AT&T Archives: Stepping Along with Television

Подписаться 105 тыс.

Просмотров 27 тыс.

50% 1

See a new AT&T Archives video every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at techchannel.att...
In 1949, this film was part of the very first hour of broadcasting following the linkup of the East Coast television networks to the Midwestern states. It was aired following speeches from the FCC Chairman and mayors of NYC and Chicago. And it was followed by previews from the four existing networks, of highlights of their upcoming television season.
With the broadcast of a New York City ballet program traveling to a young ballet fan in Wisconsin as its structural framework, the film follows the signal on its via-coaxial-cable journey from New York to Chicago, when it jumps to the earliest wireless microwave relay system, jumping from tower to tower to Waukesha, WI. The film shows the earliest type of square microwave relay horns developed by the Bell System, who had been working on that technology since the 1930s.
All television broadcasts at this point in history traveled via the Bell System, along the exact same channels as telephone calls. And the network went nationwide two years later, in 1951, with a broadcast of a speech by Truman from a San Francisco peace conference. Until that point, TV stations on the West Coast had to receive kinescopes of their broadcast programming via the mail.
The Bell System's microwave relay network carried the bulk of the country's long-distance telephone calls for over three decades. This particular wireless network was only superseded by the invention of fiber optic broadband communications cables, which could carry exponentially more information than the nationwide microwave relay network.
Television programs today mostly reach into homes either via cable television (fiber optics technology, again) or broadcast via satellite relay.
Footage courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ

Опубликовано:

8 сен 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 70

@desertbob6835 5 лет назад

Video via coax was short lived...by the advent of color on NBC on 1954, it was obvious that phase distortion on the L-3 coax system was too severe to be usable by broadcasters. Video feeds cross country via L-3 coax ended when CBS adopted color and all TV transmission from then on was by microwave relay, preferably on 4 GHz TD radio. The phase correction equipment for video on the LA terminal of the El Paso-LA "A" cable, originally laid in 1941, was still in place when the system was retired in 1984. My father in law installed many of the repeaters for the L-1 system in that year for Western Electric, the system was upgraded to L-3 in 1954 and I maintained the LA terminal equipment until the system's demise. I still have a chunk of the cable shown in this film.

@orgami100 4 года назад

In USA microwave relay school they showed us a piece of lead covered coax that was never fully explained where it came from accept it needed repeaters every few miles.. vaguely hinting possibly being part of AT&T's nuclear hardened system maintain by civilians.. this was in 1969..

@StringerNews1 3 года назад

Interesting info, Bob. Microwave was also short-lived. I lived not far from the microwave relay tower that was the first north of Chicago. The AT&T buildings in Chicago where microwave was terminated weren't too tall, and when a high rise building was erected just north of it, that was it for that Long Lines microwave link. I remember looking down on the AT&T building from that high rise and seeing the microwave and IMTS antennas still there. The iconic L-shaped feed horn antennas came down from the relay stations right away, and I heard that the one near me was sold to someone who intended to live in it. That must not have worked out because the structure is gone now.

@CoopyKat Год назад

You answered my question about coax cable.....but didn't the networks eventually switch to satellite transmission?

@StringerNews1 Год назад

@@CoopyKat yes, broadcasters switched to satellite in the '70s and '80s. But things are going back to cables again, this time fiber-optic ones.

@coreybabcock2023 Год назад

Can you make a video on all this ?

@kirbyyasha 5 лет назад

Absolutely beautiful on how this was achieved back in the day.

@orgami100 4 года назад

More likely 1950s

@altfactor 10 лет назад

I think parts of the narration and shots of TV sets were re-filmed after the linking of the two coasts by TV network lines in 1951. But much of this film appears to be from 1949, and indeed would likely have been shown during the East-to-Midwest inaugural program.

@substance1 11 лет назад

The TV program speeds to the telephone communications building where engineers dressed in very nice suits monitor the signals...

@wtmayhew 3 года назад

I believe this film actually dates from 1949, as stated by several reliable sources, including the US Library of Congress who has a copy in their collection. I believe the TV receiver depicted in the film would not have existed in 1946, as most of not all early post World War II television receivers would have still been made with pre-war round CRTs masked off to a rectangular picture, and much smaller than the set shown. I believe it was not until a few years later that rotary molded approximately rectangular CRTs were developed at Corning Glass Works based on an idea for a rectangular casserole dish. The earliest reference I have been able to find of television transmission over Bell System coaxial is February 18, 1946. It was a demonstration transmission from Washington, D.C. to New York, NY of Dwight D. Eisenhower in a wreath laying ceremony. Reference to the transmission was made by Time Magazine. The video quality was reportedly not very clear. As noted on other comments, the transmission was probably carried over equipment that comprised the L carrier system.

@nakayle 5 лет назад

Good that all those engineers are wearing coats and ties. Essential for proper signal phasing.

@orgami100 4 года назад

Standard-issue uniform..

@troysvisualarts 9 лет назад

Judging by the look of the TV set, I think this film was more likely made in 1956 rather than 1946, back in 1946 TVs (unless projection) generally had smaller CRTs that were circular in shape. Anyways fantastic insightful film on how television is transmitted through the Bell Telephone system, totally enjoyed it! :)

@orgami100 4 года назад

Agree... it's technically too early for 1946.. those microwave station didn't come on line till the 1950s

@StringerNews1 3 года назад

At 7:32 it's not to scale, but the first relay outside of Chicago was in Morton Grove, and the next in Lake Zurich. The Milwaukee end was on the south side of the city. IIRC the Lake Zurich one was built in the '50s, but the Morton Grove one was around 1960. Then again the film may have taken artistic liberties, and the locations were made up for the film.

@AureliusR Год назад

This was filmed and shown in 1949.

@troysvisualarts Год назад

@@AureliusR If it wasn't for the near rectangular tube TVs I would agree but TVs in America in 1949 were round tube with a bezel that cuts in on the top and bottom of the round tube, it wasn't until 1951 rectangular tube TVs really started to be produced and the TV set depicted in this film looks from around 1952-53 onward, so this film can't have been made earlier than 1952 unless part of it was filmed in 1949 and part sometime in the 50s and mixed together.

@AureliusR Год назад

@@troysvisualarts This was filmed and shown in 1949. Believe it or not, there were all sorts of tubes being made. All the sources I can find state definitively that this was made & distributed in 1949. Read the video description, and do some research.

@lukpac 11 лет назад

Do you have any more films (perhaps more technical) about the development of the Long Lines microwave relay network?

@ojsilva1975 3 года назад

Thus the AT&T Long Lines/Microwave Relay Towers came around! 😄

@jaworskij 5 лет назад

"A television signal can travel either by coaxial (cable) or by radio relay" Before satellite and fibre.

@markmalasics8413 3 года назад

WOW, very perceptive. There will be a "Champion Of The Obvious" award arriving at your home shortly. Display it with pride.

@mikecumbo7531 Год назад

I know of hockey telecasts being sent by AT&T after satellite transmission was available. This would have been somewhere between ‘82& ‘86.

@jamesslick4790 7 лет назад

. Underground, the program speeds....It drops off in Philadelphia...." - Where it is subsequently mutilated by Comcast, and sent to your home for $150 a month.

@general1z 5 лет назад

THANK YOU FOR A GOOD LAUGH👍👍😁😁

@user2C47 4 года назад

Still better than my rural ISP that's still in 2002.

@tomsayen9295 3 года назад

Uh, Comcast now may own the network presenting the show (NBC) your local network affiliate In Philadelphia, NBC10 located in the "Comcast Technology Center", the film studio (Universal) if it is a movie, charges you a "broadcast fee" and an "HD Technology Fee" on top of your monthly cable bill. BUT, Comcast is not a monopoly! The original AT&T, which was the mother of Western Electric and the Bell System, invented the loudspeaker (1924) demonstrated color TV (1927), invented the transistor (1948) invented and erected facilities to present coast to coast network color television transmission (1954), BUT they were a monopoly, and were broken up in 1984, then more or less put back together as Verizon, who now provides TV, Internet, landline and wireless phone, and is the competitor to Comcast in many large east coast cities. Note: The "AT&T" of today is not the same as the AT&T of yesteryear. They use the name and intellectual property but have little interest in providing landline service and are not providing services to the TV networks, satellites do that.

@jamesslick4790 3 года назад

@@tomsayen9295 Um, That changes NOTHING about what I wrote. I never mentioned monopolies. I only mentioned Comcast as it's a TELEVISION provider based in.... PHILADELPHIA. Comcast didn't even EXIST when this film was made. Therefore, MOST people would have recognized my comment as what's known as a joke. PS: My wife worked for Comcast, My step mom worked for AT&T (before the break up). and I have relatives that work for Verizon. LOL 😂

@kd1s 12 лет назад

Interesting that in 1946 Bell was already neck deep in TV transmissions. Logical choice really. And now - most of our TV service comes in via a coaxial cable and fiber optics. And content to the cable providers comes in via satellite.

@eaglewi 3 года назад

Makes you wonder how much they changed to propagate the TV signal

@felicciasc 8 лет назад

she's a good girl living in receda.

@MichiganPeatMoss 4 года назад

...when wave guides looked like garage-built science fair projects and lead paint was all the rage. :)

@coreybabcock2023 Год назад

I used to live in Milwaukee Appleton neenah and menasha and Manitowoc eau Claire and Green Bay Beloit and Janesville WI

@VoteScientist 12 лет назад

Thanks AT&T for this window on 1946.

@luisreyes1963 4 года назад

When Television has yet to become a vast wasteland. 📺

@BeautifulAngelBlossom Год назад

Too bad that TV was not from 1946 though it was from the 1950s

@pata299 Год назад

Someone asked this..."Was DuMont ever on the AT&T network or was it strictly kinescope?" I would think most of DuMont was quite live, with kinescopes made...now where THEY went...

@JamesHalfHorse 3 года назад

I work in broadcast FM. Back then the stations I worked for used dry pairs between the studio and transmitter just raw audio. That went away in favor of 400 or 900Mhz point to point links with telemetry hidden in sub carriers some I still have in use but now mostly all my audio and control is over the internet everything from fiber to T1s from telco with backups via the wifi company on my towers. A lot of our audio comes in that way too to "satellite receivers" some still use a actual dish with internet as a backup but moving away from it. Same equipment just uses internet instead. We are in the C band and use the old TV satellites. Instead of 23? analog channels they carry I don't know how much one digital way traffic but I have about 2 dozen feeds on the same dish.

@coreybabcock2023 Год назад

Can you make a tour video of all this ?

@JamesHalfHorse Год назад

@@coreybabcock2023 I have thought about it. Most transmitter sites are very loud from cooling blowers.

@CoopyKat Год назад

I'm curious to know when/if network broadcast switched to satellite instead of coax cable/microwave relay.......I'm pretty sure I read that started in the late 70's - ??

@tookitogo Год назад

I don’t think they did switch entirely. I thought that satellite was used primarily for intercontinental service, and for mobile use (e.g. news vans), but that microwave continued to be used for the fixed links where possible.

@choxxxieful 3 года назад

I believe this documentary was made in 1956, not 1946...

@flounder31 5 лет назад

Good job, Telephone MEN.

@johnwclick 4 года назад

Looking at the beginning of the broadcast at the mulit-tier platform, I can't help but wonder; is that the same one Paula Abdul used in "Cold Hearted Snake" about 30 years later? 🙂

@ihatecablecos Год назад

Wow the bell system helped revolutionize TV ! Amazing wish we still had the bell system. Tired of these cable co monopolies

@marcsilver4224 Год назад

The Bell System was a monopoly

@ihatecablecos Год назад

@@marcsilver4224 I’m so sick of these docsis monopolies, wish we still had the bell system then more areas would have FTTH fiber broadband

@luisreyes1963 4 года назад

All this technology & there's still nothing worth watching on TV.

@musicom67 4 года назад

Although 'chyroned' (geezers) 1946, this is is a more contemporary film (say, 1954-6)... 1946 was archaeic compared to the visuals in this film (i.e. the TV sets and the animation style BTW the 'test equipment' is obviously film matted with the 'dancers' ). BTW that guy in the lab coat always spent too long in the mens room...

@kngilbert 4 года назад

Goddamn, son, speed o' light is only SO fast. And what did the TaterVision® image look like on the west coast?

@moldyoldie7888 Год назад

They got kinescopes. In 1951, the TV links still didn't reach the west coast. Lucille Ball was dissatisfied with kinescope quality and she and Desi decided to film and edit "I love Lucy" themselves, but wouldn't share ownership with CBS. Good business decision for them.

@PALI_VDO Год назад

Hi guys. Why is AT&T not investing in Thailand again?

@roachtoasties 2 года назад

1946 for this video doesn't seem right. Maybe a few years later.

@ronaldwilliamson7963 Год назад

The TV is from the mid to late 1950s.

@felicciasc 8 лет назад

5 milliseconds latency

@desertbob6835 5 лет назад

There is no "latency" in analog transmission...only delay caused by repeater components and the speed of propagation of the transmission medium. The propagation speed of L carrier coax was .86 of the speed of light. Digital is NOT real-time transmission.

@MichiganPeatMoss 4 года назад

or should that be "Step-by-Stepping Along with Television"? :)

@BeautifulAngelBlossom Год назад

Man I don't know I don't know what it is from 1946 or not I don't believe that TV was around until the late 50s when the square picture tubes came out most of the early sets were rounded and small in the med 40s It wasn't till the '50s at TV started getting bigger. I do wonder what other nefarious things AT&t could do with those towers I heard that that they used it for the Cold war for a little while too

@K1ish 4 года назад

I am surprised at how many cable companies still use satellite for all or most of their program feeds when ip-based transmission over fiber is cheaper, more reliable, lower latency, and allows for higher quality picture with more bandwidth.

@StringerNews1 3 года назад

Citation needed. I can only imagine how costly it is to buy or rent right-of-way from say, Ottumwa, Iowa to one TV network NOC in New York, never mind 500. Compare that to just keeping the existing earth station equipment. Lots of places just can't afford to run fiber cross-country, and though it may be convenient for you, I doubt you're willing to pay your share of it.