YSTV History Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

YSTV Timeline

2017-11-06T22:50:35Z

Dp11: Remove poe as the network didn't really supply power

==1960s==
* October 1967 - First society stall recruiting members for [[York University Tele-Film Productions]].
* 21st November 1967 - [[Newsround|inaugural YSTV broadcast]] from the Chemistry department.
*1969 - longest [[Newsround]] interview ever with Vice-Chancellor, Lord James, on subject of Student Demos.
*1969 - Germaine Greer and Frank Muir make contributions.

==1970s==
*1970 - Still only in B&W with five monitors - Alcuin, Derwent, Langwith, Goodricke and Vanbrugh, transmitted from studios in [[P/S/016|Physics labs]].

==1980s==
[[image:Unknown-Benet-Helen-Crampton-filming.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Careful...]]
* 20th October 1986 - inaugural [[Primary Colour|YSTV colour]] broadcast. At this time YSTV could only be watched on seven screens - one in each of Alcuin, Derwent, Langwith, Goodricke, Physics, Vanbrugh, Wentworth. The University's CCTV network was a video and audio over twisted pair which required special monitors.

* January 1988 - YSTV Breaks the World Record for the longest continuous broadcast by 1 director ([[Keith Hide-Smith]]) and earns a place in the Guinness Book of Records with [[Breaker 88]].

==1990s==
* June 1993 - YSTV [[Closure|loses]] its studio in [[P/X/002|Physics]] and is left homeless - start of the [[Interregnum]].
* 29th October 1994 - YSTV's [[G/046|Goodricke Studio]] opened by [[Greg Dyke]].
* April 1996 - contingent from YSTV attend [[NaSTA 1996]] at UEA
* 5th April 1996 - YSTV featured on Planet 24's Hotel Babylon programme.
* April 1997 - YSTV hosts the National Student Television Association ([[NaSTA]]) Conference.
* 21st November 1997 - [[YSTV 30]] - featured on Tyne Tees News.
* 10th July 1998 - YSTV goes digital with the purchase of the [[The Mac|Media100qx Editing System]].
* September 1998 - YSTV begins a network improvement program.

==2000s==
* January 2000 - YSTV produces a programme for BBC Choice titled The [[Making of Bulletin]].
* June 2000 - YSTV appeared on Channel 4's Big Breakfast, competing for a chance to make a 90 second programme live on air.
* January 2001 - YSTV received new camera and editing equipment as part of a deal with [[Einstein TV]]
* May 2001 - the constitution was reorganised, creating the present team-based structure.
* January 2002 - the [[Einstein TV]] deal fell apart and the new gear was taken back by the company.
* April 2002 - YSTV hosts the [[NaSTA]] conference.
* May 2002 - YSTV buys a 3CCD miniDV camera (a Panasonic NVGS300) to replace the Einstein equipment.
* 21st November 2002 - [[YSTV 35]] - low-key celebrations of another anniversary.
* 6th October 2003 - YSTV commences broadcasting programmes from a video server.
* 10th October 2004 - YSTV's live stream is viewable from student bedrooms, and programmes on demand world wide.
* 26th May 2005 - [[Greg Dyke]] returns to the studio he opened a decade previously for an in-depth interview.
* 13th January 2006 - YSTV [[Webstream Launch]] show. The web stream now goes out to the whole world!
* 31st March - 2nd April 2006 - YSTV jointly hosts the [[NaSTA]] conference with ls:tv in Leeds.
* 30th June 2007 - YSTV celebrated 40 years with a special birthday dinner and event for members past and present.
* 17th November 2007 - YSTV celebrated 40 years on air with a live four-hour programme.
* December 2008 - YSTV is awarded a grant from the Alumni Fund to purchase 3 new studio cameras, Sony HVR-HD1000Es.
* October 2009 - Goodricke College is officially relocated to the new Heslington East campus. Although still in the same location as before, YSTV is now part of James College.
* 9th April 2011 - YSTV named second Best Broadcaster and awarded the technical achievement award at the [[NaSTA]] Awards 2011 in Loughborough.

==2010s==
* 2011 - YSTV becomes the first student television station to [[YSTV 3D|broadcast in 3D]].
* 21st April 2012 - YSTV win [[Best Broadcaster]], [[Best Female]] ([[Emma Bennett]]) and Highly Commended Light Entertainment ([[Pushing The Senses]]) at [[NaSTA 2012]] in Nottingham.
* 24th October 2012 - YSTV host [[FreshersTV]], from the department of Theatre, Film and Television on Heslington East.
* 11th November 2013 - G/046 Roadmap is completed, and regular YSTV Live HD programming begins. First broadcast is [[Monday Evening Live]]
* 5th April 2014 - YSTV win [[Best Broadcaster]], [[docs:Kenobi|Best Technical]] and Highly Commended Factual ([[Lights on Literature]]) at [[NaSTA 2014]] in Loughborough.

G/046

2017-11-06T21:40:52Z

Dp11: added the psf coax cable

During the summer of 1994 YSTV moved into G/046. They were no strangers to this room as it had been used as the control room for Election Night for the two preceding years. The previous occupiers of the room were the Psychology department, now on their way to a purpose built block next to James College. They had tailored it to their own requirements with a series of small partitioned areas within the main room. See the [[interregnum]] page for details on the story leading up to YSTV's move into G/046. At this point the SU offices and several other societies were located along the same corridor in Goodricke College so it seemed a sensible place for YSTV to join them.
[[Image:19940318_goodricke-studio_Adrian-Jones.jpg|thumb|right|G/046 during conversion]]

== Conversion ==

Before YSTV took ownership of the room, it required a significant amount of refurbishment to allow it to function successfully as the studio of a campus television station. The design for the refurbishment was developed in-house at the University of York. [[Dominic Plunkett]] provided technical advice to the architect Rory. The large room was divided into two main areas, studio and control room/office area. The studio was soundproofed from the control room by two sets of doors with a short corridor in between. In addition the partition wall between the rooms was made up to two layers of plasterboard. Additional insulation of the rest the studio walls was provided by adding an inner wall of plasterboard some 2" inside the original walls. This meant of course that all the original wiring, wall fittings and so on disappeared behind this wall surface, much to the confusion of later students.

Considerable costs were incurred in removing Asbestos from the ceiling voids and tiles, and in arranging ventelation for the studio, which now had no windows or doors to the outside world. Unfortunately this remains a problem, with the fans being noisy and ineffectual against the heat produced by studio lights in summer.

The design also addressed the issue of electrical safety. The station would consume a great deal of power, especially running the lighting rig in the studio. There would also be substantial amounts of equipment thta must be kept running 24/7 as well as that which needed to be turned off when the station was not in use. An additional mains circuit was installed in the control room which was switched by an RCD near the door. This provided switched power for anything that was not needed 24/7. The two circuits were sometimes referred to as temporary and permanent. In the studio, two rows of sockets were provided, each fed via their own 32A cable from the main distribution boards via RCD switches. Descending from the ceiling void above the rows were a set of mains plugs that were wired back to a series of sockets on the ceiling, used to power the lighting rig. No dimmers were available on the system (due to a lack of funds), so lights were switched on and off via the mains socket switches. Later a 2-channel dimmer fitted with 13A plugs was set up, but could only run a small part of the lighting rig. A proper dimmed installation was finally done in {{unsure|2002}} when a pair of Pulsar Status (6-channel 30A each) dimmers were donated, which are fed from the 32A feed cables and used to feed the lighting rig via IEC patch panels.

Unfortunately during the initial design phase it came to pass that SU Ents Tech required a storage room for their equipment. A section of the raised area next to the entrance way was partitioned off for this purpose. SU Ents Tech treated their equipment with great care. However, once it was within the flight case it was a different story. Frequently, late night operations in the control room would be disturbed by banging and crashing emanating from the Ents Tech cupboard.

This abuse of the wall between Ents and YSTV was brought to a head in 2000 when the damage to the wall caused the "temporary" ring main cable to be broken close to it's connection to the RCD feeding it, which was mounted on this wall. This converted the heavily loaded ring main into a radial circuit with around half the capacity, thus causing it to start smoking shortly before a show was due to go out. The up-side of this damage was that the costs of re-wiring the station (again) were met from the Ents and Safety budgets of the SU not from YSTV funds, despite the fact that the replacement wiring was considerably more flexible. The Control Room was given 3 independent ring mains switched from a new box near the windows, allowing the main equipment to sit on one, and the monitor rack to be split between the other two. This allowed the [[Cub Conversion]] colour monitors to be deployed without the switch-on surges tripping the circuits out. The four ring mains are now normally known as CCT1, CCT2, CCT3 and PERM, with a separate CCT4 switched ring available in the studio, independent of the lighting rig and permanent power.

[[Image:19940628_ystv-goodricke-studio_studio-wiring.jpg|thumb|left|installation of studio wiring]]
Some programs had been broadcast from the new studio during the summer term of 1994 (for example [[Week by Week]]). However, due to other pressing matters (exams) not all the fitment was complete. The studio lacked any organised method of patching signals to and from the studio and control room. Cables were sent directly from equipment in the control room to the corresponding equipment in the studio, leading to a mass of spaghetti at the hole in the wall. During the latter half of the summer term a patching system of cables was devised. A number of connection boxes were spread around the studio and control room. The realisation of the system was greatly assisted by [[Dominic Plunkett]], who managed to obtain a large quantity of high quality connectors from Neutrick and over 450m of PSF coax cable by phoning up and just asking . Each connection box contained 6 female XLR, 4 male XLR, 6 isolated BNC and 2 D9. In the studio, these fed back to the hole in the wall between the studio and control room via a custom built plywood and spruce conduit. The was constructed by [[Adrian Jones]] and [[Owain Davies]] using the [[Chris Kwouk]]'s drill. In fact, Chris' drill almost had almost a permanent home in the studio during this time, where it was invaluable in many construction projects. The cables routed back to the main patching panels in the studio next to the hole in the wall and the YSTV rack. Each connector type went onto a different panel (apart from the D9). The cut-outs on the main panels and the connector boxes were made by [[Paul Hollow]] and Owain using the punch set on the top floor of Physics/Electronics. Each panel was hinged allowing it to swing open. Somehow Owain ended up with the job of soldering all the connectors to the cables which he did while listening to Ray Cokes on MTV. At the time, some people commented on the strange numbering system for the boxes (9, 8, 7 etc). This was due to an equal quantity of each cable numbering marker being acquired by Owain. Each cable was given a two digit label, connection box number and then cable number. If the boxes were numbered 1,2,3 etc, the numbers at the lower end would have run out, so the connection boxes were given high numbers.

== Opening ==

[[Image:OpeningG046.png|left|thumb|160px|The director general, Greg Dyke, and Ron Cooke]]
[[Image:Grapevine_article_new_studi.jpg|left|thumb|160px|Grapevine article about the opening]]

Move-in occurred during the latter half of the summer term of 1994. [[Week by Week]] was one of the first programs to be broadcast from the hastily constructed studio on the 15th June 1994. Although the University had done a grand job in refurbishment, additional touches were required. A control desk and monitor rack was assembled using elements of the racking system from the previous studio. Cable was laid from a central patch bay on the control room side to the set of mini patch panels in the studio via the ceiling void and inside the partition wall between the two rooms, which remains in use today.

The studio was officially opened by [[Greg Dyke]] 29th October 1994.

== Heslington East ==
In October 2009 Goodricke College was officially "rehomed" on the new Heslington East campus, with the former buildings that comprised it being re-allocated to James College. This means that although still in the same location, YSTV can now be found in James College.

Original Broadcast Network

2017-11-06T20:35:10Z

Dp11: Network was used for graduation day

This was the original [[Distribution Network]] installed by the University in the late 1960s and early 1970s to provide comprehensive video links around the campus. It was designed and installed by the Rediffusion company, whose main business was in distributing paid TV and radio services to householders over wired networks. The university network used much of the same technology as a small urban area commercial system, but with a greater provision for sending video back from the various parts of the campus to be broadcast. The system allowed up to 4 channels to be conveyed around campus on a multi-pair pair cable, with each pair dedicated to a separate channel. Further pairs in the cable allowed for up to 9 channels, 5 of them video and the other four audio-only. Video channels carried both the audio and video signals on a single pair in the cable.

An equipment room in LTC (adjacent to Central Hall until it's demolition in summer 2007) acted as the transmission hub. For transmission, the video from contribution cables or tuners receiving the BBC and ITV channels was modulated onto a carrier at 4.5MHz (405-line B+W channels) or 10.7MHz (625-line colour-capable channels) and the audio (at baseband) amplified. Audio-only channels were fed via power amplifiers so that outlets could use passive loudspeakers without further amplification, on the same basis as 100V-line PA systems.
The transmission equipment and televisions were supplied by {{unsure|Rediffusion Vision}}. This method of cable based AV distribution was used in a number of towns in the UK, however it had reached the end of it's technological lifetime by the end of the 1980's. The system installed at the University of York was originally black and white (with a mixture of 405-line (BBC1) and 625-line (BBC2) channels) and was upgraded to support colour in the 1980s.
<gallery>
Image:19951213_LTC_rediffusion-racks.jpg|Rediffusion racks in LTC
Image:19951213_LTC_distrubution-cables.jpg|Cable entry and exit in LTC
Image:19951213_LTC_distrubution-modulators.jpg|Video modulators in LTC
</gallery>
Installed alongside the distribution network was an AV [[Contribution Network]]. The contribution/distribution system was quite advanced in it's day since it would have been possible to do point to multi-point lectures and video conference across campus. It was often used for graduation day in the early days, an information system for conferences, retransmission of BBC1/BBC2/ITV and contribution/distribution of YSTV.

The distribution system suffered from having to use live chassis televisions that could receive the (non-standard) Rediffusion signal. This made replacing them difficult, since the Rediffusion company had pretty much disappeared by the early 1990's and the transmission system was technologically obsolete.

YSTV 50

2017-11-06T19:13:42Z

Dp11: Added 1990s and Dominic

YSTV 50 was a weekend of events in celebration of YSTV's 50th anniversary.

==Events==

===ReUnion===
A panel featuring the cast and crew of [[Union]].

==Attendees by Years Active==
===1980s===
* [[Keith Hide-Smith]]

===1990s===
* [[Dominic Plunkett]]

===2000s===
* [[Michael Prior-Jones]]

===2010s===
* [[Katherine Bell]]
* [[Courtney Brotherson]]
* [[Alex Buckley]]
* [[John Caine]]
* [[Mike Chislett]]
* [[Vivien Chung]]
* [[Sarah David]]
* [[Grace Downer]]
* [[Greg Ebdon]]
* [[Peter Eskdale]]
* [[Sam Hance]]
* [[Matt Johnson]]
* [[Hector McDuff]]
* [[Iona McEwan]]
* [[Marie Mills]]
* [[Sanat Misra]]
* [[Sarah Mesterton-Gibbons]]
* [[Kieron Moore]]
* [[Sam Nicholson]]
* [[Liz Pascoe]]
* [[Steven Perring]]
* [[Sarah Pickles]]
* [[Robert Walker]]
* [[Chris Wall]]
* [[Lloyd Wallis]]
* [[Sam Willcocks]]
* [[Anthony Williams]]
* [[Grace Winpenny]]
* [[Kenric Yuen]]

[[Category:Anniversaries]]

Dominic Plunkett

2017-11-06T19:09:58Z

Dp11:

A member between 1992 and 1996 he had an amazing ability to bring old dilapidated equipment back to life! He worked on many technical projects and was [[Technical Director]] 1993-94, and again briefly in 1996.

Now working for Cambridge based [http://www.cambrionix.com/ Cambrionix] as their Chief Technology Officer.

[[Category:People|Plunkett]]

File:JellyBabies.png

2007-07-01T19:51:23Z

Dp11:

Professor Humpy ([[Chris Kwouk]]) is explaining the YUSU vosting system to [[Kate Gordon]] through the use of Jelly Babies. It would have been used as a VT for either EN95 or EN96 (My hunch is EN95).

Cotron

2007-07-01T19:48:00Z

Dp11:

Built in the 1970s and used by Yorkshire Television these were acquired by YSTV.

[[Image:InsideACotron.png|left|thumb|160px|Textbook television design]]
Their robust metal frame and easy access to circuit boards make them very easy to repair, since all of the circuitry uses discrete components (except for a couple of 7400 series logic gates on the pulse cross circuit, which isn't really needed anyway).

Brought back to life in a blitz by [[Dominic Plunkett]], they still find applications despite being only black and white tubes in [[NaffoCue]].

During Dominic's time only one failed beyond economical repair. Dominic's suspension was aroused when on entering the station he could smell burning electronics. His pace quickened slightly and spotted smoke coming out of one of the monitors in the monitor rack. At the same time an comp sci said " Dominic there is smoke coming out of one the monitor" before he'd finished the sentence the power to the station was off.

[[Category: Equipment]]

Panasonic MS4

2007-07-01T19:30:03Z

Dp11:

The Panasonic MS4 was purchased during the year 1993-94, by Chris Kwouk and Dominic Plunkett from a shop in Tottenham Court Road. The video camera offered an all in one recording package while also giving the impression that the outfit was PRO, being one of the few domestic shoulder mount camcorders on the market at the time. When not on the ENG circuit for [[Week by Week]] and other such shows, it would be drafted in to act as camera 1 (typically gen-lock source) in the studio. The MS4 would always remind the director which camera it was by occasionally (usually when on shot) going out and back in on focus of its own accord. Manual focusing was possible, but the focus ring was rather a limp affair and lacked the positive feel of the [[Panasonic F10]] with the x12 lens. Zoom was motorised and was adjusted using a toggle button on the hand hold, however, the lack of direct manual control was said to have hindered some operators.

It had a hard life and suffered from battery reliability problems and occasional mechanical niggles. It took at least one trip back under warranty to the Panasonic dealers over in Acomb. One problem which they couldn't find and took Dominic Plunkett ages to solve turned out to be due to the tap transport system being sensitive to loud sounds! This gave the effect of "cogging" on the picture.

[[Category:Equipment]]

Studio Comms

2007-07-01T10:20:03Z

Dp11:

Some people say that Studio Comms are the last thing to be set up and the first thing to go wrong when a YSTV programme is made. Conceived for [[Breaker 88]], and still in regular use in YSTV's studios in 2007.

[[Image:19940226_8-siward-street_ystv-comms-system.jpg|thumb|Comms system laid bare]]
[[Image:19940226_8-siward-street_john-stubley-ystv-comms-system.jpg|thumb|John Stubley trying to fix one connection before another one breaks]]

Prior to [[Election Night 1994]] it was recognised that the Studio Comms system needed a look at to see if any of the idiosyncracies could be ironed out from the system. [[John Stubley]] volunteered for this role and was assisted by [[Owain Davies]]. Normally the system would have been in full time use, however since YSTV at the time was a station without studio, it enabled the system to have a good going over.

The system came out of storage somewhere on campus and went round to Owain's place of residence at the time, [[8 Siward Street]]. For two weekends, John and Owain worked tirelessly on the system in the front room. Their impression was that some thought must have gone into the design of the system, however the realisation gave the appearance that it had all been thrown together at the very last minute. The design of the system seemed to consist of

* three floor manager sets
* four separate output channels for speaking to cameras
* a system of red and green lights for the camera people to signal back to the director (rarely used effectively - often used by camera people to indicate their frustrations with the director)
* two seperate channels to speak to presenters
* three control boxes allowing upto three people to independently control and talk to parts or all of the system.
* a control room ring circuit to allow the operators of the three control boxes to talk to each other

The system was primarily constructed on veroboard, which was either mounted on pillars on the side of the rackmount box or, as in the case of three boards containing the analogue switches, held by gaffa tape in the centre of the box.

Owain and John did transcribe some of the circuitry on to paper, which led to the explanation for why the control room ring circuit never worked. At some point in the earlier life of the system, an electrolytic smoothing capacitor had been placed erroneoulsy between ground and the audio channel for the control room ring circuit on one of the analogue switch boards. This was removed from audio channel and placed on the relevant supply rail, as it was on the other two boards. Their remaining time was spent sorting out an accummulation of minor faults in all the other ancillary equipment that went with the system.

Some time in {{unsure|1995 or 1996}}, Owain adapted the system to give a line level output (loose description) from one of the control boxes to feed into the SVHS machine on one of the audio channels. Channel separation was pretty good on the stereo track of the SVHS. This was done on-the-quiet for Election Night, where the SVHS machine had the honour of recording the proceedings. After the programme, there was a complaint about some comments being made over the comms systems about one of the guests. The tape was reviewed, and as it happened, the control box that was tapped turned out to be the producer's as opposed to the directer, so the issue could not be resolved categorically (I believe the line at the time, was that there was nothing on the tape). Never the less, it did provide an interesting retrospective into the mechanics of the program.

As it approaches its 20th birthday it's not clear when a brave soul will step forward with a design for a new wireless digital comms system.

==A Possible Replacement==
[[Dominic Plunkett]] designed a system involving a single XLR cable connecting all the comms boxes sometime between 1992-1993. This formed part of a first year group project for his and others degree and won the prize. The design and development were quite advanced, but it is not known if it was trialed on any YSTV productions.

[[Category: Equipment]]