Quote:
Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller
Gentlemen,
A little perspective here. When Quadruplex videotape was introduced, 2" videotape was $300 a reel. One of the primary things which sold videotape was the ability to erase it. Back then the TV industry wasn't preservation minded and often local TV still isn't.
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Yeah that's one of those things. And the primary use of videotape back then was to time-delay broadcasts as it was more cost-effective than 16mm kinescope films and also far better quality. As most television shows were live back then, I don't think TV stations really think that much for keeping their live shows preserved, even with kinescope films, I'm guessing they were primarily used for time-delay broadcasts too moreso than archiving.
As the years rolled on, people started realising the importance of preserving television history, unfortunately a little too late as tapes were not only erased but also destroyed to make way for space. This was the case with Hullabaloo, I read that in the mid 70s most of the tapes were destroyed which is why only about 3 shows exist in colour today.
Anyhow we can thank our lucky stars that at least some B&W and colour videotapes of the late 50s and early 60s still survive today and with what exists we can still get at least a 2nd hand experience of how good early live television looked back in the golden age of television, the 50s!!!