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

On September 28, 2014 - TV History


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

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10 Comments

  1. Steve Williams September 30, 2014

    Were color kinescopes ever attempted? I know color broadcast was generally just a couple of years before B&W video tape, but how long after that to color video tape?
    If there were any they must have been in the ’54-’55 era.

  2. John D. Marelli September 29, 2014

    Incredible Footage.Oddly enough Kine’s of live and taped shows. were still big well into the mid 70’s mostly for private use. Before VHS, 16mm was the only way at the time, for Production Company’s, Producers, and Stars to obtain and play copies of their segments and shows!!

  3. Tom Roche September 29, 2014

    About a decade ago the Game Show Network ran all 876 What’s My Line?s in a row late at night. (That’s right, 17 seasons times 49 live shows a year.) Only the last CBS season was in color. On the 1966 season premiere the panelists made a big deal about now being in color — but now, alas was still in B&W. Seems that Goodson-Toddman had their kinescope model in operation since 1950 and that last year is just on B&W kines, as far as I, and apparently GSN, can tell.

  4. Tori Lexi Kensington September 28, 2014

    great bit! when was the 2″ quad low band color video tape get introduced? and was it at Color City NBC?

  5. Gary Donahue September 28, 2014

    If TV cameras add 10 pounds to a performer then kinescopes add 25 pounds. Not to mention the resolution loss and cropping. Hard to believe that “quality” was acceptable for broadcast, but they did what they had to do.

  6. Jeff Abraham September 28, 2014

    thanks

  7. João Antonio Franz September 28, 2014

    John Butler Lewis must have all the episodes. He had the masters of everything he did.

  8. Jeremy Butler September 28, 2014

    Fascinating clip and funny bit with the cameraman!

  9. John Butler September 28, 2014

    Does anyone know how many episodes survived on quad?

  10. Leon Zetekoff September 28, 2014

    As I said on yesterdays thread like night and day or hd vs sd. The low band looks real good.