[Humphrey Hacker]

It was, the live link was a very long time coming and it’s prospect was the butt of jokes for many years. At the time we were told the hold up was due to the lack of PTT permissions for the microwave masts in Belgium. A change of engineering management at the top of BFBS coincided with a push to get the link completed, a complete re-installation of the London Control Centre etc*. The microwave link was installed by Marconi and the UK part of it was maintained under contract by the IBA. It was incredibly reliable but then again it was completely engineered to military standards so I guess it should have been. I’m told by engineering colleagues who went to the German end of the link that the technical quality was such that unless you knew different you would think the signals were coming from a room next door rather than north London. 

* I’ve had look at a few bits of that video again now and it shows the London end as it was originally with quad vtrs etc. It was a long time ago, but from memory the whole technical area was re-engineered before the service went live with 1” vtrs etc etc. So, I’m not sure when this video was made and how it relates to the actual live service? All too long ago to recall by me with any accuracy. 

The whole idea of the tv service to the troops and their families in Germany was the idea of BFBS’ controller at the time in the early 1970’s - a chap called Ian Woolf. He dreamt it up and pushed it through to fruition. He was a very very charismatic man and his obit is worth looking up on the www.

There is, of course, an alternative ‘engineers’ version of that video but I couldn’t possibly post it!

The obits are behind paywalls but I did find this:
pmcdeered.livejournal.com 

Uncle Ian - pmcdeered — LiveJournal
A Few Loose Memories from a Former Loose Cannon …
  Source: pmcdeered.livejournal.com

[Stooky Bill]

I'm a bit confused how BFBS worked then.

Did the link from London to Germany send just live programmes to be shown on the BFBS TV channel which was based there? Or from then on was the channel based in the UK and the whole channel sent down the circuit to Germany?

All very different to today, their channels are all based at Arqiva in Chalfont and use satellite distribution. There's a large and heavily encrypted transponder on Eutelsat 10 for this part of the world. Heavily encrypted presumably mainly because they carry some Sky Sports channels

[Bluecortina]

I'm a bit confused how BFBS worked then.

Did the link from London to Germany send just live programmes to be shown on the BFBS TV channel which was based there? Or from then on was the channel based in the UK and the whole channel sent down the circuit to Germany?

All very different to today, their channels are all based at Arqiva in Chalfont and use satellite distribution. There's a large and heavily encrypted transponder on Eutelsat 10 for this part of the world. Heavily encrypted presumably mainly because they carry some Sky Sports channels

Once the live link was in operation it was a mixture of live/pre-recorded (edited as required) from Stonebridge Park in London and Rheindahlen in Germany although the German end had no capability for in vision continuity. I vaguely recall the German end opened up on-air around midday, then closed down after lunch, then the service opened up again around tea time from London for the evening. Sorry to be so vague but it was over 35 years ago!

There was a 25 year celebration of the opening of the service at Chalfont in 2000. I attended (and still have a BFBS mouse mat guests were given). Perhaps there will be a 50 year celebration in 2025? 

The service moved to Chalfont after a period at the BBC in 1985.

[lookoutwales]

Something from the world of student television - a closedown sequence from STOIC at Imperial College London from 1983, pairing up some highly advanced (in-house) weather graphics with a NODDY-esque symbol.

youtu.be 

And a glimpse behind-the-scenes at their continuity operation.

youtu.be 

[Transmission]

I remember seeing some clips of STOIC on TV Offal, including a similar ident to the above but in black and white, so from several years earlier. Seems they had that NODDY-style set up for a similar length of time to the Beeb.

[lookoutwales]

I remember seeing some clips of STOIC on TV Offal, including a similar ident to the above but in black and white, so from several years earlier. Seems they had that NODDY-style set up for a similar length of time to the Beeb.

And you’d be right - this is probably the clip you’re thinking of (they only went into colour around 1980)

youtu.be 

STOIC also contributed some output to the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) closed circuit network - and the uploader has put up some Pres material, including a colour test transmission from shortly before the station was closed.

youtu.be 

youtube.com 

[Steve in Pudsey]

If those weather graphics look familiar, Imperial used to supply Breakfast Time with its weather data in the early days, after the Met Office took its bat and ball home over the programme choosing to use Francis Wilson rather than one of its own forecasters.

Breakfast Time had computer animated forecast graphics compared with the magnetic symbols Michael Fish and co were still using.

[Stuart]

They moved into a new HQ a couple of years ago and since revamped - and revamped again - their main news programme. There was also a documentary to mark the move (another was in the pipeline for their 60th anniversary this year)

www.gbc.gi 

That's a fascinating video. Thanks for the great find.

[Stooky Bill]

This came up on my YouTube suggestions yesterday and it's quite an extraordinary bit of live TV. It's from The Late Late Show in 1997. They're ending the show with a postal competition to win a car, but when Gay Byrne phones up the (eventual) winner she has some terrible news for him which changes the atmosphere of the studio totally. So well handled by Gay

www.youtube.com 

[harshy]

I'm a bit confused how BFBS worked then.

Did the link from London to Germany send just live programmes to be shown on the BFBS TV channel which was based there? Or from then on was the channel based in the UK and the whole channel sent down the circuit to Germany?

All very different to today, their channels are all based at Arqiva in Chalfont and use satellite distribution. There's a large and heavily encrypted transponder on Eutelsat 10 for this part of the world. Heavily encrypted presumably mainly because they carry some Sky Sports channels

It also shows box office events from time to time so they have to use heavy Irdeto encryption, if I got my analysis tools out I guess they would now be SD and HD maybe as I swear they upgraded to DVB-S2 transponder at some point.