Engineering Archives - THIS IS THAMES from Transdiffusion

Tomorrow’s technology

Thames 1977: Company on the Move — Sat, 31 Dec 1977 20:50:22 +0000

As well as the day-to-day operational servicing of the programme departments, Thames’ Engineering Department plays a central role in designing, installing and maintaining technical facilities both inside and outside the studios. In many instances this research has benefited not only Thames’ productions and transmissions, but also other television companies in Britain and abroad.

DIGITAL TELEVISION

Among the department’s current projects is one commissioned by the Independent Television Companies Association: an investigation into the feasibility of digital television, a system which borrows computer techniques to bring mathematical constancy to the television signal.

In simple terms, the system converts the television signals into digital codes at source. From then on, until decoded for transmission, the signals remain faithful in every detail to that which was encoded. Pictures generated in this way can be bounced off satellites without the slightest visible deterioration: live coverage of the US elections, for example, would be as clear as racing from Doncaster.

If the system were adopted, many of the familiar studio controls on picture quality would no longer be necessary. Ultimately, it may be possible to transmit digitally to the domestic receiver, when the familiar and often frustrating picture control knobs could largely be eliminated.

As with many revolutionary innovations, digital television will be costly. Even by today’s standards, equipment which can scan up to 80 million numbers per second is sophisticated, and sophistication is expensive. Part of engineering department’s job is to determine how few numbers need to be used to achieve the perfect picture.

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Unit 6

Thames 1977: Company on the Move — Sat, 31 Dec 1977 20:40:05 +0000

The high point of the year was the launching of Unit 6, the new outside broadcast vehicle designed and equipped by the Engineering Department. It measures only 26 x 7¾ x 10¾ft, yet contains enough equipment to meet a wide range of location needs: two hand-held cameras, a videotape machine, a 12-channel vision mixer with special effects, and a sound-mixing console capable of handling up to fourteen channels. The uniquely designed interior layout resembles that of a passenger coach, with a central gangway flanked by seats and control desks, and overhead racks containing other equipment. The vehicle is fully air-conditioned, and mains power is provided by an air-cooled petrol alternator. The cameras are stored inside the vehicle and can be removed easily without uncabling. They can be mounted anywhere on the roof or on the front or rear of the vehicle on the special platforms it also carries.

Director
Vision mixer
Vision control
Sound Control
Production assistant
Crew chief
Lightweight IVC 7000P camera
Videotape machine
Multi-channel communications system
Radio telephone system
Air conditioning system
Rack-mounted electronics
15-KVA generator at rear

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Fibre optic links

Thames 1977: Company on the Move — Sat, 31 Dec 1977 20:30:28 +0000

There has been much research in recent years into the use of optic fibre cables, and the department has been heavily involved in the development of these cables for the transmission of audio and visual signals.

Optic fibres are made from a very high grade silica glass, so pure that a window pane 100 metres thick would let through more light than a 3mm window pane of conventional glass. When bundled and stretched into lengths, optic fibre cables are considerably more compact and efficient than the copper cables now in general use.

Being non-metallic, optic fibres do not suffer from electrical interference and are quite impervious to water, the two natural hazards that most commonly hamper outside broadcast units.

On a location such as Sandown Park racecourse, there is a permanent installation of copper cable jointly maintained by Thames and London Weekend Television. Thames’ engineers plan to solve interference problems by replacing this system with optic fibre cables carrying up to ten channels of sound, six for communication with the control room and four for transmission.

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