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RCA Color Tape Recorders Exhibit the Quality, Stability, and Reproducibility Required for Editing of Pre-recorded Shows
by RUSSELL A. NIES, Recording Engineer, NBC, Burbank, Calif.

The recent completion of the installation of the ten new RCA Color Television Tape Recorders at NBC Burbank provides the network with the facilities to handle the increasing tape recorded program load with better quality in monochrome as well as color.

• Anmerkung : Hier hatte NBC 10 VTRs je 100.000 US$ geordert. Das waren zu der Zeit um 1960 in Bremen 10 Reihenhäuser und auch in den USA nicht wenig. Es war ein sehr gesunder Millionen Dollar Auftrag, der sich für das NBC Televisions Netzwerk ebenfalls gelohnt haben mußte.

The RCA Recorders, having superior quality head assemblies and increased stability characteristics circuit-wise, provide the network with the ability to originate tape recorded programs with greater dispatch and efficiency. This is particularly the case of those shows requiring only delay broadcast due to time zone requirements.
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Although the advantages provided by RCA TRT-IAC relative to the time zone problems are very significant, it is in another area that greater contributions are made toward network production problems.

A large portion of the network business at the west coast plant in Burbank is concerned with the pre-recording of programs for later release.

Many of the Class "A" time productions originating from the west coast fall into this classification. Typical of these productions are: "The Shirley Temple" Series, "The Bob Hope Show" Series, "The Fred Astaire" Shows and the "Donald O'Connor" Show.

Projected schedules indicate approximately fifty of this type of high budget complex production shows will be pre-recorded and released this season.

Bild:
Color TV Tape Recorders at NBC. Burbank. Calif. Shown in this cubicle are two RCA Recorders with color monitors and controls. Five of these cubicles contain a total of 10 recorders.
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The high quality and stability performance characteristics of the RCA tape recorder (hier stinkt es nach eigenlob, dendie RCA Kisten waren genauso wackelig wie dei frühen Ampex kisten) are most readily appreciated by pointing out the fact that almost all the pre-recorded shows, of the type aforementioned, are planned, produced and recorded to take advantage of the ability to edit video tape.

Due to talent availability or production or set problems, the recording sessions may be spaced out over several days or even with lapses of up to several months between sessions.

To be able to satisfy the demands of such conditions, yet maintain the utmost in release quality, it is necessary that the video tape recorders have characteristics both of initial and long term high quality and stability.

This is to say that the recorder must be able to record on the tape, tomorrow or the next day, as it does today. This reproducibility factor must be met by many characteristics of the tape recorder. Some of these items are: Deviation, frequency response, phase and amplitude of the control track, position of the edit pulse, phase of the headwheel, audio level and response, and for color, chroma level, head to head chroma response and phase modulation.

The RCA Television Tape Recorder has the capability of very tight control with respect to these characteristics. Methods and procedures have been devised to monitor, control and reset the tape recorders to specific test conditions at the start of each recording session. Thus the stage is set for consistent performance.
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The complexity of network color shows insofar as the tape recording and subsequent editing are concerned is indicated by some of the following factors:

1. The number of tape splices in a production, for one copy, may vary from 25 or 30 to as many as 200. Most productions require cutting accuracy of one frame or less error. The splices must not result in rolls, loss of tracking or lurches during playback. Material for the reel of final "release" tape may come from up to 10 or 12 reels of original recorded tapes.

2. Most pre-recorded productions require that specific work be done with the sound track as a separate item from the picture information. For this reason all pre-records of this nature are recorded "double system" (i.e., separate sound and picture tapes) or are recorded in such a manner as to permit conversion to double system by transferring the sound track and the sound track sync information to a separate sound track tape prior to the editorial and sound dubbing work.

The additional work done on the sound track involves such items as adding background music, musical bridges, sound effects, applause reenforcement, etc.

In addition to special techniques and procedures used in setting up and standardizing the tape recorders, the NBC Burbank Recording Department has also devised many methods and equipments to facilitate tape editing. This produces prerecorded edited tape productions in an economical method yet maintaining the best consistent quality.
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