TV Home Forum

What was your favorite regional ITV station growing up?

A question asking which ITV station you grew up watching. (April 2020)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
BL
bluecortina
Markymark posted:
Riaz posted:


I can believe this. I'm sure that one ITV company had a standards convertor that failed and they wouldn't pay the money to have it repaired so they just pointed a 405 line camera at a 625 line TV screen instead.


That was RTE I think. The IBA looked after standards conversion from 1968, wasn't the responsibility of the ITV companies


If you recall the converters moved from the individual ITV company premises to the transmitter sites in Autumn 1969.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Markymark posted:
commseng posted:
It was an awful lot of work to get the signals over to Eitshal to be fair, and then for a relatively small population.
Not helped with the fire on site of course.


Yep, 1976 was the landmark year of the three innovative programme links to bring three channel colour to new and remote areas

Stockland Hill to Jersey
Inverness to Isle of Lewis/NW Scotland
North of Scotland to Shetlands link

https://tx.mb21.co.uk/features/sabre/index.shtml

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/archive/pdffiles/engineering/bbc_engineering_106.pdf

http://tx.mb21.co.uk/features/bressay/bringing_colour_to_the_Shetland_isles.pdf


Interesting comment in the BBC Engineering paper about one benefit of the SHF link being opt outs from Inverness. Did these ever happen? I wasn't aware of BBC Inverness having TV production facilities.
RO
robertclark125
The Inverness studios have, in the past, had Radio Highland, which were opt outs of Radio Scotland, but the building, on Culduthel Road, appears to be mainly news rooms, offices, and radio facilities.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
There is a TV studio there now for An La on BBC Alba but I think that's a recent office conversion job. Not sure why that is called Studio G.
TV
TVMan
Steve in Pudsey posted:
Not sure why that is called Studio G.

Probably G for Gaelic
CO
Colm
robertclark125 posted:
Tyne Tees news covers York, and in the 1980s, when there were opt outs mid programme on Northern Life, for the north and south of the region, the south of the region used to feature stories in York. Yet, Yorkshire Television used to have a shop in York! So, I'd have thought Tyne Tees, in that bit may have been out of area.


When I lived on the "South Bank" side in York, I could pick up YTV/BBC Leeds as the default region on my Freeview box.

On moving to the other side of the River Ouse, less than a mile as the crow flies, the same box picked up Tyne Tees/BBC Newcastle as default.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
robertclark125 posted:
Tyne Tees news covers York, and in the 1980s, when there were opt outs mid programme on Northern Life, for the north and south of the region, the south of the region used to feature stories in York. Yet, Yorkshire Television used to have a shop in York! So, I'd have thought Tyne Tees, in that bit may have been out of area.


The York newsroom/shop was allegedly Tyne Tees's response to this campaign from YTV:



After the merger it became a joint facility branded as Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television.
MA
Markymark
Steve in Pudsey posted:
Markymark posted:
commseng posted:
It was an awful lot of work to get the signals over to Eitshal to be fair, and then for a relatively small population.
Not helped with the fire on site of course.


Yep, 1976 was the landmark year of the three innovative programme links to bring three channel colour to new and remote areas

Stockland Hill to Jersey
Inverness to Isle of Lewis/NW Scotland
North of Scotland to Shetlands link

https://tx.mb21.co.uk/features/sabre/index.shtml

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/archive/pdffiles/engineering/bbc_engineering_106.pdf

http://tx.mb21.co.uk/features/bressay/bringing_colour_to_the_Shetland_isles.pdf


Interesting comment in the BBC Engineering paper about one benefit of the SHF link being opt outs from Inverness. Did these ever happen? I wasn't aware of BBC Inverness having TV production facilities.


Not the Beeb, but didn't Grampian produce Gaelic language opt outs from Eitshal for a while?
MA
Markymark
bluecortina posted:
Markymark posted:
Riaz posted:


I can believe this. I'm sure that one ITV company had a standards convertor that failed and they wouldn't pay the money to have it repaired so they just pointed a 405 line camera at a 625 line TV screen instead.


That was RTE I think. The IBA looked after standards conversion from 1968, wasn't the responsibility of the ITV companies


If you recall the converters moved from the individual ITV company premises to the transmitter sites in Autumn 1969.


Yes, S Night, given the reliability and durability of 1960s standards converters it was an incredibly audacious thing to attempt.14 or 15 lumps of equipment, decommissioned at the studuos stuck on trucks, transported to the tx sites (in the case of Southern's put on a ferry to the Isle of Wight) and recommissioned by start of programmes the next day? I'm sure they must have had camera/monitor lash ups ready as a contingency? Mind you only two months after the moon landing, the most expensive and audacious TV OB ever Cool
IS
Inspector Sands
robertclark125 posted:
The Inverness studios have, in the past, had Radio Highland, which were opt outs of Radio Scotland, but the building, on Culduthel Road, appears to be mainly news rooms, offices, and radio facilities.

It still does the Highland opt outs, and also the BBC gaelic language radio station
IS
Inspector Sands
Markymark posted:
bluecortina posted:
Markymark posted:

That was RTE I think. The IBA looked after standards conversion from 1968, wasn't the responsibility of the ITV companies


If you recall the converters moved from the individual ITV company premises to the transmitter sites in Autumn 1969.


Yes, S Night, given the reliability and durability of 1960s standards converters it was an incredibly audacious thing to attempt.14 or 15 lumps of equipment, decommissioned at the studuos stuck on trucks, transported to the tx sites (in the case of Southern's put on a ferry to the Isle of Wight) and recommissioned by start of programmes the next day? I'm sure they must have had camera/monitor lash ups ready as a contingency?


Presumably, as there were more transmitters than ITV centres some got new converters rather than ex-ITV ones?
RI
Richard
commseng posted:
Markymark posted:
Riaz posted:


I can believe this. I'm sure that one ITV company had a standards convertor that failed and they wouldn't pay the money to have it repaired so they just pointed a 405 line camera at a 625 line TV screen instead.


That was RTE I think. The IBA looked after standards conversion from 1968, wasn't the responsibility of the ITV companies

Good shout - this from Wikipedia - "For the last five years of RTÉ's 405-line simulcasting, a simple orthicon converter was used, essentially a 405-line camera pointed at a 625-line monitor, as the more expensive system converters that RTÉ had previously used were now inoperable"
They switched off most VHF 405 line tx in 1978, with the final ones in County Donegal switched off later in 1982.


It’s worth noting that the only reason that RTE broadcast in 405 lines at all in parts of the country was that viewers already had 405-line sets to pick up TV from Northern Ireland. RTE operated in 625 lines from the start.

This excellent (archived) website explains more: https://web.archive.org/web/20120202234441/http://www.irish-tv.com/405.asp

Also, this RTE video which explains the switchover is worth watching https://www.rte.ie/archives/2012/1019/342305-tv-changes-wanderly-wagon-helps-explain-625-line-transmission/

Newer posts