[78-L] Kinescopes (WAS Average Age)

[Robert M. Bratcher Jr.]

Many Kines wound up on the used 16mm film collectors market. I see some on Ebay 
from time to time along with all the other TV shows on 16mm film.




________________________________
From: Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com>
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Mon, November 15, 2010 12:50:47 AM
Subject: Re: [78-L] Kinescopes (WAS Average Age)

Steve --

Once again you are writing about things you know nothing about, and
consider that if you know nothing about it that means that it doesn't
exist.  There ARE "organized effort[s] to collect and organize extant
TV-program "home" recordings".  Some of this was discussed at IASA/AMIA
in Phila last week.  (And NOBODY here wants you to give your usual sob
story about not being able to afford bus fare to attend these
conference, so DON'T MENTION IT.)

Live TV programs were captured on Kinescope Film Recordings routinely in
1948 and there were some examples in 1947.  ALL live network TV programs
were kinescoped by 1949 because there were many stations that were not
wireline connected to the networks and had to get ALL their network
programming by kinescope films or regular films for those programs which
were filmed (like I Love Lucy).  While the majority of these kines have
been destroyed, perhaps a hundred thousand still exist, and there is the
possibility of ANY network program from 1948 thru 1956 existing.  

Once videotape came in, some programs were not put on kine, and because
of the lack of interchangability of tapes among machines between 1956
and 1961, most were erased.  There were people as early as 1962 or 63
using "home" videotape recorders, and Hugh Hefner's archive of thousands
of reels hopefully are still being maintained.  (2-inch helical Ampex
660.)  RCA had successful videotape experiments back in 1954 and it was
even used on the air a few times.  (1/2-inch 120 IPS.)  Jack Paar
jeryrigged a 16mm camera to record home kinescope films in the 1950s. 
Some of his TV retrospectives and DVDs come off of these homemade films.


Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com