50 years of BBC2 this year.

[threeseven]

Apparently it's the 50th anniversary of BBC2 this year. There will be a celebration programme on the channel next month. I'll bet few people back then imagined how different TV would be now! Almost undoubtedly BBC2 won't be around in another 50 years, or the Beeb at all.
In fact I actually can't imagine what the visual media will be like in another 50 years given how much it has changed in just the last 10!
What do others think?

[camtechman]

Well, BBC1 is well on the way to extinction, they now shut down at midnight....it's like the 405 B&W days !

[AC/HL]

Many an obituary written in haste. We should be careful what we wish for.
If the BBC is allowed to be euthanised, the constraint on the headlong plummet to the bottom will be removed.

[threeseven]

Can't say I'm a big fan of their programme content these days. Too much light entertainment and football. BBC 4 occasionally has some good stuff and thats about it. And apparently BBC 3 is for the chop too, their failed pitch at the 'young' audience. They are simply not competing with what's on offer from other providers, to use the modern jargon.
Subscription is the way forward for them I think, that removes the crutch of the mandatory license fee.

[SteveCG]

50 years eh? Hmmm, how many others remember "Getting going on UHF" in Practical Television?

[Radio Wrangler]

Well, BBC2 outlasted Practical Television, then.

Prediction is a very risky business. I'll just take a few oxygen pills and fly my rocket pack to the moon...

David

[mark pirate]

Originally Posted by threeseven

Can't say I'm a big fan of their programme content these days. Too much light entertainment and football.

I will second that!
But it seems that there is little worth watching on any of the channels these days.

BBC 2 used to have some very good programming. It was not very popular at the start, with very highbrow programming with no popular appeal.
We stuck with good old 405 lines until 1972 when we got a Bush 625 line set.

Mark

[1955APREN]

That 50 years has gone quickly, now iI know that I am a old man. I recall that BBC2 from Sutton Coldfield was a on very low power at first was this 1965 (summer)? Some of the KB sets had a transistor UHF tuner fitted, what a difference in gain compared with the valve one. A few stacked arrays were used but when full power came on we got away with a straight 18 element.

Regards, Derrick.

[Nuvistor]

It was 1965 when Winter Hill BBC2 went live and I do remember the difference the transistor tuners made.

[Peter.N.]

We went UHF twice! 1964 from Crystal Palace, then we moved to Dorset and went back to 405, didn't get UHF from Stockland Hill until about '72.

Peter

[bobsterkent]

Talking of repeats, one of the 'special programmes' is Happy birthday BBC2... which was last transmitted on its 40th Birthday!

[bc312]

Is it really 50 years....where did they go! I remember purchasing a Philips 625 conversion kit from Manor Supplies and plumbing it into a Bush TV62. This set had already been modified for DXTV reception, and was good for 625 and 819 lines. Still have the TV62 as well as a TV53. Happy days.

['LIVEWIRE?']

I didn't even have a TV when BBC2 started (Lived in an old hose with no electricity supply at the time!) However, when we moved to where I still live now, in 1966, there was a communal aerial system, which meant you couldn't watch UHF. I don't remember what TV we had in the late 60s, but it had what were known as 'biscuits' in the tuner, two being fitted for Channels 4 (BBC1), & 8 (ITV). The TV was dual standard, so I obtained a 'biscuit' for whichever VHF channel to which the aerial system converted BBC2, modified the set as necessary - I think that involved fitting an extra series resistor & decoupliong capacitor, so that the VHF tuner was powered in the '625' position, so that we were able to watch BBC2. This would have been from about 1968 or 69 onwards. It was maybe another 10 years before getting the first Colour TV - a Decca, but I don't remember which model.

[daro]

Originally Posted by camtechman

Well, BBC1 is well on the way to extinction, they now shut down at midnight....it's like the 405 B&W days !

Since when have they started doing that again?

[Andrew2]

We got BBC-2 when we moved from Manchester to Swadlincote (nr Burton on Trent) in 1967. I was fascinated by it. Early memories are of 'The Andy Williams show' with a black border around it.
The 'Happy Birthday BBC2' programmes showing at the moment are really nice, even if they are repeats from their 40th birthday.

['LIVEWIRE?']

Personally, if it's not too OT, I don't see anything wrong with BBC1 (or other channels) closing down at midnight. Are we so conditioned that we expect all TV (and radio) to be on 24/7?

[Radio Wrangler]

Didn't BBC 2 get shut down at 10pm during the 1970s power shortages? I seem to remember worrying that Monty Python was under threat.

David

[HamishBoxer]

Does anyone remember in the 80's iI think when early on Saturday mornings 0630 sometimes there were technical films on?

[emeritus]

It wasn't just BBC2, all channels had to shut down, from memeory around 10.00 to 10.30 PM. They soon found they had to stagger the shut-down times of the different channels as when they all went off at the same time, there was a country-wide power demand surge as everyone turned on the lights and put the kettle on!

[Radio Wrangler]

BBC2 started with "Trade test broadcasts" they were rather good.

David