until NTSC eventually adopted 525 lines scanning in 1941

http://www.itnsource.com/en/Search/S...able_pathe.png

Direct link to this video : http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00015781.WMV

Abovementioned free preview videos cover the ITN Source site's archive period from 1900 to 1940 and were found with the word "Television" in the searching request. Videos after 1940 will be added later.

Of course, you can add any links of your choice, provided they respect the terms of use required by this forum.

Although priority should indeed be given to British Television, videos abouth TV history or former technical features in other countries is also welcome.
Please avoid any video that do not show technical features, such as shows recordings, etc where no technical equipment is visible on the pics...

Many thanks again for your contribution,

Louis
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Last edited by Mike Phelan; 16th Nov 2007 at 11:51 am. Reason: Excessive use of font and colour
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Old 7th Mar 2007, 3:04 am   #2
tubesrule
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Default Re: On-line videos about history of Television

Very nice links Louis.

Many of the early American films are in the public domain at: http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger.
You can search on the word "television" and find many historical films (some with a decidedly nationalistic viewpoint).

The clip "Uncle Sam's Television" is taken from the RCA promotional film "Magic in the Air" of 1940 and again in 1955. There are many of these films that show a lot of early equipment and work being done in the laboratories.

Just a comment, RCA used 120p from 1931 through 1932, 240p in 1933 and 343i from 1934 through the first part of 1936 at which time it changed to 441i. This was used for the first production sets starting in 1938 until the adoption of 525i and FM audio in 1941.

Darryl
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Old 7th Mar 2007, 1:04 pm   #3
ORTF_&_Co
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Default Re: On-line videos... >>>

Quote:
Originally Posted by tubesrule View Post
Many of the early American films (...) until the adoption of 525i and FM audio in 1941.
Thank you very much for these very interesting and useful details, Darryl.

Of course, if someone also notes errors in my posts, please do feel free to rectify them !

I had only very few info about the development of scanning in the USA, and I had read - a long time ago... - in a French mag that their 343 lines was only used from 1937, and their 441 lines from 1938.

I also take the opportunity of this reply post to specify that this thread is however open to other documents :

- even if these aren't videos (e.g. former test cards stills or captures, interesting historical text scans, etc)

- even if these are videos that don't show equipment, but that are of historical interest (e.g. former sign-on/sign-off captures, former TV announcers, etc)

For instance, here are former French ORTF networks' sign-on videos used from 1964 (when "RTF" government agency, that had been transformed in 'financially independent' Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Francaise, was replaced by totally autonomous public networks) :


ORTF 1 (819 VHF) : http://television.819lignes.free.fr/...re_antenne.wmv
(sign-off video is on : http://television.819lignes.free.fr/...re_antenne.wmv )


ORTF 2 (625 UHF - SECAM) : http://television.625lignes.free.fr/...re_antenne.wmv
(this one was common to 2nd network's sign-on and sign-off)


ORTF 3 (625 UHF - SECAM, opened in 1973) : http://television.625lignes.free.fr/...re_antenne.wmv
(sign-off video is on : http://television.625lignes.free.fr/...re_antenne.wmv )

These very rare videos were found by "Satdish", a nice young French guy whose site also contains lots of old French network's materials on http://satdish.free.fr/

Louis
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