Television Recording 50 Years Ago: A Recollection: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

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Publisher: SMPTE — White Plains, NY, USA
Doc Type: Journal Article
Content Type: Original Research
Abbreviated Title: SMPTE Mot. Imag. J
Volume: 113, No. 1, pp. 27–34
Abstract: The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Television network sent three members of its engineering department to England to record the BBC broadcast of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II for re-broadcast in the U.S. This event took place 50 years ago, on June 2, 1953. We were joined by an edit team from CBS News as well as several key executives. This was before the invention of videotape and satellite relays—in fact, before there were even satellites or jet airliners flying the Atlantic! At this time, the picture medium was television film recording. Sound was recorded on sprocket-driven magnetic film, and transportation was by propeller-driven aircraft. We did it! CBS had two shows on the air, across the U.S., on the same day as the actual coronation ceremony. It was a great adventure, and it is fun to recollect how we did it and to recall some of the problems we encountered.
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
DOI: 10.5594/J12328
ISSN: Print: 1545-0279 | Electronic: 2160-2492
Link: https://doi.org/10.5594/J12328
Author(s): Richard S. O'Brien
bio
Dick O'Brien retired from CBS in the early 1980s. He was involved in many major television projects beginning with the post-WWII CBS New York studios and master control in Grand Central Terminal, New York City; Television City in Hollywood; Broadcast Center in New York; and many owned-and-operated station projects. O'Brien received a B.S. in electrical engineering from U.C. Berkeley in 1939 and attended Stanford University for two years—interrupted by Pearl Harbor and the war. He worked on radar countermeasures during the war and was overseas at the end of the European war. O'Brien was on the SMPTE Board for 14 years, serving as Secretary for three terms. He received the SMPTE Journal Award in 1954, the SMPTE David Sarnoff Gold Medal in 1984, and an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement in 1993.
Copyright: © 2004 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Inc.

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Richard S. O'Brien; Television Recording 50 Years Ago: A Recollection: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 113, Issue: 1, January 2004); SMPTE, 2004. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/J12328

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Richard S. O&#x27;Brien; Television Recording 50 Years Ago: A Recollection: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 113, Issue: 1, January 2004); SMPTE, 2004. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/J12328

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<span class="citation">Richard S. O&#x27;Brien; <cite>Television Recording 50 Years Ago: A Recollection: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 113, Issue: 1, January 2004); SMPTE, 2004. Available at <a href="https://doi.org/10.5594/J12328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.5594/J12328</a></span>

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Richard S. O&#x27;Brien; <cite id="bib-10-5594-j12328">Television Recording 50 Years Ago: A Recollection: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 113, Issue: 1, January 2004); SMPTE, 2004
<span class="doi">10.5594/J12328</span>
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