NBC’s Color Kinescopes…The Lenticular Color Film Process

First, this Ernie Kovacs color clip is most likely NOT a lenticular color kinescope, but…it could be, and we will discuss that.

This is a segment from the Ernie Kovacs “Saturday Color Carnival” show dated January 19th, 1957. It was also used in the NBC 50th Anniversay Special in 1976. The “Saturday Color Carnival” shows were all done from NBC’s Colonial Theater in New York.

This Kovacs color film has been widely discussed and displayed as a lenticular kine, but it is a 16mm recording on standard color film of the time. The RCA/Eastman lenticular process used 35mm film, and no lenticular color transfers of any kind are known to exist.

The only way this could be an actual capture of the lenticular system is, if it was a recording of a live playback of the lenticular show for the west coast, or an internal playback sometime afterward.

I have read many discussions on this clip, and several describe this as an NBC color kinescope film made for limited distribution to sponsors with a modified kine, which I think may be right.

It would be a simple process to use a regular kinescope camera (with their special shutter speed needed to record live television), loaded with color film to shoot a 5″ color monitor, instead of the usual B/W monitor. Burbank probably had a modified kine machine like this they used for sponsor requests and also lenticular comparison tests.

That simple process would seem to be an elegant solution to time shifting…that is delaying an east coast live show for rebroadcast in the west, BUT! The problem was that color film could not be processed in the 3 hour window the network had to turn it around, however…black and white film could be. That is where the lenticular process comes in.

On page 40 and at the top of page 41 is a description of how the process worked from the book “Jump Cut” by video editing pioneer Art Schneider.

From the November 17, 1956 issue of “Broadcasting” here is the article on the press demonstration at NBC Burbank.

In the comment section, I have included a couple of images that show close up views of what the lenticular film surface would have looked like.

Unless the NBC engineer who recorded this pops up and let’s us in on how and when this clip was captured, we will never know if this is an off air color film capture of the live feed from New York, or a capture of the west coast lenticular playback. Either way though, this does approximate what a color film image might have looked like on the very few color screens available across the western United States in those days before color videotape, which debuted in October of 1958.

As mentioned, no lenticular color transfers of those early programs are known to exist and any example of the results of the process are presumed to be lost forever. It is possible that one or more of the original 3 strip (R,B,G) masters survived, but so far, none have surfaced.

Eastman’s “Embossed Kine Recording Film, reversal panchromatic black and white” was the special film stock used and it was discontinued in 1958. NBC’s special lenticular kine machines are long gone. -Bobby Ellerbee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEBg6ansaJA

An excerpt of Ernie Kovacs “Silent Show” from 1957. This is a very rare 50s colour kinescope film recording of a colour program using the lenticular process….

Source by [author_name]

December 20,1938…Vladimir Zworykin Patented The Iconoscope

Although there was controversy over a lot of patents and inventions in electronic television between Philo Farnsworth and Zworykin and RCA, there is no contention over the development of the Iconoscope.

While working as an engineer at Westinghouse in 1923, Zworykin had presented his idea to the company, but they were not interested. That year he submitted his patent, but because the design was incomplete, the patent was not approved. By 1933 he had achieved a working model and with more modifications to his application in 1935, the patent was finally granted in 1938.

At the 1936 Berlin Olympic games, Telefunken’s two cameras were using the Iconoscope, and the single Fernseh camera there was using the Image Dissector from Farnsworth.

Vladimir Zworykin may not have liked modern TV programming, but he can be proud of the remarkable system that he helped create. It truly changed the world!! Learn more about it here!

Source

September 13, 1947…The RCA Kinescope Machine Debuts

In association with Dumont, Kodak and RCA announced the developed a special film camera to shoot directly off a TV screen. This was the first “time shifting” technology to come to television. Nine years later, video tape would become the second.

Officially titled, the “Eastman Kodak Television Recording Camera”, a Kinescope recorder was basically a special 16mm film camera mounted in a large box aimed at a high quality monochrome video monitor. All things considered the Kinescope made high quality, and respectable TV recordings.

The Kinescope was quite the clever device. It’s film camera ran at a speed of 24 fps. Because the TV image repeated at 60 fields interlaced (30 fps) the film had to move intermittently between video frames and then be rock steady during exposure.

The pull-down period for the film frame was during the vertical interval of less than 2 mili seconds, which was something no mechanical contraption could do at the time.

Together, Dumont, RCA and Eastman Kodak found various ways around the problem by creating a novel shutter system that used an extra six frames of the 30 frame video signal to move the film. This action integrated the video half-images into what seemed like smooth 24 fps film pictures.

Of course, the kines were played back on air using film chains running at 24 fps, so the conversion to film was complete and seamless. Until videotape recorders made their debut, the Kinescope was the only way to transmit delayed television programs that were produced live.

Source

June 21, 1948…First TV Network Pool Event & Debut Of RCA Kinescope

The first official use of kinescope recording would come on June 21 at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, but it was not used in the way we generally think of kinescopes, which is recording programs to film and expressing them to affiliates not able to connect to the network live. Here’s the story…

This event was also the first ever pooling of equipment, and lines by the television networks including NBC, CBS, Dumont and ABC.

There were four pool cameras (RCA TK30s) in the hall, and one at a quieter spot for representatives from each network to do a 15 minute per hour commentary. The 4 hall cameras were on the main line out, and the single commentary camera was on a second line out. Only NBC had the ability to record their commentary and insert it at a more opportune time, rather than interrupt a major speech on the floor, when their 15 minute live slot came up.

All together, the pooled convention coverage was shown live on 18 stations in 9 cities, which included New York, New Haven, Newark (ABC), Boston, Albany-Schenectady, Baltimore, Washington and Richmond.

In July, The Democratic National Convention was held at the same arena, and the same pooling process was used by the networks again. In this video is Harry Truman’s acceptance speech, and as you can tell by the haloing on the mikes, this is a recorded video signal, and not film, so you can see how good the results were on this kinescope from NBC.

NBC Chief Engineer O. B. Hanson said in the June 17 press release (included below), that the system had been used for testing a few weeks before this.

NBC’s engineering department was quite busy that spring of 1948. They debuted not only the new Studio 6B (for television), but that same night, debuted “The Texaco Star Theater” there on June 8, 1948.

Just months before, NBC Television added Studio 8G, 3A and 3B, and around May of ’48, converted Studio 3H (Howdy Doody) from Iconoscope cameras to TK30 Image Orthicon cameras. All the while, preparations were being made for the Republican National Convention which was a historic first for television all around, with over one million viewers watching on the biggest nights of the convention on about 340,000 sets in those 9 cities. TV set manufacturers had ramped up production in the two months before the June convention to 45,000 a month and never backed off to a lesser volume. TV was on it’s way! Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

Source

Via Kinescope…A Trip Back To April 1956 With Milton Berle

Above, we go to the live “Milton Berle Show”, from the USS Hancock in San Diego. Here’s the whole show with Elvis Presley debting “Blue Suede Shoes”, Esther Williams, Harry James and Buddy Rich filling out the bill, with Arnold Stang joining Milton for bit.

This was a color presentation, and that is why the kinescope looks a bit soft. The first five minutes of this are really fun and the Elvis intro comes around the 17 minute mark. After “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Blue Suede Shoes”, Milton becomes Presley’s twin brother, Melvin and possibly sets the stage for The Who’s, Pete Townsend by smashing his guitar. -Bobby Ellerbee

Source

In Case You Missed It…Color Video Tape Comparison To Kinescope

Obviously color makes a big difference, but so does the quality of videotape over kine. This is the “laughing cameraman” sketch that I posted yesterday in a side by side comparison with some neat special effects inserts.

Thanks to Joao Antônio Franz dos Santos for sharing this, but most importantly, thanks to David Crosthwait at DC Video in Los Angeles for making this after transferring the show from a 2″ quad, low band videotape to a digital format for the Lewis family archives. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

Source

The Latest Article From Richard Wirth…”From Kinescopes To Digital”

Television’s main technical challenge has always been, how to deliver the best image. That has not been easy given the need for time delays in the broadcast world and in this article, Richard does a fine job of bringing us through the many steps that have lead us to where we are now. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

From Kinescopes to Digital Cinema

Source

NBC Introduces Kinescope Recording…June 1948 Press Release

The Kinescope dominated TV recording for time delay in the early 1950’s. A Kinescope recorder was basically a special 16mm or 35mm film camera mounted in a large box aimed at a high quality monochrome video CRT. All things considered the Kinescope made high quality and respectable TV recordings. Most engineers called the process (“kine”) pronounced “kinney” for short.

The Kinescope was quite the clever device. It’s film camera ran at a speed of 24 fps. Because the TV image repeated at 60 fields interlaced (30 fps) the film had to move intermittently between video frames and then be rock steady during exposure. The pull-down period for the film frame was during the vertical interval of less than 2ms, something no mechanical contraption could do at the time.

Several manufacturers like RCA, Acme, General Precision, and Eastman Kodak found various ways around the problem by creating a novel shutter system that used an extra six frames of the 30 frame video signal to move the film. This action integrated the video half-images into what seemed like smooth 24fps film pictures. Of course, the kines were played back on air using RCA film chains running at 24fps so the conversion to film was complete and seamless.

Until videotape recorders made their debut in 1956, the Kinescope was the only way to transmit delayed television programs which were all shot on film.

Source