So I switched over to Channel 2 (does anyone still call it that?) last night (12:50AM) and was treated to HALF an HOUR of wierdo test patterns and blackness accompanied by a high-pitched tone. The whole thing was incredible and like watching some abstract video-art, never knowing when it would finish. The array of diverse test patterns and colour bars were truly inspiring so I got out my camera and started photographing the screen.
There's something about test patterns and calibration screens that fascinates me. I'd like to make a documentary looking at test-patterns through history and their purpose and call it 'Please Adjust Your Set: A History of Test Patterns'.
The test pattern above suggest that the problem was limited to the Victorian and Tasmanian transmissions. There was a program scheduled, but I went to bed before I saw if (and when) it resumed.
The full red screen above was isolated in that there were no full green or blue screens that I saw.
If I could have recorded this stuff, I totally would have. I mean, how rare is dead air on it's own? And all of this other stuff? For over half an hour!? I told my wife that this is the tele-visual equivalent of Halley's Comet, but perhaps that's stretching it a bit too far.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
ABC1 = AWOL
Posted by Scott at 1:12 PM
Labels: Inspiration, Medium, Technology
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2 comments:
Dude, I just stumbled across your blog looking for test-pattern images, and I found this post. Quite hilarious. I probably would have had the same reaction, had I witnessed such a bizarre tele-event. There should totally be a network which plays nothing but test-patterns -- test-patterns which are occasionally interrupted by a random bit of actual programming. I would watch that. I would be an effing subscriber. Lol!
Hey Ryan, thanks for the comments and I hope your vision for a test-pattern based network becomes a reality! It could also serve to assist users in calibrating their sets at any time of the day. They could make new test patterns for digital and 3D TVs as well as showing re-runs of 'Classic Patterns' or 'Pattern of the Week'.
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