Westinghouse K840CK15 Restoration

[etype2]

My 21CT55 has been restored to the best it can be by Mike Doyle. It produces brighter images but IMO, the color is not as good as my Westy. All things being equal, I chalk it up to the condition of my 21CT55.

[etype2]

Back to the Westy.

This is a degraded converted JPEG from a tiff file shot in RAW. Allows me to post on this forum page.



This file is a full resolution version, 126 MB TIFF file. Image captured from the Westy with 15GP22 on March 15, 2021. Vivian Leigh, 1939, Gone With The Wind, three strip Technicolor on DVD.

https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...C93E4EF52.jpeg

I like this image because of the color tones which gives the color image a dimensional look, 3D if you will. Many times a portrait can be flat and dull. Technicolor and the 15GP22 may be responsible if you like or dislike this photo. If you can download the Tiff file, you will see dot per dot which is obscured in the JPEG. Not bad resolution. I dialed back the saturation, but you may feel it’s over saturated.

[etype2]

A few more screenshots from the Westinghouse H840CK15 with 15GP22.

They were shot in RAW, processed as TIFF, and converted to JPEG to reduce enormous files sizes.

For the Kelly greens.
https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...F20364781.jpeg

The Devine Miss M.
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Illuminated by theatrical lightning.
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Scarlett.
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[consoleguy67]

Absolutely beautiful!!

[etype2]

Originally Posted by consoleguy67

Absolutely beautiful!!

Thank you.

A few shots to show the dot structure. Not nearly as bad as the first generation Porta Color. Pinch out the images to enlarge.

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[Popester]

Marshall, that is so cool to see those images. It still amazes me that America had this kind of technology back in the mid ‘50’s. Thanks so much for sharing these images. If only young people today could realize what we once had here in our great country before everything was BPC era.

[etype2]

Never imagined a 67 year color television capable of these images. All credit to Mike Doyle in his restoration efforts, alignment, etc.

This high contrast image under bright theatrical lighting and full stage makeup from the 1948 three strip Technicolor film, The Red Shoes. This was enlarged about 100% to fill in my iPad Pro 2 10.5 screen without the image masked. P3 color space.

https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...BFF5FC72C.jpeg


I’ll take credit for the cabinet restoration.

https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...A8D6A07C2.jpeg

Enjoying the set and it’s been operating flawlessly. The tuner is rock solid with no drift. I don’t need to adjust color controls. They lock in about 10 minutes. Coming up on the two year anniversary since completed restoration on September 30, 2019. Will shoot some shots then.

[etype2]

This one has a more dimensional look from the textured lighting and more aesthetically pleasing to this viewers eyes. Natalie Kalmus was in charge of Technicolor staging and processing of this film.

Once again, bright stage lighting, but this time with the actress normal hair color. P3 color gamut. RAW file, processed in TIFF, reduced to PNG for file management.

https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...62BA4AA54.jpeg

[etype2]

Two full frame shots of the above partials for evaluation.
https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...C2A23DA6F.jpeg

https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-co...58E1BCE85.jpeg

[zenith2134]

Superb work--these stills manage to capture the beauty of early color TV. That is one rare set, you're lucky!

[etype2]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

Superb work--these stills manage to capture the beauty of early color TV. That is one rare set, you're lucky!

Thank you. We know one day, the set will fail, so just documenting the 1954 technology. Just purchased three Technicolor films, Singing In The Rain, An American In Paris and Cover Girl. Will be shooting on the second anniversary of the restoration.

[ceebee23]

I read this thread and get goosebumps every time ... this is the most beautiful set and restoration .... wonderful the set has a life now and for as long as it can be maintained.

[etype2]

Update, September 30, 2021

ceebee23, thank you mate.

Today is the second anniversary of the restoration of our Westinghouse H840CK15 with RCA 15GP22. To celebrate this event, let’s check in on how it’s doing. This time around I’m presenting photos of the entire cabinet with lit screen. The screen image quality is compromised, but it can be boring looking at a bunch of photos of images in the dark. Collectors know this set is reported to be the first * color television released for sale in the United States, however, some say the Admiral C1617A was the first.

The set is holding up nicely, we don’t see noticeable changes and the tuner remains drift free. No loss of brightness that we see without measurements and the odd placement of the hue control on the back of the chassis makes it difficult to adjust, so we had to set the hue after the circuit warms up to nominal performance. The remainder of the controls are dialed in and we don’t adjust them at all.

The three new movie previews are all technicolor, but not as good in color quality as “The Red Shoes”, which we covered previously. None of the movies were restored and we shot these photos with an iPhone X with onboard software, Halide which gives me more control and allows me to shoot in RAW. We processed in TIFF, P3 color gamut, then reduced to JPEG. The movies selected are, 1944 “Cover Girl”, 1951 “An American In Paris and 1952 “Singing In The Rain”. Gene Kelly stars in all three films with leading ladies, Rita Hayworth in Cover Girl, Leslie Caron in AAIP and Debbi Reynolds in SITR.

We took the shots at various times and days in September, 2021 which explains the different color temperatures. Reflections unavoidable in our room during the day.

Edit * Electronic




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[old_tv_nut]

Gorgeous! - thanks

[Tom9589]

Your setting of the hue control for nominal performance is spot on. Wonderful flesh tones. Much better than today's flatscreens. (Although my plasma flatscreen is close)