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Old 5th Dec 2017, 12:55 pm   #23
PaulM
Hexode
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Near Lincoln, UK.
Posts: 481
Default Re: Fifty Years of Colour Television in the UK

Quote:
They actually started with one studio that was Marconi Mk7 and contracted Marconi to refurbish the studios, but Granada's engineers were so disappointed with the picture compared to the 2001 that they changed their order to EMI for the remaining studios, but still contracted Marconi to install them!
I've heard lots of MkVII stories over the years and it can be very hard to say what's likely to be true. It was never simply a case of engineering - there's always money, people, politics (small p) and even politics (large P) with high value deals like these. These cameras were very expensive (think small detached house) and it was never solely up to engineers to decide. The 2001 was by the early 70s an old design. It worked well but it was very expensive, very heavy, not particularly reliable (eg viewfinder and H Def - I have a large BBC EMI 2001 fault log book which is interesting reading!), a G101 camera cable and only two basic zoom lenses to choose between. It's not surprising that it couldn't be exported as the world had moved on. By 1970, Marconi had their MkVIII and all the other manufacturers were producing smaller, lighter, cheaper and more versatile cameras.

Best regards,

Paul M

BTW, small point - Marconi cameras always use Roman numerals, whereas Pye used Arabic. I know it's picky
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