Babylon 5: are Channel 4 sadists, or just incompetent?
Harry Payne
shows to grace our screens in the last few years, and Channel 4 pisses
all over it with their `Big Breakfast' logo.
Twenty minutes in the C4 telephone queue later (why do I think I was not
the only one who rang up to complain?) a rather harassed-sounding
"information officer" assures me that these episodes _will_ be repeated,
starting January 3rd, at 11.30pm, uncut.
Next week’s Radio Times indicates C4 will still be showing Season 1.
Personally, I’ve made enough allowances for C4 showing B5 at all, even
in a cut format, and out of sequence. I’m racked off at their attitude
of "couldn’t care less", which is alas just one symptom of how rapidly
television in the UK is following the US model.
If anyone in the UK reading this is as pissed off as I am, why not
express your disapproval by letting C4 know? (Apologies to Americans and
others in the audience; that's what killthreads are for <grin>)
124 Horseferry Road
London SW1N 2TX
Tel. 0171 396 4444
email? don't know. Anyone else?
--
Harry "irritated" Payne
Arthur Hlavaty
: So, there we were at the beginning of the end of one of the better SF
: shows to grace our screens in the last few years, and Channel 4 pisses
: all over it with their `Big Breakfast' logo.
They're trying to PUT THEMSELVES OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
---
Arthur D. Hlavaty hla...@panix.com
Church of the SuperGenius In Wile E. We Trust
\\\ E-zine available on request. ///
Gary Farber
: In rec.arts.sf.fandom Harry Payne <Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk> wrote:
: : So, there we were at the beginning of the end of one of the better SF
: : shows to grace our screens in the last few years, and Channel 4 pisses
: : all over it with their `Big Breakfast' logo.
: They're trying to PUT THEMSELVES OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
For the information of those who don't read other newsgroups on Usenet,
one notes that Mr. Laska continues to post insane petitions to other
newsgroups, asking for support in various causes agains the SCI-FI
Channel, or whatever. At least, thank Foo, he may have given up on some
newsgroups. Pshew. But beware: he's still out there ASKING for your
SUPPORT in the same old STYLE. No KIDDING.
--
Copyright 1998 by Gary Farber; Web Researcher; Nonfiction Writer,
Fiction and Nonfiction Editor; gfa...@panix.com; B'klyn, NYC, US
Marcus L. Rowland
<Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk> writes
>Next week’s Radio Times indicates C4 will still be showing Season 1.
>
>Personally, I’ve made enough allowances for C4 showing B5 at all, even
>in a cut format, and out of sequence. I’m racked off at their attitude
>of "couldn’t care less", which is alas just one symptom of how rapidly
>television in the UK is following the US model.
I was expecting a guest so recorded it for later viewing - I was well
peeved when I saw the result.
I think that "Incompetent" and "running on reduced staff over christmas"
are the most charitable explanations.
Just phoned them in my best "Hello - I wish to register a complaint"
voice. I got the impression I was far from the only person who phoned,
since I said "It's about Babylon 5..." and the guy at the other end said
"About them showing the Big Breakfast logo?"
According to the woman I eventually spoke to, they will be showing the
final 5 episodes on consecutive Sunday evenings from January 3rd; Radio
Times has it wrong (or they have just changed their tiny minds); she
couldn't tell me what would be happening about the remainder of season 1
etc. She thinks that all of the episodes shown this week will still have
the Big Breakfast logo - GOK why they can't switch it off. I suppose
somebody somewhere finds the on-screen clock useful...
BTW, inspired choice of timing showing it opposite the Royal Institution
Xmas Lectures, which also has a fairly loyal following...
OTOH I recorded the complete run of Soul Music animations from their
overnight showing on C4 last night; pity about the adverts, but there
weren't that many and it did run precisely on schedule. Wyrd Sisters
tonight...
I still think that C4 is the best of the UK commercial channels, which
says very little for the others...
--
Marcus L. Rowland
http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/ http://www.forgottenfutures.com/
"We are all victims of this slime. They... ...fill our mailboxes with gibberish
that would get them indicted if people had time to press charges"
[Hunter S. Thompson predicts junk e-mail, 1985 (from Generation of Swine)]
David G. Bell
Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk "Harry Payne" writes:
> So, there we were at the beginning of the end of one of the better SF
> shows to grace our screens in the last few years, and Channel 4 pisses
> all over it with their `Big Breakfast' logo.
I know...
If I wanted to know the time, I'd look at the clock on the wall, and
it's much easier to read than that 'Big Breakfast' advert.
It's been suggested to me that if this were an advertisement for a
product it would be a clear breach of ITC regulations.
Incidentally, it was a good test of the PDC on my VCR. The published
start time was 11:30, and it didn't start until 11:35/36. At least C4
are getting _something_ right.
--
David G. Bell -- Farmer, SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
Morgan
Yes it was stupid, but to be expected.
Personally, whilst the clock did annoy me, I forgot it was there for
substantial amounts of the programme - the power of good tv.
--
Morgan
"Nunc demum intellego," dixit Winnie ille Pu. "Stultus et
delusus fui," dixit "et ursus sine ullo cerebro sum."
Ailsa Murphy
"Marcus L. Rowland" <mrow...@ffutures.demon.co.uk> wrote:
[snip]
> OTOH I recorded the complete run of Soul Music animations from their
> overnight showing on C4 last night; pity about the adverts, but there
> weren't that many and it did run precisely on schedule. Wyrd Sisters
> tonight...
>
-Ailsa
--
But to explicitly advocate cultural relativism ailsa....@tfn.com
on the grounds that it promotes tolerance is to Ailsa N.T. Murphy
implicitly assume that tolerance is an absolute value. If there are any
absolute values, however, cultural relativism is false. -Theodore Schick
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
P Nielsen Hayden
>If anyone in the UK reading this is as pissed off as I am, why not
>express your disapproval by letting C4 know? (Apologies to Americans and
>others in the audience; that's what killthreads are for <grin>)
Actually, that's what the "Distribution:" header is for, but no one ever
seems to actually use it. Not that I really mind, understand.
--
Patrick Nielsen Hayden : p...@panix.com : http://www.panix.com/~pnh
xSaBx
wrote:
][ email? don't know. Anyone else?
If you subscribe to uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5, there are a number of other people
who have similarly complained, and who can provide you with the relevant, email,
fax and phone details. The daily progress of these complaints makes for quite
entertaining reading...
:->
xSaBx
--
The Gubbins.Net
http://www.gubbins.net
Remove the "dot" and add a dot to reply...
Aahz Maruch
P Nielsen Hayden <p...@panix.com> wrote:
>In <vp$HPBA09...@menageri.demon.co.uk> Harry Payne <Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk> writes:
>
>>If anyone in the UK reading this is as pissed off as I am, why not
>>express your disapproval by letting C4 know? (Apologies to Americans and
>>others in the audience; that's what killthreads are for <grin>)
>
>Actually, that's what the "Distribution:" header is for, but no one ever
>seems to actually use it. Not that I really mind, understand.
Not only do people not use it, it's almost completely irrelevant; it
only makes sense when distribution of news takes place in a
geographically connected manner. It wouldn't surprise me if some UK
sites pick up other UK posts from USA feeds. That's not even talking
about ISPs with a presence in multiple locations.
(I think the last time I tried using Distribution: was somewhere in '92
or '93 and it was already badly broken.)
--
--- Aahz (@netcom.com)
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 <*> -=> http://www.rahul.net/aahz
Androgynous poly kinky vanilla queer het
Seventh virtual anniversary: 2 days and counting
aRJay
>In article <vp$HPBA09...@menageri.demon.co.uk>, Harry Payne
><Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk> writes
>>Next week’s Radio Times indicates C4 will still be showing Season 1.
>>
>>Personally, I’ve made enough allowances for C4 showing B5 at all, even
>>in a cut format, and out of sequence. I’m racked off at their attitude
>>of "couldn’t care less", which is alas just one symptom of how rapidly
>>television in the UK is following the US model.
>
>I was expecting a guest so recorded it for later viewing - I was well
>peeved when I saw the result.
>
>I think that "Incompetent" and "running on reduced staff over christmas"
>are the most charitable explanations.
>
>Just phoned them in my best "Hello - I wish to register a complaint"
>voice. I got the impression I was far from the only person who phoned,
>since I said "It's about Babylon 5..." and the guy at the other end said
>"About them showing the Big Breakfast logo?"
>
>According to the woman I eventually spoke to, they will be showing the
>final 5 episodes on consecutive Sunday evenings from January 3rd; Radio
>Times has it wrong (or they have just changed their tiny minds); she
>couldn't tell me what would be happening about the remainder of season 1
>etc. She thinks that all of the episodes shown this week will still have
>the Big Breakfast logo - GOK why they can't switch it off. I suppose
>somebody somewhere finds the on-screen clock useful...
>
>BTW, inspired choice of timing showing it opposite the Royal Institution
>Xmas Lectures, which also has a fairly loyal following...
>
Fortunately on Tuesday the lecture is on later in the day.
>OTOH I recorded the complete run of Soul Music animations from their
>overnight showing on C4 last night; pity about the adverts, but there
>weren't that many and it did run precisely on schedule. Wyrd Sisters
>tonight...
>
If Soul Music did run to time I'm at a complete loss as to why my video
didn't record anything. I'd assumed that the programme was too far off
in it's start for the PDC (Programme Delivery Control) to work. :-(
--
aRJay
Alison Hopkins
xSaBx wrote in message <368bfaaf...@news.demon.co.uk>...
>On Mon, 28 Dec 1998 19:43:48 +0000, Harry Payne
<Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>][ email? don't know. Anyone else?
>
>If you subscribe to uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5, there are a number of other
people
>who have similarly complained, and who can provide you with the relevant,
email,
>fax and phone details. The daily progress of these complaints makes for
quite
>entertaining reading...
>
>:->
>
>
>xSaBx
I think if we had a swear box for this particular conversation, it would
fund a small African state! :)
Ali
Marcus L. Rowland
<aR...@escore.demon.co.uk> writes
>If Soul Music did run to time I'm at a complete loss as to why my video
>didn't record anything. I'd assumed that the programme was too far off
>in it's start for the PDC (Programme Delivery Control) to work. :-(
That's what you get for relying on all this high tech stuff...
I just set the timer for one minute before the start of the programme
about Terry (before Soul Music) and told it to stop a few minutes after
the end of the last episode, which took nearly all of a 4-hour tape.
Marcus L. Rowland
<ailsa....@tfn.com> writes
>> OTOH I recorded the complete run of Soul Music animations from their
>> overnight showing on C4 last night; pity about the adverts, but there
>> weren't that many and it did run precisely on schedule. Wyrd Sisters
>> tonight...
>>
Animated TV series based on Discworld books. Each runs to six (I think)
half-hour episodes, about 25 minutes without adverts. They're made by
Cosgrove-Hall, the animation company that does Dangermouse, for Channel
4. Christopher Lee is the voice of Death, most of the other characters
are voiced by reasonably well-known actors and actresses. It's mostly
paper animation with some CGI graphics in the titles, taking the camera
around and under the Disk. I think that there have only been these two
series so far, but someone else can probably correct me if I'm wrong.
Monday night's show was preceded by a half-hour programme about TP,
Diskworld fandom, etc. You can buy them on video in the UK, don't know
about other countries.
As it happened I'd never seen Soul Music, and was very impressed with
it; the music was _excellent_, pastiches that really caught the feel of
eg. Beatles psychadelia, Blues Brothers, etc. They left out the joke
about being on a mission from Glod, but I suppose you can't have
everything. Oddly, the joke about being "bigger than cheeses" is still
there, which I would have thought was more obscure.
Chris Croughton
>Not only do people not use it, it's almost completely irrelevant; it
>only makes sense when distribution of news takes place in a
>geographically connected manner. It wouldn't surprise me if some UK
>sites pick up other UK posts from USA feeds. That's not even talking
>about ISPs with a presence in multiple locations.
Correct on both statements. Plus a lot of people complained about not
being able to get posts which were relevant to them even though they
weren't physically in the right area - people looking for jobs in a
different area, for instance. I don't know any ISP or news gate which
even looks at the Distribution: header now.
>(I think the last time I tried using Distribution: was somewhere in '92
>or '93 and it was already badly broken.)
Certainly by '92 Demon in the UK was receiving everything regardless of
hheader, and other people were getting (for instance) posts from Demon
with UK-only headers.
Chris C
David G. Bell
fn...@dial.pipex.com "Alison Hopkins" writes:
Remember ByBB12:27
Alison Hopkins
"David G. Bell" wrote in message <914964...@zhochaka.demon.co.uk>...
>
>Remember ByBB12:27
>
>
I know I've got 'flu and I am being thicker than normal...<g>. Explanation,
please? :)
Ali <I just *know* I am gonna regret this!>
Matthew Malthouse
p...@panix.com (P Nielsen Hayden) wrote:
} In <vp$HPBA09...@menageri.demon.co.uk> Harry Payne
} <Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk> writes:
}
} >If anyone in the UK reading this is as pissed off as I am, why not
} >express your disapproval by letting C4 know? (Apologies to Americans and
} >others in the audience; that's what killthreads are for <grin>)
}
} Actually, that's what the "Distribution:" header is for, but no one ever
} seems to actually use it. Not that I really mind, understand.
It's probably pointless as many servers don't honour it.
Matthew
--
"Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto"
http://www.calmeilles.demon.co.uk/index.html
Barry Traish
>If Soul Music did run to time I'm at a complete loss as to why my video
>didn't record anything. I'd assumed that the programme was too far off
>in it's start for the PDC (Programme Delivery Control) to work. :-(
Mine didn't record either. Presumeably they forgot to put in the PDC
code, or cocked it up. Normally it's a Godsend, like when B5 was 5/6
mins late today. Why all the channels don't have it I don't know.
--
Barry Traish
Currently redaing: Moill Flanders by Daniel Defoe
P Nielsen Hayden
>Remember ByBB12:27
Your Honor, in the small fishing village from which my client hails, it
forms the sole topic of conversation.
Stuart Booth
>Incidentally, it was a good test of the PDC on my VCR. The published
>start time was 11:30, and it didn't start until 11:35/36. At least C4
>are getting _something_ right.
Humph. This viewer didn't know diddly about this showing until
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON (Tuesday). So I missed *2* episodes.
I know, I know, it's my own fault, but I am sooooooooooo P!ssed at
missing 2 episodes. I'm going to have to buy the whole of season 5 to
make sure I see it all correctly now that they've piddled around with
the showing of this season.
Arse, Arse, Arse.
d8-)
Stuart
--
Stuart Booth
Somewhere in Buckinghamshire, England, UK
stu...@garage.demon.co.uk
Note: My email address is in disguise! Remove trailing Z
Ailsa Murphy
Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get some nice
person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over here? And then,
anybody have any idea how much PAL to American conversion costs?
Alison Hopkins
Ailsa Murphy wrote in message <76dgpd$qvs$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get some
nice
>person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over here? And then,
>anybody have any idea how much PAL to American conversion costs?
>
>-Ailsa
>
Ailsa, if you can find someone with the tapes, I'll convert them to NTSC for
you. I have a wonderful toy that does that! :)
Ali (in London, if that helps anyone?)
Morgan
<ailsa....@tfn.com> said:
>Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get some nice
>person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over here? And then,
>anybody have any idea how much PAL to American conversion costs?
Cheaper to go buy a PAL/NTSC VCR. Mine cost 99 quid.
Alison Hopkins
Morgan wrote in message <9sxr6HA2...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>...
>In this post <76dgpd$qvs$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, Ailsa Murphy
><ailsa....@tfn.com> said:
>>Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get some
nice
>>person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over here? And
then,
>>anybody have any idea how much PAL to American conversion costs?
>
>
>Cheaper to go buy a PAL/NTSC VCR. Mine cost 99 quid.
>
>
Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in the
US than over here!
The dual standard decks we get only do playback not conversion, unlike my
lovely Samsung beast, which does true NTSC out put tapes. And, if Ailsa
bought one of the cheap playback decks here, she'd need a transformer, so
that would add cost, too.
Ali
Morgan
<fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in the
>US than over here!
Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
Gary Farber
Morgan <mor...@sidhen.demon.co.uk> wrote:
: In this post <76e6pn$bvm$1...@plug.news.pipex.net>, Alison Hopkins
: <fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
:>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in the
:>US than over here!
: Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
Since PAL isn't *used* in the US, there's not much call for machines
that handle it, unsurprisingly.
Shaun Gerrans
Booth) wrote:
>db...@zhochaka.demon.co.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>
>>Incidentally, it was a good test of the PDC on my VCR. The published
>>start time was 11:30, and it didn't start until 11:35/36. At least C4
>>are getting _something_ right.
>
>Humph. This viewer didn't know diddly about this showing until
>YESTERDAY AFTERNOON (Tuesday). So I missed *2* episodes.
>
<snip>
You'll still be able to watch the episodes you've missed.
The final five episodes will be repeated uncut from Sunday 3rd January
at 23.20 with the next episode scheduled for 23.40 on Sunday 10th
January..
Shaun
"I am a Ranger. We live for the One. We die for the One."
Man shall never reach the moon, for such a quantity of gunpowder would
be needed as to gravely injure the crew - Children's Encyclopedia 1926
Note to reply via Email remove NOSPAMTODAY
Robert Sneddon
Morgan wrote in message ...
>In this post <76e6pn$bvm$1...@plug.news.pipex.net>, Alison Hopkins
><fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
>>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in
the
>>US than over here!
>
>Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
>
The majority versus the minority - lotsa furriners want to watch
NTSC tapes, not many Numurricans want to watch PAL tapes.
I got a NTSC playback Sony PAL deck years ago in Glasgow
when I got into anime before it became commonly available in
the UK in PAL format.
ObQuiz : Why is "Crusade" like a D&D campaign?
fn...@dial.pipex.com
Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com> wrote:
> In rec.arts.sf.fandom <avISqFAS...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>
> Morgan <mor...@sidhen.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> : <fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
> :>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in the
> :>US than over here!
>
> : Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
>
> that handle it, unsurprisingly.
>
Yep, fair point; but of course, we don't use NTSC or SECAM either! :) The odd
thing is, as Morgan says, you can buy a multi standard playback deck here for
literally peanuts. In fact, pretty well all the NICAM decks are multi
standard, but surprisingly, so are a great many of the cheap ones. <shrug>
And, then we get in to multi region multi standard DVD... <g>
Ali
Mike Scott
wrote:
>Since PAL isn't *used* in the US, there's not much call for machines
>that handle it, unsurprisingly.
NTSC isn't used in the UK. However, we may occasionally want to watch
videos from the US or Japan, and I should imagine that Americans may
occasionally want to watch videos from Europe.
--
Mike Scott
mi...@moose.demon.co.uk
PNN has frequently updated news & comment for SF fandom
http://www.plokta.com/pnn/
Gary Farber
Mike Scott <mi...@moose.demon.co.uk> wrote:
: On 31 Dec 1998 03:07:38 GMT, Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com>
: wrote:
:>Since PAL isn't *used* in the US, there's not much call for machines
:>that handle it, unsurprisingly.
: NTSC isn't used in the UK. However, we may occasionally want to watch
: videos from the US or Japan, and I should imagine that Americans may
: occasionally want to watch videos from Europe.
I believe it's a matter of the size of the markets. Foreign films are put
into NTSC format here. And the market for foreign films is a niche market
in the US in any case -- a reasonably large niche, but a niche. Films
that aren't put into NTSC are a niche of a niche. But mostly, it's the
scale of the countries: we have more than another one hundred fifty
million people than you do. And most own VCRs. There's profit to be had
in putting European and Japanese films into NTSC by the people who license
the rights for the US market. But the market for people who want PAL for
those films not sold to the US market at all is unlikely to be over five
figures: it makes perfect economic sense for such converters to be cheaper
in small countries with a far higher percentage of consumers who want
multiple formats compared to the infintesimally tiny percentage here. Or
so it seems to my inadequate guestimating of the economics involved.
Morgan
<gfa...@panix2.panix.com> said:
>In rec.arts.sf.fandom <avISqFAS...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>
>Morgan <mor...@sidhen.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>: In this post <76e6pn$bvm$1...@plug.news.pipex.net>, Alison Hopkins
>: <fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
>:>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in the
>:>US than over here!
>
>: Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
>
>that handle it, unsurprisingly.
>
Well, NTSC isn't used here - so that logic rather falls over.
Morgan
<gfa...@panix2.panix.com> said:
>Or
>so it seems to my inadequate guestimating of the economics involved.
Rather strange parameters. Foreign films are converted to PAL for us
just as ours are converted to NTSC for you. In fact, giving the size of
the populations, it would be more likely that your niche of a niche is
larger than our niche of a niche.
Morgan
I don't know NoJay, why is Crusade like a D&D campaign?
Matthew Malthouse
Barry Traish <Ba...@concentric.demon.co.uk> wrote:
} aRJay <aR...@escore.demon.co.uk> wrote
} >If Soul Music did run to time I'm at a complete loss as to why my video
} >didn't record anything. I'd assumed that the programme was too far off
} >in it's start for the PDC (Programme Delivery Control) to work. :-(
}
} Mine didn't record either. Presumeably they forgot to put in the PDC
} code, or cocked it up. Normally it's a Godsend, like when B5 was 5/6
} mins late today. Why all the channels don't have it I don't know.
Interesting. I set the vid to record the stonehenge prog on C4 last night.
As it happened I was back before it started and the machine hadn't kicked
in by the time the credits were rolling so I started it by hand. Settings
looked okay, lor knows what'd have happened had I not been at home.
Matthew Malthouse
Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com> wrote:
} In rec.arts.sf.fandom <avISqFAS...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>
} Morgan <mor...@sidhen.demon.co.uk> wrote:
} : In this post <76e6pn$bvm$1...@plug.news.pipex.net>, Alison Hopkins
} : <fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
} :>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive
in the
} :>US than over here!
}
} : Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
}
} Since PAL isn't *used* in the US, there's not much call for machines
} that handle it, unsurprisingly.
Eh? Never The Same Colour Twice isn't "used" here, but machines that will
play back the format aren't difficult to find or expensive to buy.
Alison Hopkins
Morgan wrote in message ...
><fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
>>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in
the
>>US than over here!
>
>Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
>
>
<g>
Yeah, scary, innit. The list is *very* short, hence the reason that my Visa
bills and owings to HM Customs are so large every time I go! Luckily, books
are exempt from VAT and import duty.
Ali
Alison Hopkins
Shaun Gerrans wrote in message <368aeaaf...@news.demon.co.uk>...
>You'll still be able to watch the episodes you've missed.
>
>The final five episodes will be repeated uncut from Sunday 3rd January
>at 23.20 with the next episode scheduled for 23.40 on Sunday 10th
>January..
>
>Shaun
Shaun, I think you are gonna have to set this up as your sig! :) You're
doing a sterling public service, which is more than C4 deserve.
Ali
Chris Croughton
>Yep, fair point; but of course, we don't use NTSC or SECAM either! :) The odd
>thing is, as Morgan says, you can buy a multi standard playback deck here for
>literally peanuts. In fact, pretty well all the NICAM decks are multi
>standard, but surprisingly, so are a great many of the cheap ones. <shrug>
The big reason is that most of our TV sets are either Japanese or using
Japanese (or compatible) components. But TV's aren't VCRs! No, but the
reason NTSC players in PAL VCRs are so cheap here is because all they have
to do is recode the actual color information into colour information, they
don't have to convert 525 lines at 30Hz to 625 at 50Hz because the TV just
resynchronises itself to the different frequencies. That's because those
clever Japanese want to sell the same sets to their own markets as to
Europe (apart from the colour/color decoder which is a single chip).
The Americans, on the other hand, have horrible import restrictions on
imports from the far east, so that they can sell their own TVs. And, not
surprisingly, those are NTSC (525 line, 30Hz) only because it's cheaper
for them to make them that way. So when they want a machine which plays
PAL or SECAM they have to do what your clever machine does and put all
those little dots in different places. Not fun and decidedly not cheap.
So in fact there are real economic and technical reasons why most
Americans can't view PAL tapes while we can view their NTSC ones. It's
not a grand conspiracy or Americans being technologically backward.
There's another nasty in Europe you may not know, though. If you buy a
VCR in Germany, it will happily play your British (and American and
French) tapes on a German TV set. But not on a British TV set.
Similarly, a German VCR or TV can't receive British programmes (and vice
versa). Well, actually it can but not in a useful way - you either get
sound and no picture or picture and no sound. For some reason, all the
standards are identical except that on one the sound is at a higher
frequency than the picture and the other it's lower (I can't remember
which way round).
(Actually, if you're using a direct 'Scart' connection it doesn't matter,
it's receiving with RF through the aerial socket that's the problem...)
BTW, don't forget the thing that's bigger in Britain than in Texas - the
pint <g>...
Happy New Year to everyone, anyway...
Chris C
Chris Croughton
matthew....@guardian.co.uk "Matthew Malthouse" wrote:
>Interesting. I set the vid to record the stonehenge prog on C4 last night.
>As it happened I was back before it started and the machine hadn't kicked
>in by the time the credits were rolling so I started it by hand. Settings
>looked okay, lor knows what'd have happened had I not been at home.
Yesterday when I put a tape in scheduled to record (using PDC) from C4 at
12:00 it kept going straight into recording, even though the time was
12:15 (I wanted it for future programmes, not that one). It looks as
though C4's PDC generator is U/S. (Er, that's RAF slang for
"unservicable" not a reference to a country!)
On the subject of PDC, it's surprising it works at all. I had a
conversation with one of the VCR developers at Sony, and apparently the
original specification was so loose that everyone implemented a different
version, correct "by the book" but all incompatible, and the VCR
manufacturers have had to try to decode /all/ of them...
Chris C
Stuart Booth
>The final five episodes will be repeated uncut from Sunday 3rd January
>at 23.20 with the next episode scheduled for 23.40 on Sunday 10th
>January..
Shaun,
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I didn't know that either!
Tony Naggs
>
>According to the woman I eventually spoke to, they will be showing the
>final 5 episodes on consecutive Sunday evenings from January 3rd; Radio
>Times has it wrong (or they have just changed their tiny minds);
Channel 4 only announced the uncut showing on December 1st. Just a
couple of days after I posted details of the morning showings here, (in
uk.people.sf-fans).
>she
>couldn't tell me what would be happening about the remainder of season 1
>etc.
They should pick up again in February.
>She thinks that all of the episodes shown this week will still have
>the Big Breakfast logo - GOK why they can't switch it off. I suppose
>somebody somewhere finds the on-screen clock useful...
It's part of the contract with the Big Breakfast.
>BTW, inspired choice of timing showing it opposite the Royal Institution
>Xmas Lectures, which also has a fairly loyal following...
Ch 4 still think B5 is kiddies tv.
Tony
--
Information on Channel 4, S4C and SciFi Channel screening of
Babylon 5 is in Q&As 1.3 & 1.4 of the UK B5 Mini-FAQ:
http://www.ubik.demon.co.uk/babylon5/
Also posted weekly to uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5 and alt.babylon5.uk
Tony Naggs
>In this post <76dgpd$qvs$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, Ailsa Murphy
><ailsa....@tfn.com> said:
>>Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get some nice
>>person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over here? And then,
>>anybody have any idea how much PAL to American conversion costs?
>
>
>Cheaper to go buy a PAL/NTSC VCR. Mine cost 99 quid.
US videos only play NTSC tapes.
Most European models have had NTSC playback on NICAM models for +/- five
years. Though they required a modern tv that will accept the signal -
more recent models have a badge proclaiming NTSC playback and often also
convert the frame rate. They started doing NTSC playback because it was
easier for the Japanese engineers to test them and the same components
are used - the extra cost is in the software for the microcontroller
inside.
--
"Still . . . no worries, eh?", said Rincewind, somewhere on the Discworld.
Gary Farber
Chris Croughton <ch...@keris.demon.co.uk> wrote:
[. . .]
: The Americans, on the other hand, have horrible import restrictions on
: imports from the far east, so that they can sell their own TVs.
Huh. I thought the WTO forbade that. I although thought that there were
almost no domestic tv manufacturers left in recent years, because they
were all or almost all bought from Japan. Do you have any citation of
source for this? I may, of course, suffer under a complete
misapprehension.
[. . . .]
fox
wrote:
>On 31 Dec 1998 03:07:38 GMT, Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Since PAL isn't *used* in the US, there's not much call for machines
>>that handle it, unsurprisingly.
>
>NTSC isn't used in the UK. However, we may occasionally want to watch
>videos from the US or Japan, and I should imagine that Americans may
>occasionally want to watch videos from Europe.
Think about it. All movies are released in America before they are
released in the UK, most genre TV shows are american, the american
video market is many times the size of the UK's. We have good reason
to want to access their format, they have little reason to care about
ours.
Fox
Robert Sneddon
Morgan wrote in message <6SGKFOAo...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>...
>In this post <76fbf5$94e8$1...@newssvr04-int.news.prodigy.com>, Robert
>Sneddon <NO...@prodigy.net> said:
>> ObQuiz : Why is "Crusade" like a D&D campaign?
>
>
>I don't know NoJay, why is Crusade like a D&D campaign?
>
Have you seen a synopsis of the plot for the series, and a list of the
characters and their types, and the name of the ship? I've seen "Call to
Arms" already, along with roughs of some of the first season episodes,
and my first thought is "Gary Gygax will *sue*".
The other show it reminded me horribly of was the second season of
"Buck Rogers in the 24th and a half century". Icky-poo to the max.
Doug Wickstrom
modulated the bit stream to say:
>In this post <76e6pn$bvm$1...@plug.news.pipex.net>, Alison Hopkins
><fn...@dial.pipex.com> said:
>>Ah, but not in the US. For once, there's something way more expensive in the
>>US than over here!
>
>Really? My Ghod. <thump as Morgs lands on floor>
Depends on where you shop (military are more likely to find such
things useful, so exchanges carry them at reasonable rates), but in
general, yes, dual-system VCRs are spendy. It's the relative rarity,
I think. Circuit City doesn't carry them, so the high-end audio/TV
shops don't feel the competitive pinch.
--
Doug Wickstrom
"Tsuyu to ochi, tsuyu to kienishi. Waga mi ka na?
Naniwa no koto mo, yume mo matayume." --Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Doug Wickstrom
modulated the bit stream to say:
>In rec.arts.sf.fandom <Snews.981231.19...@keris.demon.co.uk>
>Chris Croughton <ch...@keris.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>[. . .]
>: The Americans, on the other hand, have horrible import restrictions on
>: imports from the far east, so that they can sell their own TVs.
>
>Huh. I thought the WTO forbade that. I although thought that there were
>almost no domestic tv manufacturers left in recent years, because they
>were all or almost all bought from Japan. Do you have any citation of
>source for this? I may, of course, suffer under a complete
>misapprehension.
As far as I know, the "restrictions" don't exist. Though it is true
that some Japanese manufacturers actually make sets here for export to
Japan, because it's cheaper than doing it in Japan, the majority of
sets sold here are made elsewhere, and not just in Japan, but in Korea
and Taiwan, as well.
Ed Dravecky III
<snip> The Americans, on the other hand, have horrible import
> restrictions on imports from the far east, so that they can sell
This would be a fascinating theory if there were, indeed, any
US-owned companies still making televisions in the USA. My TV
and VCR(s) are all Made In Japan, thank you very much, although
at least one component was "assembled" in Mexico.
> BTW, don't forget the thing that's bigger in Britain than in
> Texas - the pint <g>...
Next time you're in Texas you'll have to visit Ben's Half-Yard
House. They serve beer in these huge half-yard and yard long
glasses. The mechanics of drinking from a glass this large are
fascinating to watch, even if you don't drink beer.
One yard equals 0.9144 meters, btw.
--
Ed Dravecky III <*> dshe...@netcom.com
"Due South" fans, please visit http://www.rcw139.org/
Morgan
Sneddon <NO...@prodigy.net> said:
>Have you seen a synopsis of the plot for the series, and a list of the
>characters and their types, and the name of the ship?
Nope. I've stayed spoiler free on just about everything. A thing I'm
grateful for as it meant I was watching Sleeping in Light from cold. I
nearly fell over when Joe turned the lights off!
> I've seen "Call to
>Arms" already, along with roughs of some of the first season episodes,
>and my first thought is "Gary Gygax will *sue*".
Well, this doesn't surprise me - not the Gygax stuff, but that it's
taken that bend. Joe said at TWP that Crusade was action-adventure,
whereas B5 had been drama/action.
>
> The other show it reminded me horribly of was the second season of
>"Buck Rogers in the 24th and a half century". Icky-poo to the max.
Well, like I've said, I'm not surprised. Joe's tv writing background is
far more that sort of stuff. B5 was a deviation from that. I expect
lots of people who loved B5 will abhor Crusade. And that lots of people
who didn't watch B5 will love Crusade's smash bang wallop.
Michael T Pins
>On 31 Dec 1998 23:35:39 GMT, Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com>
>modulated the bit stream to say:
>>Huh. I thought the WTO forbade that. I although thought that there were
>>almost no domestic tv manufacturers left in recent years, because they
>>were all or almost all bought from Japan. Do you have any citation of
>>source for this? I may, of course, suffer under a complete
>>misapprehension.
>As far as I know, the "restrictions" don't exist. Though it is true
>that some Japanese manufacturers actually make sets here for export to
>Japan, because it's cheaper than doing it in Japan, the majority of
>sets sold here are made elsewhere, and not just in Japan, but in Korea
>and Taiwan, as well.
When did they start making them here? After Zenith moved their
manufacturing to Mexico 10+ years ago there wasn't anyone still building
consumer TVs in the US.
--
**************************************************************************
* Michael T Pins | mtp...@visi.com *
* keeper of the nn sources | mtp...@isca.uiowa.edu *
* ftp://ftp.visi.com/users/mtpins | #include <std.disclaimer> *
Chris Croughton
gfa...@panix2.panix.com "Gary Farber" wrote:
>Huh. I thought the WTO forbade that. I although thought that there were
>almost no domestic tv manufacturers left in recent years, because they
>were all or almost all bought from Japan. Do you have any citation of
>source for this? I may, of course, suffer under a complete
>misapprehension.
From someone in America, when I was commenting on the (lack of) quality of
TV and VCR equipment in US homes I've seen. He's in Atlanta. He referred
to a lot of import taxes on stuff from Japan - not overtly to stop trade
(which would alert the WTO) but so that if they can't stop it the
government gets money anyway.
Chris C
Chris Croughton
dshe...@netcom.com "Ed Dravecky III" wrote:
>This would be a fascinating theory if there were, indeed, any
>US-owned companies still making televisions in the USA. My TV
>and VCR(s) are all Made In Japan, thank you very much, although
>at least one component was "assembled" in Mexico.
RCA aren't still making them? I gathered my correspondant's RCA set was
only a couple of years old. It's certainly what I gathered from him that
the imported sets are taxed heavily.
>Next time you're in Texas you'll have to visit Ben's Half-Yard
>House. They serve beer in these huge half-yard and yard long
>glasses. The mechanics of drinking from a glass this large are
>fascinating to watch, even if you don't drink beer.
But it's still not a pint. There are pubs in Britain which have the
yard and half-yard glasses - I don't know if anyone uses them on a regular
basis, I've only seen them used for competitions.
>One yard equals 0.9144 meters, btw.
Us British still use yards (on the roads as short distances like
approaching junctions). Of course, how long that will last...
Chris C
Morgan
Croughton <ch...@keris.demon.co.uk> said:
>Us British still use yards (on the roads as short distances like
>approaching junctions). Of course, how long that will last...
About three feet, I reckon.
Doug Wickstrom
Croughton) modulated the bit stream to say:
>In article <dsheldonF...@netcom.com>
> dshe...@netcom.com "Ed Dravecky III" wrote:
>
>>This would be a fascinating theory if there were, indeed, any
>>US-owned companies still making televisions in the USA. My TV
>>and VCR(s) are all Made In Japan, thank you very much, although
>>at least one component was "assembled" in Mexico.
>
>RCA aren't still making them? I gathered my correspondant's RCA set was
>only a couple of years old. It's certainly what I gathered from him that
>the imported sets are taxed heavily.
RCA hasn't made anything in years. My first VCR, purchased in '83,
was an RCA. It was identical to a Quasar, formerly Magnavox, and was
made by Matsushita. Not surprisingly, it was also identical to a
Panasonic.
RCA these days is itself owned by General Electric.
--
Doug Wickstrom
"Tsuyu to ochi, tsuyu to kienishi. Waga mi ka na?
Naniwa no koto mo, yume mo matayume." --Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Doug Wickstrom
modulated the bit stream to say:
>xnims...@aol.com (Doug Wickstrom) writes:
>
>>On 31 Dec 1998 23:35:39 GMT, Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com>
>>modulated the bit stream to say:
>
>>>Huh. I thought the WTO forbade that. I although thought that there were
>>>almost no domestic tv manufacturers left in recent years, because they
>>>were all or almost all bought from Japan. Do you have any citation of
>>>source for this? I may, of course, suffer under a complete
>>>misapprehension.
>
>>As far as I know, the "restrictions" don't exist. Though it is true
>>that some Japanese manufacturers actually make sets here for export to
>>Japan, because it's cheaper than doing it in Japan, the majority of
>>sets sold here are made elsewhere, and not just in Japan, but in Korea
>>and Taiwan, as well.
>
>When did they start making them here? After Zenith moved their
>manufacturing to Mexico 10+ years ago there wasn't anyone still building
>consumer TVs in the US.
Sony's been making them in California for just about that long. Most
of the larger picture tubes were already being made in the US, and it
made sense economically to _not_ assemble the sets in Japan for some
reason.
And all Honda Accords sold in Japan are made in the US, now.
Terry Pratchett
<fn...@dial.pipex.com> writes
>
>Ailsa Murphy wrote in message <76dgpd$qvs$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>
>
>>Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get some
>nice
>>person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over here? And then,
>>anybody have any idea how much PAL to American conversion costs?
>>
>>
>
>Ailsa, if you can find someone with the tapes, I'll convert them to NTSC for
>you. I have a wonderful toy that does that! :)
Or you could wait for Acorn Media, who will be bring them out soon in
the US in American format. It's probably worth contactining Kelly
Cooley <kco...@acornmedia.com>
--
Terry Pratchett
Alison Hopkins
Terry Pratchett wrote in message ...
>>Ailsa, if you can find someone with the tapes, I'll convert them to NTSC
for
>>you. I have a wonderful toy that does that! :)
>
>
>Or you could wait for Acorn Media, who will be bring them out soon in
>the US in American format. It's probably worth contactining Kelly
>Cooley <kco...@acornmedia.com>
>--
>Terry Pratchett
Ali hastily adds that she meant no copyright infringement! :)
Ali
Shaun Gerrans
<fn...@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
>
>Shaun Gerrans wrote in message <368aeaaf...@news.demon.co.uk>...
>
>
>>You'll still be able to watch the episodes you've missed.
>>
>>The final five episodes will be repeated uncut from Sunday 3rd January
>>at 23.20 with the next episode scheduled for 23.40 on Sunday 10th
>>January..
>>
>>Shaun
>
>Shaun, I think you are gonna have to set this up as your sig! :) You're
>doing a sterling public service, which is more than C4 deserve.
>
That's a good idea, so I've done it :-) and thanks, but don't forget
Tony who's also doing sterling service.
Shaun
"I am a Ranger. We live for the One. We die for the One."
The final five Babylon 5 episodes will be repeated uncut from
David G. Bell
hla...@panix3.panix.com "Arthur Hlavaty" writes:
> In rec.arts.sf.fandom Harry Payne <Ha...@menageri.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> : So, there we were at the beginning of the end of one of the better SF
> : shows to grace our screens in the last few years, and Channel 4 pisses
> : all over it with their `Big Breakfast' logo.
>
> They're trying to PUT THEMSELVES OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
I e-mailed C4 a complaint.
I eventually got a reply. It looks like a boiler-plate response,
triggered by the first paragraph of my letter.
The headers suggest it originated at
"mod-lang-dhcp120.modlang.Arizona.EDU"
Somewhere along the way is passed through
"stub.channel4.co.uk (localhost [127.0.0.1])"
And for some reason they are telling me about a "DOG".
Apparently this DOG will not be used in the late-night repeats which are
due to start tomorrow. No doubt any strange recurrence of the DOG in
the night will be reported.
Are C4 _really_ getting their mail answered by somebody in Arizona?
--
David G. Bell -- Farmer, SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
Tony Naggs
thusly:
>On Thu, 31 Dec 1998 16:20:13 -0000, "Alison Hopkins"
><fn...@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
>
>>Shaun, I think you are gonna have to set this up as your sig! :) You're
>>doing a sterling public service, which is more than C4 deserve.
>>
>
>That's a good idea, so I've done it :-) and thanks, but don't forget
>Tony who's also doing sterling service.
<bows>
Thank-you Shaun, that's a real compliment from such a stalwart of the B5
information service! As a salute to you two I offer my new, improved
.sig below. :-)
Happy New Year everyone.
Tony
--
The 'Final Five' Babylon 5 episodes will be repeated uncut on Sundays
from 3rd to 31st January 1999. On Channel 4 from 23:20 on 3rd January.
On S4C from 00:55 on the Sunday/Monday night of the 3rd/4th January.
Check the Mini-FAQ (http://www.ubik.demon.co.uk/babylon5/) for more info
Mark Colin Barltrop
>In article <768umc$2...@news1.panix.com>
> hla...@panix3.panix.com "Arthur Hlavaty" writes:
<SNIP>
>And for some reason they are telling me about a "DOG".
>
>Apparently this DOG will not be used in the late-night repeats which are
>due to start tomorrow. No doubt any strange recurrence of the DOG in
>the night will be reported.
>
>Are C4 _really_ getting their mail answered by somebody in Arizona?
And a Sherlock Holmes fan to boot!
DOG stands for Digitally Originated Graphic & is how the TV trade
refers to the BB clock & its (excessively annoying) ilk,
Mark Barltrop (tac...@writeme.com)
ICQ Pager - http://wwp.mirabilis.com/13415498
'When people were in trouble they went to a witch -
Sometimes, of course, to say, 'Please stop doing it.' '
(Terry Pratchett,'Carpe Jugulam')
Arwel Parry
<db...@zhochaka.demon.co.uk> writes
>> : So, there we were at the beginning of the end of one of the better SF
>> : shows to grace our screens in the last few years, and Channel 4 pisses
>> : all over it with their `Big Breakfast' logo.
>>
>> They're trying to PUT THEMSELVES OUT OF BUSINESS!!!
>
>I e-mailed C4 a complaint.
>
>I eventually got a reply. It looks like a boiler-plate response,
>triggered by the first paragraph of my letter.
>
>The headers suggest it originated at
>"mod-lang-dhcp120.modlang.Arizona.EDU"
>
>Somewhere along the way is passed through
>"stub.channel4.co.uk (localhost [127.0.0.1])"
>
A Rottweiler, perhaps? :-)
>Apparently this DOG will not be used in the late-night repeats which are
>due to start tomorrow. No doubt any strange recurrence of the DOG in
>the night will be reported.
Woof! The hound that did not bark in the night...
Seriously, DOG = "Digital On-screen Graphic".
>Are C4 _really_ getting their mail answered by somebody in Arizona?
The net is a wonderful thing, presumably Arizonans are cheaper to employ
than Londoners! (PNH? <g>)
--
Arwel Parry
http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/
Alison Hopkins
Tony Naggs wrote in message ...
>Thank-you Shaun, that's a real compliment from such a stalwart of the B5
>information service! As a salute to you two I offer my new, improved
>.sig below. :-)
>
>Happy New Year everyone.
>
>Tony
>--
I love it! :) And, Shaun's right, you both deserve a medal.
Ali
Bernard Peek
<dshe...@netcom.com> writes
>Next time you're in Texas you'll have to visit Ben's Half-Yard
>House. They serve beer in these huge half-yard and yard long
>glasses. The mechanics of drinking from a glass this large are
>fascinating to watch, even if you don't drink beer.
The British one holds 2.25 pints and you have to drink it in one
swallow, often being timed while you do it. You don't have a choice
about drinking it down in one, the shape of the glass means you get no
choice about it. I haven't noticed many of the yard glasses around
recently but there are dust-covered half-yards in a lot of pubs.
>
>One yard equals 0.9144 meters, btw.
Some Dutch bars have a metre of ale, and a two metre, and a four. It's a
wooden plank with recesses to hold a standard glass, ten cm apart.
--
Bernard Peek
b...@shrdlu.com
John Richards
>
> In article <vp$HPBA09...@menageri.demon.co.uk>, Harry Payne
>
> etc. She thinks that all of the episodes shown this week will still have
> the Big Breakfast logo - GOK why they can't switch it off. I suppose
> somebody somewhere finds the on-screen clock useful...
>
G and Andy Peters the ex-BBC Children's Television presenter who is in
Charge of Channel 4's Sunday Morning and by extension the Holiday week
programming and has stated on The Right To Reply his belief in the value
of DOGs and his intention to use them regardless of how many people they
piss off. The do change the DOG shown during the Waltons to a sepia tone
though to keep it in the mood of the show.
--
JFW Richards South Hants Science Fiction Group
Portsmouth, Hants 2nd and 4th Tuesdays
England. UK. The Magpie, Fratton Road, Portsmouth
B. Vermo
mi...@moose.demon.co.uk (Mike Scott) wrote:
|On 31 Dec 1998 03:07:38 GMT, Gary Farber <gfa...@panix2.panix.com>
|wrote:
|
|>Since PAL isn't *used* in the US, there's not much call for machines
|>that handle it, unsurprisingly.
|
|NTSC isn't used in the UK. However, we may occasionally want to watch
|videos from the US or Japan, and I should imagine that Americans may
|occasionally want to watch videos from Europe.
The problem is that, in the U.S., there never was any market for quality
video. That is why VHS won out, and that is why sound quality on
U.S. made TV productions is so low. Nobody has been able to sell
quality receivers with decent resolution and good sound in volume
to the U.S. market until recently, so there are no receivers good enough
to watch 625-line PAL or SECAM recordings. Even if they had been
made multisync, they would not have had the bandwidth to handle the
colour signal. To do it properly with existing receivers takes some
expensive signal processing in an advanced multistandard VCR.
For us, it is much easier. An NTSC-encoded standard N (525line) tape
can easily be played back on a quality TV with a SCART connector,
since most TV sets were designed to work in any market. With only
a little extra expense, the VCR can be enhanced to play NTSC tapes
quite well. Or, actually, there is no such thing as an NTSC tape.
The NTSC signal cannot be recorded on a normal VTR, so it is encoded
on an FM subcarrier in the same way as the PAL or SECAM signals are.
When it is played back on a PAL VTR, it is converted to a PAL signal
but the video signal is still 525/60. Multistandard VTRs will convert
this to 625/50 to work on TVs which are not multisynching.
B. Vermo
ch...@keris.demon.co.uk (Chris Croughton) wrote:
|
|There's another nasty in Europe you may not know, though. If you buy a
|VCR in Germany, it will happily play your British (and American and
|French) tapes on a German TV set. But not on a British TV set.
|Similarly, a German VCR or TV can't receive British programmes (and vice
|versa). Well, actually it can but not in a useful way - you either get
|sound and no picture or picture and no sound. For some reason, all the
|standards are identical except that on one the sound is at a higher
|frequency than the picture and the other it's lower (I can't remember
|which way round).
This is because the British channel setup was made different from
the rest of anywhere at all. You continued to use the old 405-line
transmissions after the war. In Germany, everything was bombed away
so they got a new start with 625 lines. In France, they underestimated
the problems with high bandwidth and tried to jump straight up to 819
lines. When Britain wanted to start colour transmissions, it was
found that 625 lines was the best way to go, and you opened up the
UHF band with wider channels than in Germany. To make dual standard
405/625 line sets, you got some odd engeneering choices. This kept
everybody else out of the UK market. The rest of Europe had several
different channel widths and audio subcarriers to cope with, but
it was easy enough to handle automatically in a universal receiver.
So, even after the UK dropped 405 lines and reallocated the VHF
frequencies, an effective special purpose market had developed. In
addition, the market was unique in that a very large part of it was
served with rental equipment. If you sell to a rental company, you
get squeezed on price and avoid any extra frills. You just use the
same parts, and program the production line to change the sound
carrier frequency up by 1MHz. My Beosat, however, is a low-volume
product designed to be usable everywhere. It will receive the old
German stereo sound system with dual FM subcarriers as well as the
different FM mono standards and NICAM digital. I suppose most sets
of all brands sold in the Netherlands will work with UK transmitters, too.
B. Vermo
ch...@keris.demon.co.uk (Chris Croughton) wrote:
|In article <dsheldonF...@netcom.com>
| dshe...@netcom.com "Ed Dravecky III" wrote:
|
|>This would be a fascinating theory if there were, indeed, any
|>US-owned companies still making televisions in the USA. My TV
|>and VCR(s) are all Made In Japan, thank you very much, although
|>at least one component was "assembled" in Mexico.
|
|RCA aren't still making them? I gathered my correspondant's RCA set was
|only a couple of years old. It's certainly what I gathered from him that
|the imported sets are taxed heavily.
|
ailing US TV manufacturers, brought in new management and methods,
and somehow started to make quality equipment with high productivity
using the same lazy, sloppy, useless staff which was blamed for the
low productivity and quality under the previous management. This is
loosely remembered from a number of old Business Week articles.
Sony was one of the first to open US factories. At the time, there
was a heavy punitive import duty on sets larger than 19". This was
back in the old GATT days, and the US was never very keen on two-way
free trade. This has all changed. Now we have the WTO, and the US
is very much in favour of free trade unless they can find an excuse for
anti-dumping tariffs. "If they can sell cheaper than us, it HAS to be
dumping. It is unconceivable that somebody might be more efficient".
Rich McAllister K6RFM
> The problem is that, in the U.S., there never was any market for quality
> video. That is why VHS won out, and that is why sound quality on
> U.S. made TV productions is so low. Nobody has been able to sell
> quality receivers with decent resolution and good sound in volume
> to the U.S. market until recently, so there are no receivers good enough
> to watch 625-line PAL or SECAM recordings.
I for one am happy to trade the minimal extra resolution
to get away from the annoying flicker of 50Hz refresh (I understand the
Philips scan-doublers fix this.)
Rich, viewing *this* on a 1200 line monitor at 70 Hz refresh...
Rich McAllister K6RFM
> From someone in America, when I was commenting on the (lack of) quality of
> TV and VCR equipment in US homes I've seen. He's in Atlanta. He referred
> to a lot of import taxes on stuff from Japan
The fact that Japanese made electronic equipment is cheaper in the
US than in Japan makes me think duties are minimal. On
the other hand there are certain "non tariff barriers" -- mainly,
FCC and UL clearance -- that mean very low volume models
may not be imported.
B. Vermo
Rich McAllister K6RFM <r...@pensfa.org> wrote:
|
|I for one am happy to trade the minimal extra resolution
|to get away from the annoying flicker of 50Hz refresh (I understand the
|Philips scan-doublers fix this.)
Flicker? Have not noticed that on any TV for the last fifteen years.
It does not take a 100Hz non-interlace set to get reasonably flicker-free
images. Good screen phosphors which are adapted to the intended use,
good electronics with no line jitter and no lights reflected in the screen
are enough to make a flicker-free image. Nothing like the annoying
flicker I often notice at the cinema. There, the higher frame rate
of 3-D Imax really makes all the difference in the world. If they only
would shoot more pictures in the format.
Ailsa Murphy
Terry Pratchett <tprat...@unseen.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <76dtga$2ro$1...@plug.news.pipex.net>, Alison Hopkins
> <fn...@dial.pipex.com> writes
> >
> >you. I have a wonderful toy that does that! :)
>
> Or you could wait for Acorn Media, who will be bring them out soon in
> the US in American format. It's probably worth contactining Kelly
> Cooley <kco...@acornmedia.com>
> --
> Terry Pratchett
>
over here, I will cheerfully wait for it.
Ailsa
P.S. Omig-d, Terry Pratchett followed up to one of my posts! I'll never wash
this monitor again!
--
But to explicitly advocate cultural relativism ailsa....@tfn.com
on the grounds that it promotes tolerance is to Ailsa N.T. Murphy
implicitly assume that tolerance is an absolute value. If there are any
absolute values, however, cultural relativism is false. -Theodore Schick
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Alison Scott
>The problem is that, in the U.S., there never was any market for quality
>video. That is why VHS won out, and that is why sound quality on
>U.S. made TV productions is so low.
Like, for example, the rather patchy, hiss-ridden, mono soundtrack of
_Twin Peaks_.
--
Alison Scott ali...@fuggles.demon.co.uk
Now with added cobwebs: www.fuggles.demon.co.uk
Beth Friedman
<9sxr6HA2...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>...
> In this post <76dgpd$qvs$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, Ailsa Murphy
> <ailsa....@tfn.com> said:
> >Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get
> >some nice person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over
> >here? And then, anybody have any idea how much PAL to American
> >conversion costs?
>
> Cheaper to go buy a PAL/NTSC VCR. Mine cost 99 quid.
It's much more expensive here; I know, because I was seriously thinking
about buying a multistandards VCR when they started releasing new
versions of Pros tapes in England. The moment of frenzy passed,
however, and I content myself with watching a friend's tapes, converted
from PAL on _her_ multistandards machine.
I'm not sure what the technical reasons are for the difference in cost,
though it probably has something to do with the fact that PAL is
inherently a better format. I don't think it's _only_ because it's a
niche market, though that's probably somewhat of a factor. There's
also some issue about multistandards viewing vs. multistandards
converting, so that it's cheaper to buy a machine that can show PAL
tapes but can't convert them to NTSC without a separate converter box.
In any case, the cheapest decent multistandards converting deck I could
find was $615, though that was supposed to be quite a nice machine.
Whereas the new machine that I ended up buying only cost $237.
--
Beth Friedman
b...@wavefront.com
Aahz Maruch
Ailsa Murphy <ailsa....@tfn.com> wrote:
>
>P.S. Omig-d, Terry Pratchett followed up to one of my posts! I'll
>never wash this monitor again!
I'd feel the same way if Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein followed up on
one of mine.
--
--- Aahz (@netcom.com)
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 <*> -=> http://www.rahul.net/aahz
Androgynous poly kinky vanilla queer het
"In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been
times like these." -- Paul Harvey
Gary Farber
Aahz Maruch <aa...@netcom.com> wrote:
: In article <76tgnh$d3t$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
: Ailsa Murphy <ailsa....@tfn.com> wrote:
:>
:>P.S. Omig-d, Terry Pratchett followed up to one of my posts! I'll
:>never wash this monitor again!
: I'd feel the same way if Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein followed up on
: one of mine.
When did Terry die?
--
Copyright 1999 by Gary Farber; Web Researcher; Nonfiction Writer,
Fiction and Nonfiction Editor; gfa...@panix.com; B'klyn, NYC, US
Tony Towers
> In article <dsheldonF...@netcom.com>, Ed Dravecky III
> <dshe...@netcom.com> writes
> wooden plank with recesses to hold a standard glass, ten cm apart.
Ah, but since these are Dutch glasses, which when 'filled' contain
about 1cm of beer and 1/2km of head, I think drinking a metre wouldn't
be such a hard thing.
--
Tony Towers To Email, use the Reply-To: address
"MicroSoft can make good applications. They make some outstanding
apps. From an OS point of view, they suck. From a morals point of
view they suck even more" - Linus Torvalds
Mike Ford
<b...@wavefront.com> wrote:
>Morgan <mor...@sidhen.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
><9sxr6HA2...@sidhen.demon.co.uk>...
>> In this post <76dgpd$qvs$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, Ailsa Murphy
>> <ailsa....@tfn.com> said:
>> >Oooooooh! IwantIwantIwantIwant! So how much would it cost to get
>> >some nice person to copy their tapes and ship said copies to me over
>
>> >here? And then, anybody have any idea how much PAL to American
>> >conversion costs?
>>
>> Cheaper to go buy a PAL/NTSC VCR. Mine cost 99 quid.
>
>It's much more expensive here; I know, because I was seriously thinking
>about buying a multistandards VCR ...
[...]
>In any case, the cheapest decent multistandards converting deck I could
>find was $615, though that was supposed to be quite a nice machine.
>Whereas the new machine that I ended up buying only cost $237.
I was looking at videos in the shop a couple of weeks back. It
wasn't until I was half-way through my second pass down the line
of machines on display that I realised *every* *single* *one*
was capable of playing back both formats, all the way from the
sub 100-pound playback-only toy right the way up to the
not-far-off-1000-pounds
do-everything-you-could-possibly-want-and-a-few-you-didn't-know-were-even-possible
beastie.
--
Mike Ford m...@mcgoff.karoo.co.uk
Leeds, UK
John Lorentz
>I'd feel the same way if Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein followed up on
>one of mine.
>--
Totally off-topic (what else is new?), but one of the categories on
"Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central last night was
"Isaac Worked His Asimov"
--
John
Doug Wickstrom
>In article <76tgnh$d3t$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
>Ailsa Murphy <ailsa....@tfn.com> wrote:
>>
>>P.S. Omig-d, Terry Pratchett followed up to one of my posts! I'll
>>never wash this monitor again!
>
>I'd feel the same way if Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein followed up on
>one of mine.
If they followed up on one of mine, I think I'd have to seriously
reconsider some of my basic assumptions about the way things work.
--
Doug Wickstrom
"Tsuyu to ochi, tsuyu to kienishi. Waga mi ka na?
Naniwa no koto mo, yume mo matayume." --Toyotomi Hideyoshi
B. Vermo
ali...@fuggles.demon.co.uk (Alison Scott) wrote:
|b...@bigblue.no (B. Vermo) wrote:
|
|>The problem is that, in the U.S., there never was any market for quality
|>video. That is why VHS won out, and that is why sound quality on
|>U.S. made TV productions is so low.
|
|Like, for example, the rather patchy, hiss-ridden, mono soundtrack of
|_Twin Peaks_.
|
It helps the world move forwards. When they stopped producing in NTSC,
we noticed a remarkable quality improvement. Having the Japanese taking over
both the receiver market and much of the content suppliers also helped a
lot. They did not seem to have the same contempt for the audience
which made the old executives say "they will not notice the difference".
The supposed lack of market for improved sound and picture quality has
been quoted by the US participants every time the technical press has
discussed possible new technical standards. It was one of the reasons
why we did not get a global high definition TV standard ten years ago.
Now, of course, we have MPEG-2 and each broadcaster can set his
own quality standard. I guess we will all get dull mass-market shows
in superhigh definition and interesting niche programming in jerky
minimum bitrate "be glad you get it at all" quality.
Rich McAllister K6RFM
> On Wed, 6 Jan 1999 22:52:17 GMT, aa...@netcom.com (Aahz Maruch) wrote:
>
> Totally off-topic (what else is new?), but one of the categories on
> "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central last night was
>
> "Isaac Worked His Asimov"
I was sorely disappointed when they never got to the question hiding
behind the "Books that Go On Forever Not Written by Stephen King"
category.
Rich
Laurie D. T. Mann
> Totally off-topic (what else is new?), but one of the categories on
> "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central last night was
>
> "Isaac Worked His Asimov"
A few weeks back, one of the "silent booth" questions was:
"The Hugo Award honors what type of fiction?"
The contestant got it right. Ben Stein guessed mysteries.
--
Laurie D. T. Mann NOTE NEW DOMAIN: http://dpsinfo.com
1999 Nebula Weekend * Pittsburgh, PA * April 30-May 2
http://www.sfwa.org/awards/99wknd.html
Alan Laska
Distribution:
Rich McAllister K6RFM (r...@pensfa.org) wrote:
: jlor...@spiritone.com (John Lorentz) writes:
: > On Wed, 6 Jan 1999 22:52:17 GMT, aa...@netcom.com (Aahz Maruch) wrote:
: >
: > Totally off-topic (what else is new?), but one of the categories on
: > "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central last night was
: >
: > "Isaac Worked His Asimov"
: I was sorely disappointed when they never got to the question hiding
: behind the "Books that Go On Forever Not Written by Stephen King"
: category.
: Rich
What was the question and answer to it???
----Alan David Laska----
--
Doug Wickstrom
the bit stream to say:
>Ah, the advantages of having them produce for an international marketplace.
>It helps the world move forwards. When they stopped producing in NTSC,
>we noticed a remarkable quality improvement. Having the Japanese taking over
>both the receiver market and much of the content suppliers also helped a
>lot. They did not seem to have the same contempt for the audience
>which made the old executives say "they will not notice the difference".
Haven't watched much actual Japanese television, have you?
The reason for the relatively poor quality of older US television
production has nothing to do with NTSC.
The stuff was shot on _film_, ferkrissake. Videotape production is
relatively recent.
Lenny Bailes
What was the name of the short story in which the Three Laws of
Robotics were amended to free the positronic brain from its
thankless task of redistributing meaningless "Save the Sci-Fi
Channel" spam for all eternity?
---
Lenny Bailes len...@slip.net
((Sorry, couldn't
stop myself from
asking. Hope there's
an answer.))
Loren MacGregor
Alan Laska wrote:
> Organization: ICGNetcom
> Distribution:
>
> Rich McAllister K6RFM (r...@pensfa.org) wrote:
> : jlor...@spiritone.com (John Lorentz) writes:
>
> : > On Wed, 6 Jan 1999 22:52:17 GMT, aa...@netcom.com (Aahz Maruch) wrote:
> : >
> : > Totally off-topic (what else is new?), but one of the categories on
> : > "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central last night was
> : >
> : > "Isaac Worked His Asimov"
>
> : I was sorely disappointed when they never got to the question hiding
> : behind the "Books that Go On Forever Not Written by Stephen King"
> : category.
>
> What was the question and answer to it???
Alan, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to participate in this
newsfroup, and that is a good thing. But if they never -got- to the question
hiding behind the category, it's hardly possible either that we'd know the
question -or- know the answer.
-- LJM
Avedon Carol
>In article <3692750e...@news.demon.co.uk>,
>ali...@fuggles.demon.co.uk (Alison Scott) wrote:
>|b...@bigblue.no (B. Vermo) wrote:
>|
>|>The problem is that, in the U.S., there never was any market for quality
>|>video. That is why VHS won out, and that is why sound quality on
>|>U.S. made TV productions is so low.
>|
>|Like, for example, the rather patchy, hiss-ridden, mono soundtrack of
>|_Twin Peaks_.
>|
>Ah, the advantages of having them produce for an international marketplace.
>It helps the world move forwards. When they stopped producing in NTSC,
>we noticed a remarkable quality improvement. Having the Japanese taking over
>both the receiver market and much of the content suppliers also helped a
>lot. They did not seem to have the same contempt for the audience
>which made the old executives say "they will not notice the difference".
>
>The supposed lack of market for improved sound and picture quality has
>been quoted by the US participants every time the technical press has
>discussed possible new technical standards. It was one of the reasons
>why we did not get a global high definition TV standard ten years ago.
>
>Now, of course, we have MPEG-2 and each broadcaster can set his
>own quality standard. I guess we will all get dull mass-market shows
>in superhigh definition and interesting niche programming in jerky
>minimum bitrate "be glad you get it at all" quality.
Hey, I still remember when they used to say Americans didn't really
want small cars....
Avedon (cix.co.uk)
"PG-13 (contains scenes of desperate stupidity and political posturing
which may be inexplicable to the more sensitive members of the viewing
audience)"
Doug Wickstrom
modulated the bit stream to say:
>Hey, I still remember when they used to say Americans didn't really
>want small cars....
We still don't, if we can afford and get larger ones.
Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
hunting and other off-road travel?
Ray Radlein
>
> Alan, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to participate in this
> newsfroup, and that is a good thing. But if they never -got- to the
> question hiding behind the category, it's hardly possible either that
> we'd know the question -or- know the answer.
And you call yourself a Slan.
- Ray R.
--
***********************************************************************
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Strom Thurmond Congress wagh'nagl fhtagn.
Ray Radlein - r...@learnlink.emory.edu
homepage coming soon! wooo, wooo.
***********************************************************************
Arthur Hlavaty
: On Sat, 09 Jan 1999 00:40:52 GMT, ave...@thirdworld.uk (Avedon Carol)
: modulated the bit stream to say:
:>Hey, I still remember when they used to say Americans didn't really
:>want small cars....
: We still don't, if we can afford and get larger ones.
: Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
: hunting and other off-road travel?
We took a vote and big cars won, so now nobody wants small cars?
--
Arthur D. Hlavaty hla...@panix.com
Church of the SuperGenius In Wile E. We Trust
\\\ E-zine available on request. ///
Marilee J. Layman
(Doug Wickstrom) wrote:
>Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
>hunting and other off-road travel?
The last two days, we saw TV of people with their big Explorers and
Jimmys trying to drive on the ice as if the 4-wheel drive actually
made a difference.
--
Marilee J. Layman Co-Leader, The Other*Worlds*Cafe
relm...@aol.com A Science Fiction Discussion Group
*New* Web site: http://www.webmoose.com/owc/
AOL keyword: BOOKs > Books Community > The Other*Worlds*Cafe (listbox)
Cally Soukup
> Doug Wickstrom <xnims...@aol.com> wrote:
> : On Sat, 09 Jan 1999 00:40:52 GMT, ave...@thirdworld.uk (Avedon Carol)
> : modulated the bit stream to say:
> :>Hey, I still remember when they used to say Americans didn't really
> :>want small cars....
> : We still don't, if we can afford and get larger ones.
> : Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
> : hunting and other off-road travel?
> We took a vote and big cars won, so now nobody wants small cars?
I love small cars. They tend to be front wheel drive, which helps on
ice, as does relatively low inertia. They're also easier to park.
Especially when the supermarket has plowed their parking lot into the
places between the rows of cars, so the parking spaces are several
feet shorter. And as for gas milage, I've driven from Chicago to
Minneapolis on one ten gallon tank of gas.
--
"I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend
to the death your right to say it." -- Beatrice Hall
Cally Soukup sou...@pobox.com
Cally Soukup
> In <36aec454...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>, xnims...@aol.com
> (Doug Wickstrom) wrote:
>>Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
>>hunting and other off-road travel?
> The last two days, we saw TV of people with their big Explorers and
> Jimmys trying to drive on the ice as if the 4-wheel drive actually
> made a difference.
In the local Chicago papers there were a number of articles about how
people had broken their SUVs axles, and burned out their
transmissions, due to believing that they'd perform the way they do
on the commercials. And of course, as you imply above, just because
you can MOVE on the ice doesn't mean you can STOP.
Churnworks Writing and Design
>
> Loren MacGregor wrote:
> >
> > Alan, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to participate in this
> > newsfroup, and that is a good thing. But if they never -got- to the
> > question hiding behind the category, it's hardly possible either that
> > we'd know the question -or- know the answer.
>
> And you call yourself a Slan.
No, I call myself "Loren." I think you're referring to Slan
Winston, who works for ALAC.
--
|___
\___
| Loren MacGregor / The Churn Works
email:--> churn...@uswest.net
___| lmac...@efn.org
___/
|
Doug Wickstrom
Layman) modulated the bit stream to say:
>In <36aec454...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>, xnims...@aol.com
>(Doug Wickstrom) wrote:
>
>>Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
>>hunting and other off-road travel?
>
>The last two days, we saw TV of people with their big Explorers and
>Jimmys trying to drive on the ice as if the 4-wheel drive actually
>made a difference.
It does. It gets you moving so that you can slide around faster.
David G. Bell
> Marilee J. Layman <mjla...@erols.com> wrote:
> > In <36aec454...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>, xnims...@aol.com
> > (Doug Wickstrom) wrote:
>
> >>Or do the folks who buy Lincoln Navigators actually use them for
> >>hunting and other off-road travel?
>
> > The last two days, we saw TV of people with their big Explorers and
> > Jimmys trying to drive on the ice as if the 4-wheel drive actually
> > made a difference.
>
> In the local Chicago papers there were a number of articles about how
> people had broken their SUVs axles, and burned out their
> transmissions, due to believing that they'd perform the way they do
> on the commercials. And of course, as you imply above, just because
> you can MOVE on the ice doesn't mean you can STOP.
This is what low gear and hand throttles are for...
Though, on a road, you don't get the same sort of bouncing that has your
foot jiggling up and down on the pedals. And you wouldn't need that
extra bit of torque over engine-idle.
--
David G. Bell -- Farmer, SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
Chris Suslowicz
xnims...@aol.com (Doug Wickstrom) wrote:
>On Thu, 07 Jan 1999 13:26:09 +0200, b...@bigblue.no (B. Vermo) modulated
>the bit stream to say:
>
>>Ah, the advantages of having them produce for an international marketplace.
>>It helps the world move forwards. When they stopped producing in NTSC,
>>we noticed a remarkable quality improvement. Having the Japanese taking over
>>both the receiver market and much of the content suppliers also helped a
>>lot. They did not seem to have the same contempt for the audience
>>which made the old executives say "they will not notice the difference".
>
>Haven't watched much actual Japanese television, have you?
>
>The reason for the relatively poor quality of older US television
>production has nothing to do with NTSC.
>
>The stuff was shot on _film_, ferkrissake. Videotape production is
>relatively recent.
Pardon? This seems backwards to me. (Then again, I remember the
uproar over (ISTR) series 3 of 'Dallas', where everyone and their
cat complained about the appalling image quality. (As opposed to:
plot, characterisation, dialog(ue), etc. etc.)) The problem *there*
was that the previous series had been shot on film, and the BBC
(or whoever) had received a print for broadcasting - run through
telecine, no problem. To save money, the third series was done
direct to video, so they were sent an NTSC tape and had to convert
it to PAL. It showed. (Those may have been the days when a standards
converter occupied several 19" racks and worked by repeating every
tenthline and dropping every 5th frame using an analogue framestore.)
It's another reason why the 'Inspector Morse' series looks so good
(from an image quality point of view, at least) since it starts out
by being shot on 16mm film.
For the record, I did not watch 'Dallas', BTW. 8-)>
Chris (just passing through, probably).
--
"While preceding your entrance with a grenade is a good tactic in
Quake, it can lead to problems if attempted at work." -- C Hacking