Resources and Links

Test Card 'M' !!!

Is this the future of the test card?

This test card is very likely to be the design used for UK terrestial digital television broadcasting, since Snell and Wilcox has been chosen to produce the final design. Whether each of the channels will use the card unmodified or even transmit the card is as yet unknown, since it is fairly unlikely that (if transmitted) a broadcaster such as the BBC would want to have a card that featured the logos of 'rival' broadcasters ! Also, even if it is transmitted it is unlikely that it will be used much (if at all) after the service has started, since the commercial channels operate a 24-hour service which is fairly unlikely to change. Also the BBC has its own widescreen version of the famous Test Card F which it may decide to use instead, though this card has specific testing features for digital encoders/decoders. (Image sourced from Electronics Weekly).

There should be a better picture on the Snell & Wilcox website but the last time we checked it was unavailable.

Using the 'power' of the animated GIF, HTW is proud to present...the BBC Schools Dots Clock ! Anyone who went to school in the UK between the mid 1970's and the early 1980's should surely remember this (unless you were only 5 years old in 1980 !) Purists may complain that the dots should disappear gradually and not immediately as in this version, but to do that would require a great deal more effort (and download time). These animations were originally done using cardboard and electric motors, before the advent of computers such as the BBC Micro, Archimedes, and PC/Mac based animation systems.

This is a typical 1950's television showing what was often transmitted during the day - Test Card C. A version of Test Card C is shown below:

 

HTW's Download Corner Here are some video clips that you can download for viewing if you have RealPlayer 5.0 (a popular audio/video player program). None of the RealPlayer clips are larger than 150k in size, so they won't take long to download (only a few seconds for the shorter ones even with a 28.8k modem). We did previously feature Quicktime 3 clips; this format will be used again in the future by us to show clips larger than 320x240 resolution. More clips to follow in the future.

1960's ABC Television Ident Sequence

Ben Elton Show's BBC ONE Ident (with the colliding '2')

1980's Central Television Ident Sequence

1960's Redifussion London Ident Sequence

TV-AM Startup 31 December 1992 (last transmission)

TV-AM Finish 31 December 1992 (last transmission)

TVS Afternoon News Title Sequence (short bulletin) c.1987

HTW's Recommended Links UK Television A Toast to TV-am - A web site dedicated to TV-AM. ATW (Another Television Website) - A great site featuring UK TV idents, test cards, etc.,which happens to be both very interesting and well designed (especially the logo and menu panel). Media UK Internet Directory - Extensive selection of links to commercial and non-commercial web sites relating to all types of media in the UK. Greg Taylor's Misc. Pages - Includes (among other items) TSW Online, which is the official web site for this now defunct ITV contractor for the South-West of England, plus official sites for Pipkins, Runaround, and You and Me. Relive your childhood (or not, as the case may be) here. Meldrum Home Page - A large site which is crammed full of UK TV test cards, idents, and captions (and a few foreign ones as well). It's also the home of the mhp-chat mailing list (if your email box is looking sad and empty, this will fill it for you !) But don't blame us if you end up watching BBC2 at 5 am on Sunday morning hoping to catch a glimpse of the test card... /mb - Mike Brown's site caters for the technical side of television, with transmitter lists and widescreen television (among others) for those that don't know their 16:9 from their 4:3. Also features complete episode guides for classic radio comedy shows such as Radio Active. MZTV Museum of Television - A selection of weird and wonderful old television sets to look at on this biligual (English and French) site. Richard Bell's TV Zone - More idents, captions, etc., plus a radio section and downloadable Quicktime movies (the BBC News and Breakfast Time intros are particularly memorable and well worth checking out, as well as the Irish Network 2 ident). The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television - Acclaimed museum dedicated to visual media which is based in Bradford, Yorkshire. TV Cream - If you don't mind a bit of strong language, TV Cream is the place to look if you're after information about that half-remembered obscure television programme from 1976. Or just browse. Waveguide Television and Radio News - Excellent site for regular news and information concerning the UK industry. General Links Netsurf Digest - If you log on, collect your mail, look at the latest news, then are stumped as to what to look at next, you could do worse than to look at this. The Free Site - The place to go if you're after free web space, hit counters, guest books, fonts, graphics, sounds, etc. What's New - A continously updating list of new web sites for both the UK and the rest of the world, complete with search facility. Yell ! - Run by BT's Yellow Pages, this acts as a useful UK site directory, and the Top Ten UK Sites section (based on accesses from Yell ! itself) is well worth a visit. And finally... Here's something that's just plain fun. Try it and see ! That's all for now; more links to follow shortly. If you wish to nominate a site (even your own), why not submit it (to [email protected])for possible inclusion in this list? Not all submitted sites will be included here, but you can include a URL in the HTW guestbook.