Thought the group might enjoy this compilation of RCA XL-100 ads from the mid 70s.

Jeff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vla4dJ-DBs

Cool! :thmbsp:
At about 6:45 into the video an older RCA? set is briefly shown behind the couple on the farm that just got their new RCA gift...I think that I see a knob below the screen... could that be a CTC-2B?
jr

Yes, they say something about buying their first RCA color set in 1959. Of course, I just realized I put this thread in the wrong category. Sorry!

Those ads featuring the servicemen and control room operators were quite good in my opinion. If had been shopping for a set at the time that definitely would have gotten me to check out the XL-100.

-J

The TV cameras of that day were huge!

---

When you spend all your timing troubleshooting old worn out tube sets, something you can sell then not have to deal with again sounds appealing. Until you realize that nobody fixes broken items anymore, they just throw it away and get another one for $20 at wally world.

-J

I just remembered that back in 1981 there were a big truckload sale of RCA Televisions at Hill's TV in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.beacuse of that, there was a truck trailer that have parked next to the store filled with JUST ONE BRAND, RCA!!

Hill's TV was Majoring in RCA's at that time.

Cheers!!

The amazing thing to me is I can't recall seeing one of these commercials.

All that talk by producton people about how great the color was (as in "accurate") was baloney. Everybody was putting in "automatic color" circuits at the time, which distorted the color in some way in an attempt to get more reliable flesh tones.
RCA did use an automatic tint control (invented at Motorola, but Motorola never used it) that preserved natural greens, so the comment about outdoor greens was valid. But they had an automatic chroma circuit that depended on the average chroma level and tended to turn up the color too high on subdued scenes, and down too much on really colorful scenes like some of the variety show sets. The common failure I saw many times was some performer entering in a red dress and causing the color to suddenly turn down. People liked that overdone "calendar" color on the outdoor scenes though.

The amazing thing to me is I can't recall seeing one of these commercials.

Same here. It means they were never shown in the 'big city' or simply never shown. I was watching New York stations at the time; you Chicago?

Pete

I remember one or two of these being shown on a cartridge-view system that a local dealer had. It seems RCA produced these for the Consumer Electronics Shows in 1974/75. I guess they played them at the RCA "booth" or whatever.
The cartridges were about 6 or 8 inches grey-white plastic, and squarish, with I think 16mm film.

The cartridges with RCA ads were available on eBay way back in the early 2000's, and I remember the seller being in Indianapolis, and was probably an RCA employee.

The only other ads I remember being on the cartridge system was some Honda Motorcycle ads - same cartridges, and the year was probably 1976 or 1977. The viewer was "portable" with a fold-up screen and mirror system. Dad did some work on the viewer for the Honda dealership, but I'm not sure what the repairs were.

Anybody know the name of the cartridge system? It was all-film, no video involved...

Cheers,

The cartridges with RCA ads were available on eBay way back in the early 2000's, and I remember the seller being in Indianapolis, and was probably an RCA employee.

The only other ads I remember being on the cartridge system was some Honda Motorcycle ads - same cartridges, and the year was probably 1976 or 1977. The viewer was "portable" with a fold-up screen and mirror system. Dad did some work on the viewer for the Honda dealership, but I'm not sure what the repairs were.

Anybody know the name of the cartridge system? It was all-film, no video involved...

Cheers,

Perhaps similar to this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Belle-Courier-16-16mm-Cartridge-Viewer-Player-RARE-/130456625028

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-La-Belle-Tutor-16-Projector_W0QQitemZ310247695187QQcategoryZ15254QQc mdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3D SIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252B FICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D130456625028%26ps %3D63%26clkid%3D5124231162983677183

not affiliated,
jr

That is exactly the viewer!

I now believe the RCA cartridges I saw on eBay in 2001/2002 were cartrivision (sp?) and were film-to-video transfers.

I remember the RCA ads being played on a much bigger viewer - it sat upright between two RCA console TVs. Screen was probably 15 inches or so, possibly smaller. I was amazed at how the system "looped' the same two ads - mind you, I was 12 or 13 years old then.

Cheers,

Same here. It means they were never shown in the 'big city' or simply never shown. I was watching New York stations at the time; you Chicago?

Pete

Yes, Chicago. If you are correct, the weird thing is that both NY and Chi had NBC owned and operated stations. Maybe they felt there was plenty of sales and ads through other media.

I have seen one of the ads done in print before:

It showed the same old couple sitting next to their 50s RCA roundie, and how they were upgrading to an xl-100, or some such thing.

edit: an internet search turned it up, clearly my poor memory was influenced by the commercial, but the idea is the same-roundie purchased in '56 (could it be a 21ct55?).

http://senses.typepad.com/sensesworkingovertime/2008/05/rca-xl-100-1973.html