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Start the USA
At one time,
television stations in the USA, like ITV contractors in the UK, had daily
"start-up" (or "sign-on" as we call them here in the States) routines. But the
traditional sign-on routines have all but vanished with the advent of 24-hour
television.
In some
respects, sign-ons of TV stations in the USA were similar to start-ups of ITV
regions. But there were a few differences. By following one station's
"sign-on" routine from my childhood (the late 1960s), we can see how sign-ons
of US stations and start-ups of ITV contractors were similar and different.
Both
procedures would start with a test card (or a test pattern as we refer to them
as). You wouldn't see the "Picasso" test card of the ITV, nor testcards D, E,
or in later years, F. You would likely see a group of concentric circles in
the center of the screen, a large circle on the outer portion of the screen,
and four wedges of lines, coming from the top, bottom, right-hand-side and
left-hand-side, connecting the concentric circles in the middle to the circle
on the test pattern's outer perimeter. You might see the image of an Indian
head on the upper center part of the screen. You might see the station's call
letters, channel number and city on the test pattern.
In any event,
one would usually hear a continuous, monotonous 1,000-cycle tone for as long
as the test pattern would be seen on the screen. Some stations might offer
some variety by using recorded music for the last few minutes that a test
pattern was shown in place of tone.
Then, about
three minutes before the day's first program, the test pattern and tone would
disappear. You would see a film showing the American flag, sometimes with
majestic outdoor scenes, or landmarks in Washington, D.C., or with US Air
Force jet fighters. You would hear "The Star-Spangled Banner", the American
national anthem.
Once the
anthem ended, the good part came. You would see a slide showing the station's
call letters, channel number, location and logo. As most American TV stations
broadcast only on a single transmitter (as opposed to the multiple
transmitters of many ITV contractors), the announcement would go into much
more detail about the television station than a start-up in the UK ever would.
One station's
sign-on announcement in the late 1960s went:
"Good morning.
You are watching WBZ-TV, Boston, Massachusetts. WBZ-TV broadcasts on channel
4, by authority of the Federal Communications Commission. WBZ-TV is owned and
operated by the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company. WBZ-TV's studios and
offices are located at 1170 Soldiers Field Road, Boston, Massachusetts 02134.
WBZ-TV broadcasts with an effective radiated visual power of 100,000 watts
from a transmitter and antenna located in Needham, Massachusetts. WBZ-TV is an
affiliate of the NBC television network. Some of WBZ-TV's programming is
mechanically reproduced on film or videotape. WBZ-TV now begins its broadcast
day".
Once the
sign-on announcement was made, the day's first program would be transmitted.
WBZ-TV is an
actual television station in Boston; the information in the sample
announcement above was correct in the late 1960s. Today, WBZ-TV still
broadcasts on channel 4; its studios are still at Soldiers' Field Road in
Boston, and the station still transmits from Needham. However, WBZ-TV switched
affiliation to the CBS network on January 2, 1995.
The nuances
may be different - Americans call it sign-on instead of start-up, and use
different kinds of testcards, calling them test patterns - but the ways
American TV stations and ITV contractors began their broadcast day prior to
the era of 24-hour television broadcasting turn out to have been pretty
universal.
Joseph Gallant
Compilation © 2003 Transdiffusion Broadcasting System
Text © 2003 Joseph Gallant. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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