<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>This just in from Don Kent: Ed Reitan passed away last night. Details forthcoming.</div><div><br></div><div><div><b>Edwin Howard Reitan, Jr.'s</b> contributions to television history include documenting the development and implementation of early color television, and enabling recovery of the oldest known color Quad videotape recordings, as noted here:</div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><a href="http://www.quadvideotapegroup.com/restoring-the-earliest-known-color-quad-tape-the-dedication-of-wrc-tvnbc-washington-dc/">http://www.quadvideotapegroup.com/restoring-the-earliest-known-color-quad-tape-the-dedication-of-wrc-tvnbc-washington-dc/</a> </div><div><br></div><div>Ed and his colleagues in that endeavor received Emmy awards for the work, which enabled the preservation of significant and historic elements in media history.</div><div><br></div></blockquote>We'll be updating that page today with comments from Ed and additional information. <br></div><div><br></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">Ed </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 12px; ">Reitan, (center) and Kent (right) watch the playback of their digital restoration inside CBS Television City’s “Jurassic Park” during a tour on July 17, 2006 arranged by CBS engineer/colorist David Keleshian for members of the </span><a href="http://www.colorist.org/" target="_blank" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-style: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(36, 137, 13); text-decoration: underline; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 12px; ">Telecine Internet Group</a>. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">Ted Langdell Photo</span></div><div><img id="8ba49bfe-c917-4484-83da-ac78c176f279" height="240" width="244" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:363C9A7D-B92C-48B9-9B9B-E63DB62B5850@attlocal.net"></div></blockquote><div><br></div><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div>Reitan had to research the RCA Labs heterodyne color process, then apply that knowledge to modify ten boards in an Ampex AVR-1 Quad recorder. That enabled transfer to D-2 digital videotape of a number of programs recorded in 1958-60 at NBC Burbank, including several Fred Astaire specials.</div><div><br></div><div>That led to discussion of the "Eisenhower tape," a copy of which was at the Library of Congress, and which was not in great shape due to repeated use.</div><div><br></div><div>Reitan told me in an e-mail, "I came up with the idea to determine if the Eisenhower library had anything and contacted them. When I recontacted them for a reply I found that they had the second pristine copy. I then turned it over to (UCLA Archivist Dan) Einstein to arrange for xfer of the 2-inch tape from Kansas to UCLA."</div><div><br></div>Reitan held the Ampex AVR-1 in high regard. Responding to a Quad Videotape Group QuadList post regarding the quality of playback from an AVR-1 and a "Merlinized" Ampex VR-1200 with NEC NT-10 TBC, Retain remarked:<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><font face="Arial" color="#000080">A shoot-off is in order between the AVR-1 and the 2K machines to prove that point. </font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080"></font> </div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080">However the AVR-1 does it, it does it well - the incredible <strong>lack of color banding of any kind</strong> (amplitude or color phase) is one of its outstanding virtues. </font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080"></font> </div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080">During the Astaire restoration I simultaneously fed embryonic video from the AVR-1 through the NEC TBC **, and through the normal path of post- video and TBC processing in the AVR-1. The final AVR-1 output was superior in color fidelity and stability (in my humble opinion)</font></div><div> </div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080">The one thing the AVR-1 does not have is a facility for playing heterodyne dub tapes</font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080"></font> </div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080">Ed Reitan</font></div><div><font face="Arial" color="#000080"></font> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: Arial; ">** the NEC TBC had been provided by Ken Zin - thanks Ken </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: Arial; "><strong>!</strong></span> </div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><br></div></blockquote>Ed's research into early color television was extensive, and found its way to the internet in several ways. His own websites preserves the results of some of that work:<br><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><br><a href="http://edreitan.com/">http://edreitan.com/</a> and <a href="http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/">http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/</a>.<br><br></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"></blockquote>Ed also presented at the <a href="http://www.earlytelevision.org/index.html">Early Television Foundation's</a> annual gathering in Hilliard, Ohio, and with Steve McVoy, maintained a database of surviving color television sets.<br><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.earlytelevision.org/color_database.html">http://www.earlytelevision.org/color_database.html</a></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><br></div><div>As part of the<a href="http://www.earlytelevision.org/2014_convention.html"> 2014 event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the RCA CT-100 color set</a>, Ed detailed the manufacturing facilities for the set, industry service laboratory assistance and network facilities for color television.</div><div><br></div><div>Videos are on-line at the link above.</div></blockquote><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><br></div></blockquote>Reitan received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) and was a PhD candidate in Engineering and Computer Science.<div><br></div><div>Entering the workforce in 1963, he spent 42 years with what became ITT Gilfillan in the Los Angeles Area, retiring in 2005.</div><div><br></div><div>He relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, where his endeavors as a historian and researcher continued, as did hands-on work with schematics, circuits and solder.</div><div><br></div><div>Details of any services are unknown at this time. Details and links as they become available.</div><div><br></div><div>With sadness we didn't get to talk more about his research,</div><div><br></div><div>Ted</div><div><div>
<div style="font-size: 17px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3" style="font-size: 17px; "></font></div><div style="font-size: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><br></span></font></div><div style="font-size: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">Ted Langdell</span></font></div><div style="font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">Secretary</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">Quad Videotape Group</span></div><div style="font-size: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">e-mail:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span><a href="mailto:ted@quadvideotapegroup.com">ted@quadvideotapegroup.com</a></span></font></div>
</div>
<br></div></body></html>