BBC News (UK) presentation - Reith launch onwards

For those that are interested, Techmoan's latest video is about the Sony CRV laserdisc system - the same that was used by the BBC for playback of the breakfiller, TOTH, bumpers etc.

I’m guessing it’d also be difficult to get the screen colour, brightness and contrast to match the actual newsroom accurately.

It strikes me as potentially a lot of effort required for not much benefit.

And here's the kit that used to control such a player to run the balloon symbols

Here we are, sorry for delay. The original Balloon control panel of the original Laser Discs in NC1’s Network Transmission Area (NTA) As you can see we controlled Subttiles and clock background via this. Also note that Irish 1-7 required Disc 2 to to be flipped by the engineer! pic.twitter.com/4YO5WXijhA

— Chris Cook (@chrisckmedia) October 12, 2019

What is the point of having a screen that just appears 'transparent'? Its purpose is to show graphics, if you're not showing anything on it, simply don't have it in shot.

The camera tracks go behind one of the screens, so it would give you a larger range of shots and angles. It would also allow you to have a much wider, uninterrupted, view of the newsroom in E.

I think one of the US breakfast shows (Today I think) does something similar to cover a pillar behind the presenters and make the view seem seemless, but it doesn't quite work IIRC.

Brekkie, you are correct. NBC's Today has an LCD monitor covering up a pillar. When the screen shows the feed from the camera attached to the outside of Studio 1A, its mostly seamless until you see that a bus shelter or subway entrance cover is partially duplicated and a titch bigger.

I saw a picture they actually have two PTZ cameras positioned behind the LED screen on either side of the pillar on the first floor and a second PTZ camera on the second floor. I’ve only ever seen one angle used behind home base. But I imagine the other one maybe used for WNBC or possibly to feed their upstairs LED screen.

That bus shelter you mentioned is actually an elevator that goes to the Rockefeller Center concourse level.

I may have mentioned previously - I once had some BNCS training which included an exercise to cue a CRV player to a particular timecode, switch a router to it, and play it. The disc was the balloon idents, of course.

They were used for the break filler on BBC World too. The disc played the backgrounds and the text was got from the channels teletext page and added live.

I remember those panels in the transmission suites, but never saw them used in anger. By the time I started everything between programmes was coming off server. The device did still work but the discs had got dirty and so some broke up or froze when played.

I assume the panel was just used to cue up the correct version, which was then played by the automation at the right moment

If the BBC news channels is running a weekend schedule from today, why is Beyond 100 Days and Outside Source not replaced by World News Today? Only tomorrow that kicks in

Because both those programmes are simulcasts with BBC World News and they are not running a weekend schedule until tomorrow.