THOMAS HUTCHINSO - Early Television Foundation

30 HERE IS TELEVISIONDirectly in front of the director's desk is the viewing screenthat reproduces the picture the audience is to see. In addition tothis line monitor are the preview monitors "kinescopes" thatshow the output of each camera in the studio. There are twobasic arrangements used in television control room monitoringsystems. The first requires only two screens, one being the linemonitor and the other the preview of the shots available on allthe studio cameras. This isaccomplished by switching the outputof any camera, at will, to the preview screen or to the line monitor. It can best be explained by a concrete example. In thecontrol room we have the line monitor A and the preview screenB.In the studio we have three cameras: #1, #2, and #3.By pressing a button we first preview the output of camera #1 on previewscreen B. If the picture is satisfactory we press another buttonand the picture from camera #1 disappears and on the samescreen we see the output of camera #2. The picture on camera#3 is previewed in the same manner and now, since we have seenthe output of all three cameras, these previewed pictures may beput on the line by merely pressing the button that controlsthe camera wanted. Above each screen, numbers that identify thecamera in use, appear as we switch. This system has both advantages and disadvantages. Its advantagelies in the fact that itrequires a minimum of electronic equipment and with only twoscreens to look at, the line monitor A and the preview screen B,it is easier for the director. Its disadvantage is that it might require another operator, if many cameras were in use; for after aprogram starts and the output of camera #1 is put on the air,cameras #2 and #3 must be previewed on this one preview monitor. Obviously when $2 is switched to the line, then #1 and $3must be previewed, and this operation continues throughout theprogram, constantly keeping the picture to follow on the previewviewing screen.The other systemis one in which separate preview kinescopesare provided for each camera. The output of camera #1is seenon preview screen #1, camera #2 on screen #2 and so on for eachcamera used in the production. Each preview screen is numberedto correspond to the camera picking up the picture, as the direc-