EGGCRATE READOUTS

[gameshowguy2000]

I believe Supermarket Sweep also used Eggcrate to display each team's Sweep Time, right?

[irismason42]

And also, Supermarket Sweep still uses the eggcrate display ever since the Lifetime TV edition debuted.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Feb 7 2004, 06:45 PM\'] I believe Supermarket Sweep also used Eggcrate to display each team's Sweep Time, right? [/quote]
 Yep, sure did.

[Chief-O]

>>  Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters has the best collection of practical sound effects devices I'm aware of, dating back to the "golden era". For fans of old radio, PPB has the assemblage of practical devices that created the sounds for accessing and opening Jack Benny's vault on his CBS show. It was a classic comedy bit used many times to big laughs. And yes, some of the goodies from the CBS game shows rest there as well.

I found a cool picture of what is represented as CBS SFX equipment here:
http://www.earthsignals.com/Collins/0038/0016_1.jpg

The big black bell looks like it may have been the source of the famous clangs when someone has a perfect bid. Also, next to that bell is a small black piece with CBS stamped on it. To the left of that is a small chime. I found a chime just like that at an antique store, and it sounded vaguely familiar...I think that small chime is where the TPIR bell came from.

Ahh, yes, the world of GS SFX is more interesting than one may think.

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Feb 7 2004, 05:41 PM\'] In principle, you're correct that it's a 5x7 grid.  However, I do recall seeing episodes of Perry CS (they used the same Eggcrate display for the Money Cards--the one with the open "4" rather than the closed "4") where you can actually see the unlit bulbs in the display--and there are some places within that display where there are gaps instead of where the bulbs would be.  In other words, one line of the seven may only have three bulbs instead of five (I can't recall the exact breakdown at this moment). [/quote]
Other shows have eggcrate displays where you can see the gaps.  Here is how it looks (O = lightblulb, _ = no lightbulb):
[font=\"Courier\"]
O O O O O
O O O _ O
O _ O _ O
O O O O O
O _ O _ O
O _ O _ O
O O O O O
[/font]
There are 28 lightbulbs per digit.  As you would expect, the second lightbulb in the second row only lights in case of a one.  BTW, on TPiR, extra bulbs are needed to make the V and R in "OVER".

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Feb 7 2004, 06:24 PM\'] I found a cool picture of what is represented as CBS SFX equipment here:
http://www.earthsignals.com/Collins/0038/0016_1.jpg [/quote]
 Hot damn! That photo is taken near one corner of the large storeroom at Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters where the assorted "junk" not on display at the humble museum is stored. Amazing that you would find some of the exact items I was referencing. PPB is a membership-only organization for its members and their personal guests; I didn't know anyone had taken pictures in our back rooms.

You're looking at a small sample of those former CBS items mentioned earlier in this thread. The big bell in the center of the picture is still marked as having been used on the show "Whew". Both the item with the large chain at the top left and the device with gears nearer the top right were among the items used on that recurring Jack Benny vault bit. And yes, a couple of electric chimes and/or buzzers are visible as well.

A wider shot would show many more chimes and doorbells, as well as buzzers, plus another couple of dozen other practical sfx devices. They run the gamut from car horns to household doors on hinges, to windows and venetian blinds, to car doors and a whole lot more. And yes, like the bell from "Whew", others are clearly identifiable as having been used on CBS game shows.

To earn more about this wonderful organization:
Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters

And here's something to look forward to. On your 20th anniversary of having been employed in commercial radio and/or TV you qualify for membership.   ;-)


Randy
tvrandywest.com

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Feb 7 2004, 08:38 PM\'] Other shows have eggcrate displays where you can see the gaps.  Here is how it looks (O = lightblulb, _ = no lightbulb):
[font=\"Courier\"]
O O O O O
O O O _ O
O _ O _ O
O O O O O
O _ O _ O
O _ O _ O
O O O O O
[/font]
There are 28 lightbulbs per digit.  As you would expect, the second lightbulb in the second row only lights in case of a one.  BTW, on TPiR, extra bulbs are needed to make the V and R in "OVER". [/quote]
 Well done, Jason W.

And to answer Dale Grass' comment, FF used a different display known as Ferrenti--therefore all of the pixels needed to be available (wasn't Hewlett-Packard somehow involved in that display or something like that?).  And I don't believe (although I could certainly be wrong) that the Eggcrate display generated the $ used for the Money Cards in the Perry version of CS.  The $ display is much bigger than the character display for the numbers/"BUST".

Doug

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'JamesVipond\' date=\'Feb 7 2004, 01:02 PM\'] I suppose they could be, but light bulbs have a finite lifespan. Believe me, home viewers do notice when even one bulb in a score display is burned out.

 [/quote]
 Indeed we do. And this happened quite frequently on The Joker's Wild. As early as that program's first episode, there was a bulb burned out on the contestant seated at the right's podium. Subsequent episodes would feature score displays with many bulbs out.

[daveromanjr]

Here's a stupid question: does anybody remember on the first couple of episodes of Trivia Trap, when the winning team's score was flashed and it contained a 5 in the first 2 or 3 digit spaces (ones tens hundreds) it would flash "0" then "5" very quickly.  Say the winning team's score was 1050, it would say 1000 for a split second then switch to 1050 and then turn off to flash again (once again repeating the quick zero to five switch).  It was rather obvious and, in later episodes, seemed remedied by flashing the number by 'wiping' the numbers from left to right.  It would light up 1 then 0 then 5 then 0 and then flash off 0 then the 5 and 0 and then the 1.  

Why is this?  Do I have too much time on my hands to wonder about this?

[dmota104]

Here's a stupid question: does anybody remember on the first couple of episodes of Trivia Trap, when the winning team's score was flashed and it contained a 5 in the first 2 or 3 digit spaces (ones tens hundreds) it would flash "0" then "5" very quickly. Say the winning team's score was 1050, it would say 1000 for a split second then switch to 1050 and then turn off to flash again (once again repeating the quick zero to five switch). It was rather obvious and, in later episodes, seemed remedied by flashing the number by 'wiping' the numbers from left to right. It would light up 1 then 0 then 5 then 0 and then flash off 0 then the 5 and 0 and then the 1.

I do remember seeing that on a GSN rerun.  Also, I think Mike Klauss had a vidcap of the winning team scoring "1600".  Guess the scoreboard had an itchy trigger finger or something.

[Kevin Prather]

I remember one time on Win Ben Stein's Money, a full 5x7 panel on Ben's scoreboard wouldn't turn on, so instead of reading "$5000", it read "$50 0". They joked about how the income had been slashed, iirc.

[Fedya]

Were the displays on Wintuition different from the other eggcrate displays?  The individual lights on Wintuition were square instead of round.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Fedya\' date=\'Feb 8 2004, 04:07 PM\'] Were the displays on Wintuition different from the other eggcrate displays?  The individual lights on Wintuition were square instead of round. [/quote]
 Debt and IIRC, Win Ben Stein's Money used the square eggcrates. I think the Family Channel interactive games also used them (Boggle, Shuffle, Jumble).

[Kevin Prather]

Yep.

http://www.runchadrun.com/personal/benstein/ben3.jpg

http://www.philyanov.com/images/ben_stein.jpg

http://www.loogslair.com/gameshow/rules/debt5.JPG

[Radiofreewill]

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Feb 7 2004, 10:09 PM\'] And here's something to look forward to. On your 20th anniversary of having been employed in commercial radio and/or TV you qualify for membership.   ;-) [/quote]
 Only 17 1/2 years to go.