Early color quality was not equal

[oldtvman]

As an ardent follower of the color technology I look back to its infantcy with the 3 major networks and remember a varying degree of color quality.

1. NBC always consistant color quality superior to the other two.

2.. CBS while using norelco cameras a trained eye could see suttle differences between the rca and norelco equipment

2 ABC trailing in 3 place was ABC in the early days I can't really remember seeing picture quality close to that of NBC


for you old timers out there what are your thoughts?

[Steve Hoffman]

Well, ya gotta remember that those RCA cameras were designed and built with 1954 era technology. I remember when I was in school in the 1960's we went on a field trip to NBC "Color City" in Burbank in 1968 and I remember the lady telling us that they were still using mostly all 1954 equipment.

CBS on the other hand had those Norelco color cameras using 1965 technology and the result of more solid state innerds was that the color had that pastel look that either we love or hate. An easier to use more modern design but the richness of color wasn't there. Those RCA cameras really had their purple down pat!

Heck, I remember when I was working an a temp at NBC, Burbank in 1977 they STILL were using all of that old equipment from the early 1950's. I guess somewhere down the line they shit-canned it all but they kept it working for almost 25 years...The monitors in the main control room (with that giant glass panel to look through) still had their 21" roundie monitors in the 1970's as well. One was labeled "To Transmitter" and the other set was labeled "On Air". How cool was that, eh?

[Sandy G]

CBS' color shows always had a distinct "greenish" cast to them. Could have been our furshlunger cable system here, though. But NBC & ABC DIDN'T have it-if anything NBC had a "blue" hue to their stuff.-Sandy G.

[colortrakker]

I'm not an old-timer, but I am a geek about cameras when I watch old shows. In general:

CBS/Norelco - probably the best overall. CBS used proprietary stuff to enhance the hell out of the PC-60s and PC-70s they used at Television City. And boy did they use them - they weren't retired until 1984!

NBC/RCA - the TK44As used through the '70s and '80s weren't quite as sharp as the Norelcos and they were prone to fringes around objects - almost like a misconverged projection TV. Seemed to have a "filmier" look than Norelcos, especially in long shots. I liked that.

ABC - in LA they used Norelcos, and in NY they used GE cameras. ABC's Norelcos looked soft and smeary, and the GEs? Forget it.

Steve: What was NBC still using TK-41s for in the '70s?

[Steve Hoffman]

Well, I remember seeing them in the Tonight Show studio and the one right next to it; was that the "Bob Hope Theatre"? Heck, I can't remember the names of those two studios, sorry. Also for game shows (some of them) TK-41's were still used but NOT for most of the news broadcasts. I sat in on a bunch of newscasts and they had smaller cameras in there. For the entertainment shows they still used those big ol' monsters though...I remember my shock at seeing that giant beast come out of the camera tunnel right in front of Carson when I first saw the Tonight Show live as a teen. I wanted to be the camera operator when I grew up...

[Chad Hauris]

Anyone know what kind of cameras/equipment was used on "Sanford and Son"? That show always seems to have kind of a funny kind of blurry look to the video.

[colortrakker]

Sanford & Son, like a lot of the other NBC shows from the time, used TK-44As. Pretty sure they taped at NBC in Burbank.

[Steve Hoffman]

Yes, but the "blurry" look you speak of is caused by the broadcast tape being made from a SUBMASTER of a SUBMASTER. God knows where the original 2" tapes are; I'm sure those would look fantastic..

Maybe about 5 years ago at the museum of broadcasting in NY I saw them show a variety show (Carol Burnett?) and was amazed at how poor it looked....color bleeding everywhere, smears akimbo, camera burns from bright objects etc....looked like it was from the 60's and not the 70's. Not sure all of this could be attributed by it being an umpteenth generation copy. I don't recall seeing such poor visuals when the show was first on the air.

Anthony

[Steve Hoffman]

Yes, a copy of a copy of a copy; the original tapes look wonderful (as you can tell if you watch that DVD infomercial)..

[Steve D.]

I recall that CBS also used the TK-41 cameras from 1954 into the 60's. I know that as a youngster the live network & local color broadcasts on NBC & KNBC (KRCA) were spectactular. As were film color broadcasts (Disney, Bonanza). CBS's live & film color broadcasts were also of very good quality. I never cared for the Norelco pastel colors. The West coast time delay tape color broadcasts were generally poor quality in the late 50's-early 60's. ABC's film color in the early 60's (Jetsons, Flinstones) was also top quality leaving the network. The problem, mostly with ABC, IMO, was when local stations lack of color experience caused poor color signals to be telecast. At local KTLA, where I worked, our TK-41 color was as good as it gets. We also had full RCA color film/slide equip. We used those cameras into the late 70's when we replaced them with Norelcos. We still had some 21" roundie monitors in the control room and remote truck into the early 80's.

-Steve D.

[frenchy]

Anybody else ever get the feeling that they have always been able to "tell" which of the 3 networks they were watching (pretending you didn't recognize the particular show)? Like each one had a distinctive look or feel or sound quality/tone, like, when you were watching CBS you thought "yeah, this FEELS like CBS"? Real? Imagination?
Frenchy

[Steve Hoffman]

Always in the old days, not anymore though; everything looks the same. Back in the day though, sure.

[oldtvman]

I remember watching Bonanza and the silver in Ben Cartwrights hair stood out and the rich blues and purples were almost jaw dropping. I dont see that same quality today even on HDTV, yes the definition is better but if I had a time machine I would go back and watch all that stuff all over again

[oldtvman]

Frenchy I could tell which network I was watching even without knowing what program I was watching, in our area everything was and still is UHF I see a little of that quality in my ctc 9 and soon when I get my ctc 5 up and running thats about as good as it gets for me, for now