Weird TV with three CRTs....Whatsit??

[wa2ise]

TV network execs would have setups like this, though usually 3 color displays and a switch to select the sound. So they could see when the competition played commercials and such. But these setups were usually custom built by their technician depts. The only consumer applications I can think of would be hard core sports fans, say if a baseball game and a football game were on at the same time. rather small market.

The above set would predate picture-in-picture sets.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by wa2ise

TV network execs would have setups like this, though usually 3 color displays and a switch to select the sound. So they could see when the competition played commercials and such.

Ah! So that's why no one can get away from TV commercials these days. I've often wondered how the television networks did it (all four showing commercials at the same time). They must use a system like that Sampo set to monitor one another, so that when three networks are showing commercials, that would be the cue for the fourth to go to a commercial itself (for example).

Sheeesh..........the TV networks sure have a captive audience for their commercials as well as their shows these days, as always, although years ago we didn't have the strings of commercials we have on TV today; TV stations used to be limited to a minute or so of commercials every hour, including station ID, which most TV stations don't have now. I guess they don't want people changing channels between programs, so they run one program right after another without breaks.

I wonder how the TV stations get away with failing to show a station ID (audio as well as video) every hour. Here in northeastern Ohio, the stations just show a promotional announcement for one of their local shows (what few of them are left -- most so-called "local" shows these days are syndicated tabloid talk programs), with the call sign and city of license shown in tiny type no one can read at the bottom of the screen. The stations used to have real announcers doing the station IDs too, but that's another story.


What's next -- subliminal commercials, showing commercials in a banner across the top or bottom of the screen, brand placement within shows, or even the networks silently jamming the mute buttons on viewers' remotes (using a special signal sent over the network/local station or cable system) so that the commercials cannot be silenced?