Author Topic: Another game show font question (Read 4082 times)

gshowguy · « **on:** August 19, 2004, 09:03:25 AM »

What's the name of the display used to display scores on the Australian versions of our US game shows produced by Reg Grundy?

clemon79 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 19, 2004, 11:42:16 AM »

[quote name=\'gshowguy\' date=\'Aug 19 2004, 06:03 AM\'] What's the name of the display used to display scores on the Australian versions of our US game shows produced by Reg Grundy? [/quote]
See, THAT'S a reasonable newbie question.

Assuming we're talking about the same set, (used on the more recent incarnations of $otC) that is known as an "eggcrate" display.

gshowguy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2004, 12:20:49 PM »

I dunno. Looks more like a Ferranti display to me. Except the "3" looks a little different from the "3" on the US "Family Feud" from 1988-95. If you wanna know what I mean, visit Chris Powney Australian Game Show Page, and check under either "The Price is Right" (1993 version) or "$ale of the Century" (2001 season), and look under "photos".

And yes, the Aussie "$ale of the Century" isn't the only show to use this font. The Aussie versions of "The Price is Right" and "Now You See It" also use this font, as well as other Nine Network game shows from the Grundy library. And, just recently, the Aussie "Wheel of Fortune" on the Seven Network used this font to display scores. The Aussie version of "Hot Streak" on Seven also used this font.

clemon79 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2004, 01:52:09 PM »

[quote name=\'gshowguy\' date=\'Aug 19 2004, 09:20 AM\'] I dunno. Looks more like a Ferranti display to me. Except the "3" looks a little different from the "3" on the US "Family Feud" from 1988-95. If you wanna know what I mean, visit Chris Powney Australian Game Show Page, and check under either "The Price is Right" (1993 version) or "$ale of the Century" (2001 season), and look under "photos".
[/quote]
I've always associated the Ferranti-Packer name with the technology behind how the display works, more than the font itself. For me, the difference is that an eggcrate uses light bulbs (or LEDs) to produce the letter or digit, while an F-P uses reflective bits that are displayed or not electromechanically. (Yes, Ryan's Display Field Guide disagrees with me.) YMMV.

Particleman · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2004, 04:08:13 PM »

Chris, I thought you'd find this link interesting since we're talking about these displays. Don't know if you've ever seen this before.

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/geog/gessler/topics/displays.htm

clemon79 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2004, 05:34:25 PM »

I hadn't, that's very interesting! Thanks!

Particleman · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2004, 09:28:35 PM »

And according to that site and many others, Ferranti-Packard (not Ferranti-Packer) is the name of the company who produced flip-disc variable character displays like the ones used in Family Feud. Someone tell me if I'm wrong on this.

clemon79 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 19, 2004, 10:12:30 PM »

It's entirely possible. I screw up that name all the time. In my defense, so does Ryan.

Particleman · « **Reply #8 on:** August 20, 2004, 08:09:22 AM »

No criticism expressed or implied. :-)

JamesVipond · « **Reply #9 on:** August 20, 2004, 12:19:57 PM »

[quote name=\'Particleman\' date=\'Aug 19 2004, 03:08 PM\']Chris, I thought you'd find this link interesting since we're talking about these displays. Don't know if you've ever seen this before.

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/geog/gessler/topics/displays.htm[/quote]
The photograph on the right side of that page shows a circuit board with connections for the figures 1-9, zero and "B". The page author doesn't know the purpose of the connection for "B", but I suspect that it's for a blank space. Example: When a family on Family Feud have less than $100, their display would show a blank followed by two digits.

Particleman · « **Reply #10 on:** August 20, 2004, 12:50:08 PM »

That's entirely possible. I think one question that should be pointed out is which device is responsible for how the characters are formed, the actual modules as pictured in the link or the driver (controller) itself. The reason I point this out is because of the number of times the character formations changed during Family Feud's original run. They changed the character set from the pilot to the premiere, then went back to the pilot character set in mid-76, then changed it back to the premiere character set, then changed it again in later years. It would make more sense to assume it's controlled at the driver end but you know what happens when you assume.

gshowguy · « **Reply #11 on:** August 20, 2004, 12:57:08 PM »

Also, anyone got any fonts from foreign versions of our game shows, like the "Ferranti"-type font I mentioned used on Aussie game shows from the Grundy library (and casinos in Reno, NV)?

Particleman · « **Reply #12 on:** August 20, 2004, 01:32:43 PM »

If you need fonts of characters made up of dots, let me know what you're looking for and I can make you the fonts. Just show me how the characters are made up.

gshowguy · « **Reply #13 on:** August 20, 2004, 05:26:59 PM »

Uh... an example of that font would've been found on Chris Powney's Aussie GS Page, but the site's gone down for now. So that means I can't help for now, but maybe later.