TK-41s at opening of 1964 World's Fair

[old_tv_nut]

This newsreel in black and white shows opening day of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, with some excerpts of speeches, including Pres. Johnson reading from old-fashioned paper-roll teleprompters; also, some night aerial shots.

Of interest are two shots including an RCA color TV camera at the opening ceremony, covered with a plastic tarp. Too bad the tape from these pickups almost surely no longer exists.
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=71232

[Aussie Bloke]

Thanks for sharing that with us. I've always known there was colour coverage of the World Fair, good to see a camera in action. As for the footage, well if it's out there it will be found. I have recently came across on YouTube a colour kinescope NBC special of the World Fair and it can be viewed in 6 parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA5LVf0p9TM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UCewXFa0M8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EGllGYiFa8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzCA3kODWa4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-8W9GaGFvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA5IkqaQ2gE

It would of been good if the special did some coverage on RCA's "See yourself on color television" section as that would of been great to see, but anyways great to see this footage has surfaced.

[John Hafer]

I remember visiting the RCA building at the 1964 Worlds Fair (saw it the second year in 1965) where they had a complete color television production center set up to see through glass windows. They had all RCA TK-41 cameras.

The one thing I remember the most was that the Quad VTR's they were using were Ampex and not RCA brand units even though RCA made Quad VTRs'. Wonder why?

[Sandy G]

I remember the "See Yrself on COLOR TELEVISION !" exhibit, & thought it odd we all had purplish, distorted faces...But this was in '65, I guess those poor CTC-16s or whatever they were had prolly been on 24/7 since the fair opened...They were undoubtedly working "WAY over their Dinner", as we say down here...

[old_tv_nut]

I'm surprised the color was not good when you saw it. I visited last week of June 65, and color was fine. Also, I know someone who visited with his family, and his dad took better-exposed pictures than I did - and they look beautiful. When in '65 were you there? Towards the very end?

Edit - have posted this before:
http://www.nywf64.com/rca01.shtml

[Sandy G]

I don't remember except that it was kinda cold. Prolly early spring.

[W.B.]

I seem to recall a former director at New York station WOR-TV (Channel 9, now WWOR-TV Secaucus, NJ) mentioning that a TK-26 film chain which was in place at that RCA exhibit at the '64-'65 World's Fair (presumably for the slides which said "Welcome to the RCA Exhibit" that were shown on the TV screens) was later acquired by that station and put in alongside another TK-26 that they'd had since 1960 when they started showing movies in color on their various showcases including and especially Million Dollar Movie.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by W.B.

a TK-26 film chain which was in place at that RCA exhibit at the '64-'65 World's Fair (presumably for the slides which said "Welcome to the RCA Exhibit" that were shown on the TV screens) [/i].

When I was there, they were running color movies while the "welcome sign" was also up. I wonder if they had more thatn one TK-26, or a flying spot scanner for slides.

Here's a dark shot of the control room showing simultaneous live and film production.

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

When I was there, they were running color movies while the "welcome sign" was also up. I wonder if they had more thatn one TK-26, or a flying spot scanner for slides.

They could've had a TP-15 mutltiplexer, for all I know . . .

[John Hafer]

There are several collections of old RCA TK41 live color cameras still around but does anyone know of any TK-26 color film cameras still in existance? Better yet, any complete TK-26 color film islands, ie., TK-26 with TP-15 multiplexer, TP-6 (16mm) movie projectors, TP7 slide projector and maybe even with a TK-21 B&W film camera mounted on the TP-15 as a preview camera.

[austvarchive]

i had a TK27, or 28 telecine camera, and film island here a while ago, problems was the camera and multiplexer were insanely heavy and i simply could not do anything with it because of this since my floors here would not take such weight.

Sadly nobody finds a rather boring looking blue cabinet interesting or historically important as an interesting looking TK60 camera is, so in the end i had to trash it - it had almost seriously injured or killed 2 guys moving it when its got overbalanced and nearly fell on one of them....both when we aquired it, and when it was being loaded onto the scrap metal truck. (didnt get a cent for it)

everyone thought it was an old computer!