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Live Eye…First Of The Live TV Vans

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Eyes Of A Generation.com

Live Eye…First Of The Live TV Vans

WTVJ in Miami purchased its first “Live-Eye” Truck in 1975. Built by the O.J. Ferrell Company, and modified by the engineering staff, the truck was considered to be “State-of-the-Art,” and once boasted doing 11 news stories in one day. WAGA in Atlanta also bought Live Eye trucks in 1975. Although the RCA TK76, the first true self contained ENG camera was still a year away, Ikegami and Ampex had hand held video cameras. There were a few small Ampex and RCA portable tape machines, but with no editing ability. I’m sure there were a few station built live vans starting to appear, but I think the Ferrell company’s vans were the first to be specially modified for live TV.

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11 responses to “Live Eye…First Of The Live TV Vans”

  1. Gilbert Solorzano

    Shades of Ron Burgandy!!!! Or Disco Ducks, maybe?!?!

  2. Dennis Gaffney

    I drove one of those trucks when I worked at WTVJ’s Broward County bureau, located on top of the Yankee Clipper Hotel directly overlooking Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Great gig!

  3. Curtis R Anderson

    It took until about 1977 for Buffalo’s CBS affiliate WIVB to get their live remote van. And then I want to guess they used a TK-76 at that time.

  4. Ray Cordero

    Angenieux lenses

  5. Ray Cordero

    I see CP-16 16mm Sound on magnetic stripe film cameras with 400 ft. mags. All capable of recording a whopping 11 minutes of film!

  6. Stephen Taylor

    I see an Ike hl-77 in this pic. Which dates it at no earlier than 1977

  7. Robert Berthel

    CP-16’s ?

  8. Dennis Degan

    WIS-TV in Columbia, SC also started with a live truck in 1975. At first, they used an Ikegami HL-33. A few weeks later, it was replaced with this HL-35: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/557712780/

  9. Aaron Dickey

    There’s a little bit of Ron Burgundy in every single one of those people.

  10. Barbara Hall

    or the open shirts and zuit suits, the guy on the left in the beige suit is all set to cruise the disco scene on the strip

  11. James M Patterson

    You can date the picture by the cameras… or by the haircuts.

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