WNBC(TV) analog nightlight shutdown - the final 2 minutes

[MultiJesse1995]

every time it would say goodbye, i would press the shift button, and it would go static. then, at the end, i would say WHOO-HOO!!!!!!! I DID IT!!! I MADE THE SWITCH!!!!!!!

[MultiJesse1995]

0:00 to 0:20 - end of english nab video

0:21 to 0:38 - black screen

0:39 to 0:57 - wnbc in new york colorbars

0:58 to 1:58 - logo montage

1:59 to 2:22 - death of analog

thanks for the video!

[ImDavidGurney]

They should bring back analog for MSNBC.

[geekgirltv2011]

@ImDavidGurney it will not happen.

[TheEZPAXIIChannel]

TB6 i think before its shutdown (IN RUSSIA) had this but without sound

[karateru]

in　Japanese

アメリカのアナログ終了も歴史回顧型や通常放送ぶちきり型などい­ろいろありますね。

これは歴史回顧型、やっぱり世界ではじめて本放送を行ったテレビ­局だけに。

日本では、今度の大地震で関東地方は節電のためアナログ終了は1­ヶ月前倒しもありうるとありました。

日本で最初にテレビ放送を開始した日本テレビも、歴代鳩の休日を­流して終わればいいと思います。

[keiichiudagawa]

anpanman!

[M200XL]

Was it really THAT damaging to the economy to have analog tv??? Come on. Now I cant watch a channel as basic/simple as cbs without a stupid box :P

[tymanfity]

I miss the classicd

[bakerandbaker1]

They didn't have a more modern test pattern available? I expect more from a New York station, even if it is the local affiliate.

[mustangred]

@bakerandbaker1 The point was to show some of the old patterns and IDs. Moron.

[cd637299]

I saw WNBC 4's nightlight info from my home near Miami via sporadic-E in late June '09 when my local WFOR 4 was gone for good. The only time I caught NYC television from here, due to co-channels.

[digitalmasterdata]

super excellent and great ! NYC analog tv signals good bye :) always writed to the universal history of tv broadcastings

[Pookatube]

They should have played the last 2 mintues of The Doors "The End"

[iCoaster3030]

Did you know Canadian Viewers Have To Switch to Digital at 2011!

[THaBUTCHMAN]

its aboot time eh? get with the times canada

[americanidol434]

THIS WAS ON OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

[onlinepisay]

LOOKS LIKE A "CCTV SECURITY FOOTAGE"

[joebos617]

Something about this video really depressed me.

[GhostOfACPast]

@joebos617 I agree but I know it is because it was an end to an era and that over the air digital just sucks ass.  Half of the stations I received fine (no ghosts or cruddy picture) I can no longer receive (PBS is one of them) because it went digital.

[0xXMRSXx0]

Sad Sad

[KentuckyFriedGunman]

@umahuma4

I did when I watched this live, on one of my TVs.

[0xXMRSXx0]

i did

[AlexTeddy888]

It was quite interesting how they played the last parts from 1:48 to 2:10. That just explains the brief history of NBC, with the Snake Logo and the Peackock idents that were used from 1970 to 1990.

[godgundam10]

WNBC only signed off their analog station. Pretty soon, NBC itself will be nothing but a memory, the way things look right now.

[KentuckyFriedGunman]

@godgundam10

Yeah. It sucks too, they have some great programs.

[k4nbc]

It seems fitting analog TV would end where it began , at ESB. WNBC ,the first TV station in the world. We miss you Bill Steckman, WA2ACW.

[chyrongeek]

I thought it was pretty much a slap in the face (nvm offensive) for the old radio division/stations by photoshopping the scans by withholding the TV suffix on their legal ID repros. They probably spent a good amount of time just doing that. NBC is such a joke now with the way they attempt to trash their history, and just bring the network into the deep end. I hope in less than a year NBC will be "the first network" to sign off. And "NBC New York" too!

[myronfalwell]

The proper legal ID for the sign-off was truthfully "WNBC New York," not WNBC-TV. Yes, the original TP could've played with the correct ID next to the 1986 peacock. Admittedly, it was better than the (rather poor) recreation of WCBS's test pattern with the flip to nightlight service.

In any event, the 1982 Nightly News theme played here was used as NBC Radio News' theme well after GE sold the radio network... until Westwood One finally dissolved it... in 2003! So it had a long, long run.

[chyrongeek]

I know the legal FCC id was just "WNBC" after in June '92 they deleted that off their ID. I could care less what is legal and what's not when its the last few minutes of analog TV, since WNBC is going to go off the air probably within a year with the way the mismanagement that station is in. Photoshopping history is just disgraceful. NBC is one of the worst networks in the country the way they are driving it into the ground. Pls Chuck, "[bleep] them before they [bleep] you"!

[myronfalwell]

NBC's got a lot more problems of their own making way, way beyond photoshopping a test pattern/legal ID.

[chyrongeek]

well I also don't like them rewriting history or abandoning history of any kind on local or network level ether like getting rid of Studio 6B for a network show that has bombed in the overall ratings.

[title29]

wow, they photoshopped a test pattern. BIG FUCKING DEAL.

[title29]

I actualy have a good point

[chyrongeek]

Well I guess the radio sounder was some tribute to say the least - the only historical reference along with the radio division.

[title26]

why is there a PAL test pattern?

[cwf1701]

it could resemble one. i always the PAL pattern was the one with the girl on it.

[TheKid965]

That's one PAL test pattern (or "test card," as they call them over there), and probably the best known. There is also a computer-generated one, which is various color boxes and pattern fills on a grid background.

[kiotr2009]

¿ PAL is a television transmission standard, not a flavor of test pattern.

[wmbrown6]

I think they were referring to the straight bars (white through black) that are prevalent in countries where the PAL standard is/was used, as opposed to the "split" bars of NTSC.

[daanbrg]

@kiotr2009 Actually, there is a difference in the patterns for PAL and NTSC. One has an extra white space.

[wrtlpfmpf]

@kiotr2009 Well actually there are test patterns which only make sense on a single system.

The FUBK is a prime example of this. It contains 2 grey areas which do not survive recoding into any other standard. On a misaligned decoder those grey areas will be saturated.

Other test patterns only make sense for SECAM systems. However NTSC seems to be unique for not having any specialiced NTSC patterns.

[supertrouper]

The government mandated the switch to Digital in 2005, but waited until 2007 to promote the message. When they decided the date to turn off analog signal in 2005, they should have began promoting the switch that same year and started the converter box coupon distribution program, so that way people would have more than enough time to switch and they should have been showing more programmings to teach people how to switch because commercials they showed didn't explain clearly on how to switch.

[eyeh8nbc]

Nice, but I already said "Goodbye" to NBC 12 years ago.

[HomeoftheGoodGuys]

When WNBC-TV analog goes to static, the "Poltergist" is waiting for you!

[gladfan1989]

@HomeoftheGoodGuys they're heeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrre!

[oiromaha]

wait a minute... The NAB guy said that this message would repeat itself again an a few minutes. It never did. The NAB guy lied to me!

But on a another note, thanks for uploading this video! NBC have proven it still has some class up at 30 Rock. At least it didn't pull a WNYW and just cut power at the end of a show.

BTW: I was kidding about the NAB guy. It was a joke. A bad joke, but a joke.

[oiromaha]

A correction... That should be "repeat itself again in a few minutes." That should also be "But on another note"

Sorry for the typos.

[HomeoftheGoodGuys]

Never seen that signoff, but it's pretty cool. I love the classic logos shown on NBC over the years along with the classic NBC News theme played over the signoff along with 1960's logo from "The following program has brought to you in living color" bumper and the famous NBC Snake where it goes to the "Goodbye" screen. What's next, the "V of Doom"? Just kidding!

[HomeoftheGoodGuys]

There are other stuff missing from it's last signoff are the vintage NBC xylophone logo from the mid-50's, the early 50's NBC logo, the 1948 NBC Microphone logo and the 1930's NBC logo. These are a few stuff missing from these logos. This is the same thing they did with WNBC Radio where they signed off back in October 7th, 1988 where WFAN moved from 1050 to 660 AM and still remains to this day as a successful sports station.

[supertrouper]

they should have kept the nightlight program for like 4 months or better yet for a year to make sure everyone is DTV ready. having the nightlight program just for a few weeks was not enough because many won't be ready in time. A lot of people still need help.

[Musicasis]

You have WCBS sign off from July 12 with there Nightlight video loop? like that see how they when off, good video thank's for posting it

[goriajk]

AMAZING. I was surprised WNBC didn't use their 1940's-era test pattern when it was WNBT - that would have been awesome. JG

[wmbrown6]

Actually, WNBC's color test pattern was a custom job, with colors added to a 1947 vintage TP.

[kiotr2009]

The "COPYRIGHT 1947 NATIONAL BROADCASTING CO. INC." shows at the bottom of this color TP, which was scanned from a 35mm slide, found at Empire about 15 years ago. For its airing on June 12th, the call letters were Photoshop'd from "WNBC-TV" to "WNBC", to be legal for 2009. Otherwise, it appears just as it did in the 70's. WNBC hasn't used a circular TP on the air in the last 20 years.

[wmbrown6]

I think this 1947 variation (without the colors, of course) was also used by the ABC O&O's in the early years of their existence (from their initial sign-ons in 1948 and '49). Another 1947 variation (with an "en dash" between "1947" and "NATIONAL") had single black horizontal lines on the far left and right, and white lines at far top and bottom. I wonder, was this slide faded like that, or was some Photoshopping done to make it look faded?

[kiotr2009]

The slide was scanned and reproduced as-is. Ohter than the altered calls, what you see is what was on the slide, including the brownish background. Scan quality can vary, but no intentional alterations were made in the process.

[wmbrown6]

Very interesting. Still looks quite good for a slide that is 30+ years old (especially the greens and blues, which in usual situations suffer most particularly). I asked about the fading because I've experimented with simulations, as well as "reverse fading" by taking something with reddish blacks to make it look more normal.

[NebraskaFan77]

I love how at the end it looks at little creepy with goodbye in all black saying that were leaving the air so if you ain't ready after well then BYE! Cue Scrambled screen.

[polybi5]

very subtle, very classy.