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State Of The Art: Video Tape Delay
Until sometime in the mid to late 60s, this is the way you got a 6 second delay for live television events. In this photo, you would have recorded on the left machine, thread the tape over a few homemade spendels and play it back on the machine on the right for air. In case of bloopers, cut to live action before the image gets to the playback head and pray there are no more till you can get to a station break and re sync.
We used to use this method at WGTV Ch.8 Athens/Atlanta (now GPB) in the mid ’70s using the RCA TR70s and 70Cs.
We did this with 2 TR70s in the early 70s. Glenn Mack: The control track ensures the machines operate at the same speed.
1970s @ WSNS, same drill, but w 1200s. Things got interesting about 10 seconds after the duct tape let go.
We also did the delay (WTCG now TBS) with VR 1200’s
We (KTRK) accomplished the same delay with a pair of VR2000’s side by side for the “Dial M for MARVIN” call in program. Marvin Zindler, famous for shutting down the chicken ranch in LaGrange, Texas was the host. The delayed mute was activated several times.
The capstains have to be running at the same speed or the playback tape won’t play. There has to be some slack between the two decks to allow the playback machine to get up to speed and lock up. Then they should walk along just fine.
I can’t imagine what would happen if both machines weren’t running at exactly the same speed.
CBS News did this in the early 80s for Night Watch using 2 AVR 2000s. Later on, they rigged up 1″ BVH 1100s to do it.
Ah, the good old days!
I totally remember doing this in MC at channel 9. We did it for the “Morning Break” show. Crazy stuff.
We were still using that method in the early 80s with two TR-70s at WDVM 9 in Washington DC
He used to pick me up in his VW Beetle at 4:30am for the drive to the studio for his morning show. I feel lucky to have been present for some of Atlanta radio and TV history and I will always be especially proud to have known Bobby Harper. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/557942413/
I’m not sure if I mentioned this in the past or not but “Skinny Bobby Harper” was a friend of mine. I met him several times at studio tapings of Now Explosion shot at WATL Ch. 36 when the station was on Briarcliff Rd. Harper was one of the VeeJays of Now Explosion and a radio legend before that (and after). After I graduated high school, he invited me to work for him at WIIN Radio’s studio on Peachtree St. not far from the High Museum.
Saw a similar rig at WCVB in Boston in the late 1970’s – two Ampex 2″ machines side-by-side with a hacksawed slot between them. Nutty.
Yes, it is, Bobby. I thought you knew about it. You must have remembered “The Now Explosion”, didn’t you?
uuuuh, no thanks, Roy. 😉
Ketchup bottles full of freon TF anyone?
In Atlanta, the ground-breaking music show “The Now Explosion” used two VR-2000’s in this way to generate “video feedback” effects of dancers gyrating to the music: http://www.thenowexplosion.com/
Good one Ash, The Paul Hogan shows were edited with Ron Way in control room and Noel Brady in tapes calling in and outs on 2″ machines in late 70,s.
CNN did this in the early years with 2 Ampex VPR-2 machines that were bolted together with something like Uni-Strut. Jeff can probably tell us more about that.
Had the same sort of thing with 2 TR70s. The TR3s we had were play only.
At WTTW we did it for live talk shows, and I think we did it at WFLD to insert commercial breaks into hockey games (where play didn’t stop).
Ha! We did that in the early 80’s at WCFC with two side by side TR-22’s
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