PCfixit Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Saturday, November 23, 1963 As a kid I remember watching: The Honeymooners Ed Sullivan Red Skelton Dragnet My Mother the Car Lost in Space My Favorite Martian Mr. Ed Tarzan Superman Batman Ultraman Gilligans Island HR Puffinstuff The Bannana Splits The Green Hornet The Monkeys The Beverly Hillbillies The Brady Bunch Bewitched I dream of Jeannie The Twilght Zone Weird Night Gallery The Night Stalker Godzilla Movies Karate movies With only three or four channels, sure seemed like there were more choices, and now with hundreds of channels (cable, satillite, dish) its hard to find anything to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolMan Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Does anyone ever read the TV guide anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Didn't Houston have that PBS station back then? I thought it was one of the first in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 KUHT or Houston PBS (VHF channel 8 in Houston, Texas) is a PBS member television station operated by the University of Houston. The station began broadcasting in 1953 as the first public television station in the United States, and one of the earliest stations of NET, National Educational Television, which eventually merged into PBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 (edited) When you're feeling nostalgic you can rent some of those shows on DVD. At least you can "Bullwinkle". It's also odd that there aren't any of the old UHF stations listed.Never mind. The first UHF station failed, and it wasnt' reopened until 1967. Edited November 30, 2005 by Subdude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 that's awesome - the "WEIRD" movie - Bride of Frankenstein and they signed off at 12:15, 1:30 and 1:45 am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 (edited) Saturday, November 23, 1963 As a kid I remember watching: The Honeymooners Ed Sullivan Red Skelton Dragnet My Mother the Car Lost in Space My Favorite Martian Mr. Ed Tarzan Superman Batman Ultraman Gilligans Island HR Puffinstuff The Bannana Splits The Green Hornet The Monkeys The Beverly Hillbillies The Brady Bunch Bewitched I dream of Jeannie The Twilght Zone Weird Night Gallery The Night Stalker Godzilla Movies Karate movies With only three or four channels, sure seemed like there were more choices, and now with hundreds of channels (cable, satillite, dish) its hard to find anything to watch. What I think is great about this list is that all that stuff was on channel 39 and 26 back in the 70's. Edited November 30, 2005 by TJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieDidIt Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 (edited) I remember turning that big nob to make the antenna turn.Back then, there was the often heard cry " OH NO THE PRESIDENT ON!!!!!!' When he was on all four broadcast channels, that was it folks. Edited December 1, 2005 by KatieDidIt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Back then, there was the often heard the cry " OH NO THE PRESIDENT ON!!!!!!' When he was on all four boradcast channels, that was it folks.One of the few things I do remember as a child was Reagan's many many speeches from the Oval Office. Always made me and my sister so mad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarthaG Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Did you guys notice to tells you which shows are in "Color"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 I remember having a black-and-white TV with a broken knob, so you had to change channels with a set of pliers, and a tin-foil glob for an antenna.We wuz po. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCfixit Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 (edited) I remember having a black-and-white TV with a broken knob, so you had to change channels with a set of pliers, and a tin-foil glob for an antenna.We wuz po. I was the remote at our house! They measured the picture tube in square inches instead of diagonally Edited December 1, 2005 by PCfixit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 That brings back memories. When I was a little kid we had a TV that looked like that, only it was a "Zenith", which I think went out of business years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchful Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 We moved from East Texas to Houston in 1965 and I remember how awesome it was that we had 4 channels instead of only 1. (We had lived near Lufkin which only had an NBC station at that time - that was all we could get except on freaky weather days when if you went outside and turned the big antenna you might be able to pull in something odd.)At one time, the old TV listings also used to have the indication ® to indicate when a program was a rerun (back when there were about 39 new shows a year, and only 13 summer reruns).Have you noticed that now you sometimes see the indication (N) to indicate that the program is new and not a rerun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 That brings back memories. When I was a little kid we had a TV that looked like that, only it was a "Zenith", which I think went out of business years ago. Zenith is still around my friend. up until 1991, at my grandparents house, I had a 1966 Zenith black and white 19" it also came with an extra screen, the screen was like a magnifying glass that took the picture to 23". It finally gave out in Dec. 1990. and was sold in a garage sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Seems like I remember a lot of that programming being pre-empted for coverage of the aftermath of JFK's assassination. I was watching the next day as Jack Ruby shot Oswald on live TV. Couldn't believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Sounds good to me! Those shows listed were before my time, but I prefer old classic TV shows over all ('cept for "Lost") current TV shows any day, any time. Just a few my favorite classics: Twilight Zone Alfred Hitchock Presents I Love Lucy Night Gallery Leave it to Beaver What's Happening It's like comfort food. I hate most major network TV of today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Two words: Curtis Mathis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 First TV set I remember was a Zenith (circa 1960). It was turquoise, with a gold-tone bezel around the picture tube. This was what they rather optimistically referred to as a 'portable' model - the damn thing must have weighed sixty pounds.In those pre-transistor days, it seemed to take forever between the time the TV was turned on and the picture finally appeared. You'd hear a high pitched whine as the tubes powered up; a brilliant pin-point of light would appear in the center of the screen, then disappear. Finally, you'd see a dim image, which would gradually grow brighter. We had a neighbor who had color TV in the mid-sixties, and we made a special trip to their house to see the very first news broadcast in color - I think it was Walter Chronkite. Even after most entertainment shows had converted to color, the news continued in black&white for several years; apparently color was considered a bit frivolous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 I'll never forget our first color TV. NC State was ranked number 2 in the country in 1974, right behind UCLA. They were destined to meet in the Final Four. My dad was so excited about it, he bought a color TV, so we could watch our beloved Wolfpack beat the Bruins and win the '74 National Basketball Championship.Pretty big stuff for a 14 year old. One of my fondest memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Two words: Curtis Mathis.What do these two words mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 I was referring to the American made TV we had growing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCfixit Posted December 2, 2005 Author Share Posted December 2, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolMan Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 $499 - HOLLY CRAP!! That must be like paying $5000.00 for a flat screen plasma TV right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Well color television was still pretty new technology at the time. What is interesting is that those TVs come in French Provincial, Early American, or Italian Provincial styles. When did they stop making TVs in furniture styles? It seems like an odd concept for appliances - you don't go out now and buy an Early American or French Provincial desktop computer. Or maybe Dell should offer it as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 you don't go out now and buy an Early American or French Provincial desktop computer. Or maybe Dell should offer it as an option. Speaking as an Apple user, it already looks like all Dells come in the same style: antique. Back on topic: We had one of these console TV's built into a huge piece of furniture. It was about four feet tall, and maybe 12 feet long. The first part of the cabinet housed a speaker, then there was storage, then the TV, then stereo equipment including a turntable that came out on a rolling shelf, then another speaker. The face of it was a series of wooden doors that you would swing open to see the TV. The doors over the speakers were wicker grilles, and you weren't supposed to open them, but I always did because that's where my parents hid my Christmas presents. I can still remember the smell of decades of furniture polish on that thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajorD Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Oh man, I just had to jump in this conversation. I can remember when stations would turn off and you would have that dang rainbow color bars across the screen with a loud noise. Usually meant it was time for bed. Now, I wish some stations would turn off and never come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 $499 - HOLLY CRAP!! That must be like paying $5000.00 for a flat screen plasma TV right now. You bet your @$$ it was, but again, you were getting the best back then. Oh man, I just had to jump in this conversation. I can remember when stations would turn off and you would have that dang rainbow color bars across the screen with a loud noise. Usually meant it was time for bed. Now, I wish some stations would turn off and never come back. The ol' "sign off" rainbow, I think they put the high pitch squeal in for a reason, to wake up thoise that had fallen asleep in front of the tube, so they would wake up and turn it off. I remember channel 39 actually had an old indian logo test pattern as their sign off, back in the 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCfixit Posted December 3, 2005 Author Share Posted December 3, 2005 Was it like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 You bet your @$$ it was, but again, you were getting the best back then. The ol' "sign off" rainbow, I think they put the high pitch squeal in for a reason, to wake up thoise that had fallen asleep in front of the tube, so they would wake up and turn it off. I remember channel 39 actually had an old indian logo test pattern as their sign off, back in the 70's. The rainbow is color test bars. When the video signal with the bars on it is pumped through an oscilliscope, dots will form on specified sections of the 'scope. If the colors the TV station is broadcasting are correct, they will be right on target. If the colors are off, the dots will be off, too. Most TV stations still do this for an hour or so once a week to give their engineers a chance to make sure the colors are exactly on target and tweak them if they're not. I know as recently as 2003 KHOU's time was Sunday night/Monday morning around 3am. The same is true for the 60 Hz tone you heard. It's a test tone to make sure the audio levels are correct. As annoying as the 60 Hz tone is, there's another one that's even more annoying. It's used to test the stereo phasing and involves a voice constantly speaking "Left" "Right" "Center" over and over and over with tone in between. NTSC Color Bars SMPTE pattern for testing brightness, contrast, and resolution Overscan test chart (Yes, overscan, like on your old Commodore 64) Zone plate test slate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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