The GE PE250 Early Color Television Camera

[J Ballard]

Thanks John.

That was way before my time there and the veterans that I knew never mentioned GE film. Was this in NY or LA, or the O&Os?

I bet that they didn't have many, as there were several TK-27s in NY, and that model was introduced just a couple of years later. Also, the ABC network wasn't flush with cash then. Legend had it that the TV net didn't make money until some of the comedies (Happy Days,etc.) took off. ABC publicly complained that the cost of a vectorscope was excessive!

Frank Marx later went off to run ABTO, the lenticular film company formed by ABC and Todd-AO. Later, Julius Barnathan took over, and finally making money, ABC started spending on equipment for color.

Later on, a Bosch FDL-60 was added to the TK-29 at prospect for network film transfers.

Thanks
JB

Thanks
JB

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by J Ballard

...Frank Marx later went off to run ABTO, the lenticular film company formed by ABC and Todd-AO...

What did ABTO do with lenticular film?

[John Hafer]

I did not know ABC used TK-27 film chains. All of my ads show GE color film chains although I have an old RCA ad from 1955 that shows a B&W RCA TK-21 film camera connected to a RCA 35mm film projector so I know ABC did use RCA equipment (as well as others).

I am not at home right now but somewhere at home I have a link that explains how ABC started colorcasting. From what I remember (and I could be wrong), when ABC started to colorcast in September 1962 with the Jetsons and Flintstones, they had no color film cameras in NY so they had to have their LA broadcast center (that had a RCA TK-26) show the programs and microwave them across the country to NY for network feeds. It was not until seven months later (April 1963) when ABC installed the GE color film cameras in NY that they were finally able to originate colorcasts from NY.

We got our first color TV in the fall of 1963 and I spent many of hours watching color back in those days and could actually tell what brand of color film camera a station had by just watching their film broadcasts. RCA TK-26 and GE looked similar, but TK-27 films looked way different and were awful compared to the GE and older RCA TK-26. TK-27s were washed out, low in contrast and saturation and did not the "wow" look of the others. I have read since that even NBC did not want to use the TK-27s for the same reason and kept the TK-26s going until the TK-28 3 tube film cameras came out later.

[dtvmcdonald]

Originally Posted by John Hafer

RCA TK-26 and GE looked similar, but TK-27 films looked way different and were awful compared to the GE and older RCA TK-26. TK-27s were washed out, low in contrast and saturation and did not the "wow" look of the others.

Could not these properties be have been changed by a changed set of
adjustments, at the cost of increased noise?

[earlyfilm]

Originally Posted by J Ballard

Frank Marx later went off to run ABTO, the lenticular film company formed by ABC and Todd-AO.

What was ABTO's goal?

Lenticular projection screens (for super brightness theatrical) or
Lenticular camera film (for easy-to-process hot color kines on B&W film stock) or
Lenticular film for front projection (instead of rear screen projection for process shots during live or taped shows.)??

(Of the three only the first was a success.)

I worked at ABC NY, from 1965 to 1968, but in Film Services (450 West 56th) and not Engineering and this is news to me. In 1965, almost all of our kines were B&W. In fact, at the time, all of ABC's 35mm and 16mm network air prints included B&W protection copies of color video tape commercials as a back up if the video tape recorders went belly up.

James.