Camera and telecine automatics

[cbenham]

Originally Posted by W.B.

I was thinking more the intros of 1970's network airings on shows like The CBS Friday Night Movies or The ABC Sunday Night Movie, which can be seen on sites like YouTube and The Museum of Classic Chicago Television (FuzzyMemories.TV). But WGN did have RCA TK-27's, but may've had their little "add-on" on top of the rest of their setup. Surely they would've had 16mm prints of filmed TV shows and movies, as opposed to their New York sister WPIX which went with 35mm.

WPIX invented their own auto white-auto black all-electronic unit that worked in addition to the neutral density wheel system by RCA. They showed this device at SMPTE in NYC in 1990, by playing a video tape of a telecined film through it. It did a very nice job of smoothing out the very dark to very bright transitions as well as riding the black levels to prevent detail loss. I remember they even had a name for the device, the PIX-Monitor.
Cliff