<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On Jan 8, 2013, at 5:21 PM, Ted Langdell wrote:</div><div><br></div><div>> While writing the post, I had some questions regarding what happened to the one-hour delay for Central time zone.</div><div>> What I related is what I found in the 1959 document "Automatic Control of Video Tape Equipment at NBC Burbank," by NBC's Robert Byloff.</div><div>> Perhaps there are QuadList members who can shed light on the subject?</div><div>> There may have been some economic or practical logistics involved.</div><div>> Perhaps program protection was necessary? Did the net find that it needed to roll two machines in record and then in play so there was a main and backup rolling simultaneously? The dozen machines available in the document didn't allow for that.</div><div>> Or it may have been simply the idea of disrupting an existing 8/7 Central time viewing habit.</div><div>> If the other two networks didn't go for it, NBC would have had a very interesting time trying to adjust program schedules to maximize viewers in the Central Time zone, and when interpreting ratings against the other networks and stations when selling time.</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I offer:</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ted, it sounds like you're confusing two different technical needs. Burbank did not provide delayed feeds to the Central TZ. All they did was provide delayed programming to the West Coast feed, and as I recall sometimes the Mountain TZ feed as well. They did not provide a one-hour delay for the Central TZ. Until the 1980's, there was no one-hour delay to the Central TZ at all, to my knowledge. In the early days (well actually, right up until the 80's when satellite distribution took over), the Networks operated essentially a two-zone system: the Eastern/Central TZ and the Pacific/Mountain TZ. NBC New York would not be very involved in the operation of the Pacific/Mountain TZ feeds; they merely provided a source feed for either the local affiliates or Burbank/Denver to do whatever was needed.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>As far as the Burbank system described in your 1959 article, I'm pretty sure David is right: The system as described was not in operation very long. Frankly, I don't believe it was ever implemented as a half-hour delay system. It must have been operated as a one-hour delay system. This would free up half of the VTR's, allowing dual-record/playback, thereby providing backup for the system. Keep in mind that the system as described originally in the 1959 document offered no provision for VTR maintenance or downtime. If even one of the VTR's failed, there would be no way for the system to work as described.</div></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Dennis Degan, Video Editor-Consultant-Knowledge Bank</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span> NBC Today Show, New York</div><br></div></div></span></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></body></html>