<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Following up on David Crosthwait's latest post about the EOT for NBC Burbank's Videotape Central... It played a significant role in the development of television videotape applications beyond time zone delay (TZD).</div><div><br></div><div>So, we offer for you a look at a few <b>Tidbits about Burbank Videotape Central</b> and some questions they raised as I was compiling this.</div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Automated TZD Recording and Playback:</b></div><div><br></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;">In a 1959 document called "Automatic Control of Video Tape Equipment at NBC Burbank," NBC's Robert Byloff outlined the technology and how the equipment was used.</blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><br></div><div>The Burbank system delayed the Eastern Time network feed for all other time zones, so that</div><div>programs were seen with—at most—only a one hour difference from the Eastern time zone. </div><div><br></div><div>IE: An 8 p.m. ET program would be replayed for Central and Mountain zones one hour after it fed from New York, and then replayed at 8 p.m. Burbank time for the West Coast. </div><div><br></div><div>The system used eight Ampex Quads modified by RCA to record and play color, and four prototype RCA Color recorders. Because color programs occurred at random and increasing times in the network schedule, Byloff said that colorizing all machines was done to ensure flexibility as more color programs were transmitted.</div><div><br></div><div><div>Recordings were made of the Eastern time zone transmissions coming down the network line into Burbank. </div><div><br></div></div><div>Since rewinding and cuing a one-hour reel couldn't be done in the (usually two-minute) terminal break leading into the top of the hour, Time Zone Delay recordings were done in half-hour blocks so that crossover would happen during station breaks and be un-seen by viewers.</div><div><br></div><div>Here's an example: </div><div><br></div></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div>Hour 1's first half-hour would be recorded on VTR 1, which would rewind after recording and wait until the top of the hour, then play the show back for the Central time zone. </div><div><br></div><div>Hour 1's second half-hour would be recorded on VTR 2, which would rewind and be ready to play the second half-hour an hour after its recording started.</div><div><br></div><div>Both machines would then rewind and cue in order to play Hour 1 beginning two hours later for the Pacific time zone.</div><div><br></div><div>Each machine rewinds when finished, and is ready to record again, catching the first and second half-hours of Hour 4.</div><div><br></div><div>Here' a grid:</div><div></div></blockquote></blockquote></body></html>