19/4/20 (tonight) 10pm BBC4

[Kalee20]

I watch hardly any television, but I've caught up with this one over a few evenings, on iPlayer.

A bit nail-biting sensationalist (will the flying spot camera be ready working in time? 45 minutes to go!) but nevertheless, I thought the 90-minute programme was good and informative. Some super mechanical engineering there, and due tribute was given to the Baird team at the time for building their intermediate-film 54-second processing system, with associated chemistry.

Well worth watching! And must have been fun to create!

[ppppenguin]

Due credit was given to the Baird system with its Heath Robinson machinery. By comparison the M-EMI system was rather dull. No moving parts, it just worked. That isn't strictly true, there were any number of problems from tilt/bend adjustments to supplying enough working Emitron tubes.

This was rather reflected in the programme. The M-EMI side relied on Paul Marshall's reconstructed CPS Emitron camera which is the nearest we're likely to get to a working pre-war one. It just worked. Hardly exciting for the average viewer compared to whirring machnery.

My own work on the programme was rather frustrating. First they could have had my pre-war 702 instead of a 1950s vintage TV22. The producers also insisted on having a radio link to the receiver rather than running closed circuit. I never found what the problem was in that building but it just seemed to soak up Channel 1 RF, making it very hard to get a decent picture on the TV22. I had help from Danielle George who was presenting part of the show but she's also a first rate RF engineer. She had kindly brought a handheld spectrum analyser with her and we worked together to try and find what was going on. I should have faked it, run a cable and not owned up to it.

As I've said in some previous posts, making the programme was good fun at times, but very annoying at others.

[peter scott]

https://niklasroy.com/fppc/?fbclid=IwAR1...CakADiFX-M

[ppppenguin]

The author of that piece had fun doing the work but was clearly unaware of the NBTVA. Will Steve Ostler please step forward....

[Panrock]

Will Steve Ostler please step forward....

I'm speechless (for once)  

What's a "video beamer"?  Is there a light projecting device now available that includes raster scanning, rather than having to arrange that part yourself? Sounds interesting.


Steve

[ppppenguin]

I think "beamer" is simply slang for a video projector.

I thought it was slang for a make of German car...

[Mike Watterson]

I think "beamer" is simply slang for a video projector.

I thought it was slang for a make of German car...

It's both.