What is kinescope?

Originally, the term kinescope referred to the real cathode of Ray Tube (CRT) designed for early television ensembles, but soon became synonymous with the process of filming live TV shows for rebroadcasting. In the days before the Magnetic VideoApe, the networks would compose a television show in the New York studio and sent live broadcasts to associated stations in eastern and central time zones. The problem was that the station in the Pacific time zone required a three -hour delay to show programs in the evening. The solution was to use a 16 mm or 35 mm movie camera to capture the CRT images and show the developed film three hours later. The film record of the live TV show became known as kinescope .

There were many technical problems that made the production of kinescope less than ideal. One problem was a similar situation faced a projection when he showed tIché movies from the 1920s. The film camera captured images at approximately 24-30 frames per second. CRT screened 50 or 60 "half images" per second because the television images were scanned in alternating lines through the screen. The solution was to synchronize the speed of the KINESCOPE camera with the speed of scanning a TV monitor, which is easier than done. Kinescope images often blinked, and actors' movements looked jerked, just like a quiet film displayed at a higher frame speed.

Another technical problem surrounding kinescope was the development process. In order to create a time of feed on the west coast, the technicians would have to quickly develop a film and let it dry. The soundtrack would also have to be synchronized with a film and the whole kinescope would have to be completely exaggerated and dried before it could be fed to the broadcast projector. Because kinescope was supposed to survive only for several broadcasts, it was not unusual to see the reels of the developed film sitting ingarbage cans behind the network studios. Many early television programs that have now considered classics have been lost forever due to the fleeting nature of the Kinescope process. Others are represented only a few kinescopes that have survived in private collections.

The introduction of magnetic videotapes in the mid -1950s did not necessarily spell the end of the kinescope era. Smaller affiliate stations without videotape were still offered kinescope live network broadcasts. In fact, the practice of creating a Kinscope TV show for archive or rebroadcast purposes did not actually end up at the end of the 70s. Even a magnetic video tape, a medium that has replaced Kinescope in many television studios, faces the competition of newer digital storage media capable of producing high -resolution images. New processes for preserving and improving early recordings of kinescope also allow new viewers to enjoy TV shows like Jackie Gleason's The HoneymooneRS and sid caesar's show show show.