麻豆约拍

While most analysis of the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 history has been concerned with its cultural and social impact as a creator and broadcaster of radio and television programmes, over the last hundred years there have been many technical innovations that have created ripples far beyond the 麻豆约拍 and helped shape the modern world.

In fact, one way of thinking about the 麻豆约拍 is as a mechanism through which the technologies of radio, television and now the internet are developed and made available to the world in order to improve people鈥檚 lives. This is implied in the very first 麻豆约拍 Charter from 1926, which describes the growing importance of broadcasting and then goes on to say: 鈥榳e deem it desirable that the Service should be developed and exploited to the best advantage and in the national interest鈥�. Technical innovation is part of that process.

These technology breakthroughs have contributed to the quality of 麻豆约拍 services and helped the 麻豆约拍 fulfil its mission but they have also shaped the environment within which the 麻豆约拍 and other broadcasters operate and even influenced the internet and online services.

The impact is clearest when it comes to inventions which create new possibilities for creative expression, like better sound, colour, or interactive capabilities, but it also applies to fundamental aspects of broadcasting like outside broadcasting or converting television standards used in other countries to share world events like the Apollo moon landings.

And of course there have been a number of wider-reaching 麻豆约拍 technological innovations, like the 麻豆约拍 Micro and 麻豆约拍 micro:bit, that have an impact that goes far beyond the audiences for their associated television and radio programmes.

Sound and vision

From the beginning, the 麻豆约拍 was as much an engineering organisation as a programme-maker, and a lot of early effort went into developing the core technologies of radio such as microphones, studios and mixing desks and transmission systems, as radio and television were established. One of the engineers working to deploy these technologies was Harry Routzen, Head of Regional Programing, North in the 1930鈥檚. In this newly-released clip from the 麻豆约拍 Oral History Archive, recorded in 1989, he discusses the problems of getting remote studios working.

Microphones

The 麻豆约拍 was responsible for a number of innovations in microphone technology, often building on the work of others in the early broadcasting industry. In this interview Director of Engineering Harold Bishop discusses studio design and the types of microphones used in the 1920s.

One of the most significant early microphones was the famous lozenge-shaped 麻豆约拍 Marconi Type A 鈥渞ibbon鈥� microphone. The ribbon microphone was invented by two German engineers in 1924. By 1931 the US broadcaster RCA had created a ribbon microphone called the 鈥淧hotophone鈥�, largely for use in the rapidly growing film industry, and these were commercially available. However the 麻豆约拍 needed many more microphones than a film set, so the Engineering Research Department designed an alternative.

The first of the Type As was in use by 1935, at a cost of 拢9 each compared to 拢130 for the RCA model, and the design continued in use, with various refinements, until the 1950s. Not only did it set a standard for broadcast microphones, its characteristic lozenge shape came to symbolise sound recording and even influences the design of 鈥榬ecord鈥� icons on audio software.

Loudspeakers

Another area where the 麻豆约拍 has had significant impact is loudspeaker design. The main reason for this was the need to monitor studio output: as the 麻豆约拍 engineer CD Mathers wrote in 1988 鈥楳uch of the music and speech broadcast by the 麻豆约拍 is intended to reach the listener sounding as nearly as possible as it did in the studio or auditorium of its origination鈥�, and so it was important that those making the programmes could hear what they had made as clearly as possible.

In this 1983 interview from the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 Oral History Collection radio engineer Stanley Lance discusses the studio setup process for recording during the 1930鈥檚, and the importance of monitoring output.

As a result, until the 1990s the 麻豆约拍 was designing and making its own loudspeakers for use in studios and control rooms because commercially available speakers did not have the responsiveness or fidelity needed. The best-known example of this is LS3/5, designed by 麻豆约拍 Engineering in the 1970s to deliver the sound quality and dynamic range needed to monitor broadcasts in a small control room. A commercial version of this, the LS3/5A, is still manufactured under licence from the 麻豆约拍, at 拢2500 a pair, and the design itself has been influential across the whole industry. 麻豆约拍 research into the fundamentals of sound reproduction continues today, contributing to the wider development of the microphones, loudspeakers and headphones we all use.

A typical 麻豆约拍 Research Department Report from the 1980鈥檚 demonstrates the expertise and precision that has characterised the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 engineering history, here looking at loudspeaker design.

Stereo TV: NICAM

Early radio and television had only one channel for sound, but the creative possibilities for stereo sound were obvious, especially once audiences were used to stereo records and film soundtracks. FM radio offered stereo for suitable receivers from 1961, but stereo sound for television was more technically challenging.

By the early 1980s a standard had emerged for recording television sound digitally. NICAM 鈥� it stands for 鈥楴ear Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex鈥� 鈥� was first described in a 1972 麻豆约拍 Research Report and was quickly adopted in studios. 麻豆约拍 engineers took the original specification and developed NICAM-728, a way of broadcasting digital two-channel sound with terrestrial television transmissions by adding two high-quality digitally-coded sound signals to the picture and mono FM sound signals of the existing system.

The first experimental NICAM broadcast was the first night of the 1986 Proms, although it did not formally launch until 1991 when transmitters had been upgraded and programmes were being produced in stereo. NICAM proved to be a major breakthrough and was adopted by many broadcasters around the world.

DVB-T2

A more recent example of broadcast innovation is DVB-T2, the enhanced second generation digital terrestrial broadcasting systems that supports HD (high definition) broadcasting. Developed in only three years by a consortium led by the 麻豆约拍 and adopted in 2009, DVB-T2 made Freeview HD possible, massively improving the quality of images for UK audiences.

One important side-effect was that by making it easier to switch off the old analogue transmission systems as part of the UK鈥檚 鈥榙igital switchover鈥�. DVB-T2 freed up broadcast spectrum for mobile phones, helping created today鈥檚 the connected world.

Near and Far: Outside Broadcasting

One area that required enormous technical innovation was broadcasting from outside the studio, initially for radio and then for television. One of the first live broadcasts was in May 1924, when cellist Beatrice Harrison famously played a duet with a nightingale in her garden in Surrey, and by 1928 the first OB truck had been built, with the equipment installed in the back of a converted van.

Television was more complex, both in terms of the need to move cameras and the extra work needed to get the signal back to the studio. The earliest attempt, in 1936, was a gardening programme filmed outside the 麻豆约拍 television studio at Alexandra Palace, with the cameras attached by long studio cables. This was followed by the first genuine OB when images of the parade following the coronation of Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were broadcast from Hyde Park Corner. This required a special cable, enclosed in a lead case- the first of many technical innovations that made outside broadcasting possible.

In this clip from Oral History Archive engineer Willy Cave discusses the outside broadcasting arrangements for the 1948 Olympics on radio and television, and the use of new cameras that had just become available.

There is a significant difference between a recorded or filmed event, as seen in newsreels or heard on the radio, and the live experience. For viewers in 1937 the ability to 鈥榳atch鈥� the coronation parade at a distance marked a significant shift in our relationship to the world, and could be seen as a precursor of today鈥檚 screen-based immersion in our phones or the metaverse.

Broadcasting Standards Conversion

Some of the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 technology innovations are intended to be invisible to audiences, and this is particularly the case with standards conversion, when a signal from one type of broadcasting system, like the US NTSC, is converted to another, like the European PAL. Ideally a viewer will not be able to tell that the images have been adapted.

The 麻豆约拍 worked hard on this problem during the 1960s, and by 1967 had a system in place that could translate colour signals to the European standard adopted in the UK. The converter was used to provide colour coverage of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico and the 麻豆约拍 received a Queen鈥檚 Award to Industry for it. It was used extensively in coverage the Apollo missions, including the first lunar landing in 1969. With the increasing use of digital technologies the complex analogue conversion hardware was replaced by newer systems. In 1998 the 麻豆约拍 won another Queen鈥檚 Award for an advanced digital standards converter, which still forms the basis for systems used today for major live international sporting events.

Beyond Broadcast

It鈥檚 important to reflect on the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 impact beyond broadcasting, as the organisation has always tried to ensure that emerging technologies are used for public good. Four examples of this were CEEFAX, the 麻豆约拍 Networking Club, the 麻豆约拍 Microcomputer, and the 麻豆约拍 micro:bit.

CEEFAX

Interactive services are commonplace today, but the first time they were widely used in the UK was 1974 when the 麻豆约拍 launched the CEEFAX (a pun on 鈥楽ee facts鈥�) teletext service that displayed text on the screen of a suitably equipped television, with the viewer typing in page numbers on a remote control to select from a constantly transmitted 鈥榗arousel鈥� of pages.

麻豆约拍 pages included news, sport, weather, travel and even jokes, while the commercial version Oracle on ITV also included advertising. This analogue service was discontinued in 2012, replace by the Red Button, but in many ways CEEFAX is the antecedent of the World Wide Web and today鈥檚 online services.

Networking Club

One of the ways the 麻豆约拍 has shaped the modern world is by exploring new possibilities that commercial players may not be interested in. In 1994, as people were starting to take an interest in the internet but its commercial potential was uncertain 麻豆约拍 Education launched the Networking Club, offering dialup internet access, the 鈥淎untie鈥� bulletin board, and information from 麻豆约拍 programmes for 拢12 a month.

While it only ran until 1995, being closed to make way for the commercial beeb.com, the networking club was one of the signs that the internet was something to take seriously, and paved the way for today鈥檚 global adoption.

麻豆约拍 Micro and micro:bit

The 麻豆约拍 Microcomputer System was developed by Acorn Computers to a specification agreed with the 麻豆约拍 and launched in 1982 to accompany the television series The Computer Programme. Part of 麻豆约拍 Education鈥檚 wider Computer Literacy Project, the 麻豆约拍 Micro, along with the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore 64, marked a key moment in the availability of home computers and helped create a generation that was comfortable with them in their lives. As well as stimulating the UK computer games industry, it shaped the modern world of always-on devices.

This clip from the 麻豆约拍 Computer Literacy Project Archive shows one of the first appearances of the Micro on television as Roy Kinnear and Chris Searle make fun of the confusion of names of computer brands at the time.

In 2016 the 麻豆约拍 gave a computer to hundreds of thousands of year 7 school children across the UK, showing just how much technology has progressed. The 麻豆约拍 micro:bit is a single-board computer that is designed to be open, flexible and programmable by young people, to encourage IT literacy and coding.

Towards tomorrow: Object Based Media

As the 麻豆约拍 and other broadcasters move towards internet-first distribution new ways of telling stories emerge, and the 麻豆约拍 is among those exploring the different ways to engage audiences. Within 麻豆约拍 Research & Development work continues to create more interactive services, where the viewer can navigate their own path through a programme, or change the duration of a programme to match their schedule using object-based media.

Here 麻豆约拍 R&D鈥檚 Emma Young and Matt Brooks explain object-based media in one of R&D鈥檚 public videos.

Public Service Augmented Reality (AR)

There is also a need to ensure that new technologies are shaped by public service concerns, and this is especially true with augmented and virtual reality, which are being developed by large commercial companies. The 麻豆约拍 Public Service Augmented Reality project is developing a range of AR applications that reflect its approach to radio and television, making programmes that inform, educate and entertain, as Alex Nelson and Emma Young from 麻豆约拍 R&D explain in this clip from another 鈥楻&D Explains鈥� video.

麻豆约拍 Together

When it comes to sharing viewing experiences 麻豆约拍 Together, which lets people set up iPlayer viewing parties so they can watch with friends across the country, is experimenting with ways to provide sharing recommendations while preserving user privacy. This is one of many examples of how the 麻豆约拍 is considering the social impact of new technologies and trying to influence the ways they develop in ways that are not only shaped by commercial considerations but take account of the need to deliver the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 wider public mission.

These innovations point to a world where we are informed, educated and entertained in a very different way from sitting around a radio or television set, where we can interact and engage with material through the network, and where we can have shared experiences.

We can鈥檛 tell how these new media formats will influence society and our culture, but there will always be a need to develop them in ways that align with the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 public purposes and not solely for commercial reasons.

Conclusion

For a century the 麻豆约拍 has built on the work of others, shared its innovations and inventions with the world, and collaborated to develop international standards that can be universally adopted, expressing its core Reithian values in the design and implementation of every sort of technology related to its mission.

It is this commitment to developing the public service ecosystem, first for sound, then for moving images, and latterly for online services, that really characterises the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 relationship to technological innovation - and which continues in the work of today鈥檚 Research and Development department.

It has not always gone smoothly 鈥� in 2007 a plan to create a unified video streaming service for all UK public service broadcasters, Project Kangaroo, was halted by the Competition Commission, and iPlayer technology was never successfully shared in the way broadcasting innovations have been. And spending on research and development activity has also reduced in line with other 麻豆约拍 expenditure as overall income has dropped, while there has been increasing pressure to justify the investment in R&D.

However innovation in technical standards continues to be at the heart of the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 mission, with the impact often only felt years or decades afterwards. What comes across most clearly over the last century is that the work has been incremental and relied on partnerships, collaboration and a shared sense of public value.

Written by Bill Thompson, Technology commentator and Principal R&D Engineer at the 麻豆约拍.