Humor Random Comments Thread

[Andy44]

I beg to differ on the engine tech point. The J-2 and F-1 are both highly advanced relative to their time, but are far surpassed by modern engines in terms of efficiency and TWR.

Yes, but modern engines are not orders of magnitude ahead of 1960s engines in terms of performance.

Microelectronics (ie. computers) has advanced far faster, as Moore's Law predicted. In addition, there are electronic devices and technologies today that were not even dreamt of in the 60s.

Heck in some ways we've gone backwards with hardware. We actually had a working nuclear thermal rocket in the early 70s, and we purposely abandoned that line of development indefinitely.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Imagine if Apollo had HD cameras back then.

The science cameras the astronauts brought with them were very good quality for the time, and really not too shabby by today's standards, but none of that footage or photos was delivered to the public in real time, so unless you are actively looking for it no one will see it. The Project Apollo Archive is loaded with a lot of this, really great browsing.

I think what I pine for most would be to see a Saturn V launch in full HD and audio. There is grainy TV tape of the launches, better quality film of liftoff and climb out, but actually seeing, hearing, and feeling something that massive lifting off...wow.

It's funny, I remember watching the STS-1 launch on TV and being enthralled by it, but the video quality wasn't much better than for the Apollo launches. But since in later years I have seen shuttle launches in HD and with good audio, I actually have a better memory of STS-1 because my brain can fill in the blanks of resolution. I have to watch the STS-1 video every now and again to remind myself how poor TV cameras and audio used to be.

 

[Fabri91]

By the time SLS-1 rolls around we'll be close to being able to follow it live in VR, almost.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

By the time SLS-1 rolls around we'll be close to being able to follow it live in VR, almost.

I think VR will be the only way SLS-1 gets off the pad. I really don't see this program surviving our fickle congress much longer, but I'd be happy to be wrong about this.

 

[Andy44]

It's funny, I remember watching the STS-1 launch on TV and being enthralled by it, but the video quality wasn't much better than for the Apollo launches. But since in later years I have seen shuttle launches in HD and with good audio, I actually have a better memory of STS-1 because my brain can fill in the blanks of resolution. I have to watch the STS-1 video every now and again to remind myself how poor TV cameras and audio used to be.

I watched it live as a young'un and I don't quite remember what the video quality was.

There's something curious about footage from the 80s; I remember watching a lot of Flyers hockey games in the 80s and the live video was always very crisp and clear with vivid colors, but when you watch tape of those same broadcasts it's very grainy and looks super "old".

It makes me wonder if STS-1 launch was also vivid and clear when I watched it live but I honestly can't remember. I've seen the lousy tape of it so many times since then (and youtube often makes it even worse) that all I can remember was my little brother cheering and jumping around the room when Columbia cleared the tower.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

I watched it live as a young'un and I don't quite remember what the video quality was.

There's something curious about footage from the 80s; I remember watching a lot of Flyers hockey games in the 80s and the live video was always very crisp and clear with vivid colors, but when you watch tape of those same broadcasts it's very grainy and looks super "old".

It makes me wonder if STS-1 launch was also vivid and clear when I watched it live but I honestly can't remember. I've seen the lousy tape of it so many times since then (and youtube often makes it even worse) that all I can remember was my little brother cheering and jumping around the room when Columbia cleared the tower.

Yeah, for STS-1 a lot of the distortion is video conversion - what aired straight from the cameras was probably better quality. Similarly what aired for Apollo 11 and later was probably much better than what was ultimately recorded on film. This was pre-VCR, so the recordings were actually done by film cameras pointed at a TV set. I'm not sure there was a direct-to-tape format then.

The live footage from the moon for Apollo 11 and later was truly a kludge - they transmitted slow scan video due to bandwidth limitations (lower than TV resolution, but mappable to TV screen format), displayed that on a screen, and filmed the screen with a TV camera for the live broadcast.

 

[mojoey]

 

[Notebook]

Yeah, for STS-1 a lot of the distortion is video conversion - what aired straight from the cameras was probably better quality. Similarly what aired for Apollo 11 and later was probably much better than what was ultimately recorded on film. This was pre-VCR, so the recordings were actually done by film cameras pointed at a TV set. I'm not sure there was a direct-to-tape format then.

The live footage from the moon for Apollo 11 and later was truly a kludge - they transmitted slow scan video due to bandwidth limitations (lower than TV resolution, but mappable to TV screen format), displayed that on a screen, and filmed the screen with a TV camera for the live broadcast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1

STS-1, 12th April 1981. Their certainly was video-tape then, I was using it! If I remember correctly we were replacing these machines
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=a...X&ved=0ahUKEwimkrLh9_HLAhUFcRQKHUG1D4IQsAQISg
with these
http://www.vtoldboys.com/electra.htm

Both made by Ampex, and both open-reel tape. They would be replaced by cassette formats, and they would eventually...

Regarding "Quality", I know what you mean. Live is usually best(unless it all goes wrong), but a tape format program should be good quality, if care is taken to minimise tape generations(copies of copies). Eventaully the noise becomes unacceptable.
Not so much a problem with digital formats
http://www.videofilmsolutions.com/digital-ingest
Though they have their own problems.

I think the problem is not knowing where what you are watching came from, especially on the internet. Every broadcaster had a well run library system, with tape-history of each use of the tape. Sometimes a machine would start damaging tapes, and this wouldn't be caught till the next play-back, so it was important to find out where it had been.

Regarding Tele-Recording(point a film camera at a telly), not my field, so can't say much. It was never popular because of the poor quality, there was a compromise regarding the after-glow of the phosphor on the Cathode-Ray tube. Ordinary CRT for viewing didn't hold the image long enough for the film, and long decay(radar ppi type) smeared any fast motion. I think it went away when video-recording became practical.

I'm back in London for a few days, and going to go and take a few pictures of my old work-place in Teddington before its completely flattened. Quite sad-looking at the moment, only Studio One still complete, must be leaving that for last. It is (not for long) a substantial building.

N.

 

[kamaz]

[...]

Just to say that I absolutely love your posts about analog video technology.

In other news, ASUS routers are becoming nightmare fuel:

 

[Urwumpe]

Just to say that I absolutely love your posts about analog video technology.

In other news, ASUS routers are becoming nightmare fuel:

nightmare? Looks like the mobile Wifi hotspot I need. :rofl:

 

[Andy44]

nightmare? Looks like the mobile Wifi hotspot I need. :rofl:

You laugh until it jumps onto your face and implants a xenomorph in you.

 

[kamaz]

You laugh until it jumps onto your face and implants a xenomorph in you.

So that is how the routers reproduce!

On an unrelated note: CISCO gear is very tough. Couple of years ago we've had water damage a Catalyst switch due to a broken water pipe. The switch would not boot. I have removed the case, there was no obvious damage (i.e. no melted ICs and such). We put in in the oven set to 80C for 1 hour, took it out, it booted right away and passed the self-test. Still works flawlessly as a core switch years later.

 

[birdmanmike]

Hmmm, and in other news, Philae not dead but actually swallowed by 67P which is really a disguised Alien ship . . .

whoops,

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Just to say that I absolutely love your posts about analog video technology.

In other news, ASUS routers are becoming nightmare fuel:

*grabs crowbar*

 

[Artlav]

Well, at least that one have some utility to it, rather than just hunting fuses.

 

[Loru]

That's the sweetest vacuum tube I've seen so far.

 

[C3PO]

In other news, ASUS routers are becoming nightmare fuel:

 

[Urwumpe]

It might be also worth for the basement because of its political dimensions, but this scientific paper is too good to not be shared, especially in the context of manned spaceflight and its "rituals":

http://www.nature.com/articles/nature17159.epdf

 

[birdmanmike]

probably silly question - just noticed from homepage that for the forums
"Most users ever online was 8,666, 01-19-16 at 11:32 AM"
Coincidentally that was day before I joined. But I've forgotten what happened that day to cause the mass logons - someone please remind me?

 

[Thunder Chicken]

probably silly question - just noticed from homepage that for the forums
"Most users ever online was 8,666, 01-19-16 at 11:32 AM"
Coincidentally that was day before I joined. But I've forgotten what happened that day to cause the mass logons - someone please remind me?

SpaceX launched Jason-3 on Jan 18th, doesn't quite make sense. Maybe a bot hit that day?