Roosevelt Documentary: Sound Goofed Up?

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
We've been watching the Ken Burns documentary on PBS about the Roosevelts --

Theodore, Eleanor and Franklin. Tonight, Tuesday, it came through mostly, but

when the commentators came on (biographers, historians, writers, etc. who comment

on the history) the background music continued but the verbal sound was missing.

So I wonder, was it the national feed, my local PBS station, my cable service, or my TV?

Anyone else have this experience? As usual, when you'd like some actual feedback online

from the broadcaster, cable service, etc., your curiosity is met with infinite silence.

 

natenice1

Can't Leave
Jun 15, 2014
418
0
Tom I know exactly what you are talking about. I am an avid amateur radio operator and this was discussed at our last club meeting. A lot of the younger guys are digital broadcast engineers, hey I'm lucky I can e-mail. I going to try to explain it, all TV signals are so compressed in a digital format and are transmitted by satellite they are encoded and decoded by as many as 15 different links, so there is lag time which is noticeable! I think, I can explain and fix tube electronic equipment but that's above my realm! That may be a real rudimentary explanation the person who could explain it much better on the forums is Patrick ae1pt. Still waiting for my IRC order Thursday, I'm salivating.
Nate

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Hmmm. So what you're saying is, this could well be a problem with a satellite link. My sister in Chicago watched the show

and it came through fine throughout, so it wasn't a national problem. It struck me as odd that the background music

continued to play as the commentators spoke, but none of their speech was heard. Their mouthes moved, but only music

was heard. It's annoying that PBS and our local station made no effort to explain or account for the problem. They ran

the episode twice, and both times the dysfunction occurred. We hoped they would re-run it with the technical correction,

but no such luck. Our TV is ancient, but the other two episodes have come through just fine, so I don't think it is that.

Thank you for your insight, Nate.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
cosmic, thanks. Clearly it was local. If the problem were different, I'd think it was our ancient TV out of sync

with the current technology, but the first two episodes came through with flying colors. Still, I haven't heard

any local murmurs of dissatisfaction (yet). Now it's just an interesting puzzle. Hope tonight's segment come

through correctly. The commentators are actually an interesting addition to the show, and none are allowed to

go on long, so I miss that element of the show.

 

natenice1

Can't Leave
Jun 15, 2014
418
0
Tom I've been following it too, it is quite interesting because I live in the Hudson Valley. Hyde Park is only 25 miles from me across the Hudson. Interesting enough our small city Newburgh benefited from FDR's aunt Annie Delano Hitch. Because of her philanthropy in the early 1930's we have a recreation park named Delano-Hitch complete with a state of the art pool for 1931. I took care of that old timer for 10 years, 500,000 gallons with gas Chlorine, it went under a major Capitol restoration five years ago but a patented pool design by pool architect Wesley Bintz! Five generations here and my great uncle and grandfather had a hardwood floor business here from the mid 20's until I stopped due to a serious back injury, looking back to records from the business my uncles handwriting July 27, 1935 sanding and refinishing Maple parquet floors with Walnut borders two bedrooms for Mrs. Annie Delano Hitch at residence in Balmville, NY MD 25! I am 42 but must be getting old, I know MD stands for Medical Doctor but how many my age know MD is also Mail Delivery route 25! :puffy:

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
The Hudson River Valley is breathtaking. It must have been interesting growing up in Roosevelt territory.

I used to have an elderly neighbor, a retired orchard-man from near Syracuse, who met Teddy Roosevelt

when he, the neighbor, was a young boy, when Teddy ran as a Bull Moose candidate and his (the neighbor's)

dad let Teddy campaign out front of their farm and orchard. Teddy had to be always in control, so he drove

the coach that he rode to the event. But here's the punchline: the Republican Party was so angry at my

neighbor's dad that he let Teddy speak at his farm that the local GOP refused the pave the road past their

property on through the 1950s. Imagine, holding a grudge that long, after the party who had offended

them was long gone. Amazing.

 

natenice1

Can't Leave
Jun 15, 2014
418
0
Yup, I can. The Hudson Valley has always been political I'm into a little grassroots politics myself, being a newbie at it, zoning board, school board it's surprising! I got into it when I retired early and an older friend who is a local magistrate told me "Never lie or take a bribe unless it's for a Million Dollars!" :D

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I polled people at a small social event to see how their sound reception went on Tuesday, and some had the same problem

I had, with commentators voice-over omitted while the background music played on, but not everyone. Last night we had

another peculiar problem whereby the special additional remarks added for the blind came up on our TV without our having

subscribed to them. So we would get brief, abrupt comments describing the scene, like, "short haired woman," or "boats

arriving at pier." That annoyance stopped abruptly about half way through the episode. Clearly, the satellite feed on this

show is complex and not entirely technically functional. I hope perhaps tonight we will get the show straight, without all

the tech "amusement" to distract from it.

 

natenice1

Can't Leave
Jun 15, 2014
418
0
I hear you Tom, McTinner made a post on Granger he eluded to the sign from the 30's on the stoop on a store for Granger that was on last nights episode!

 

samanden

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 11, 2013
247
48
Alexandria, VA
Finally finished The Roosevelts documentary. Phew! 14 hours of unadulterated political history.
Not to throw a politic wrench into our pipe forum machine, but I must say that many of us would do well to study Burns' documentary as a comprehensive history lesson on the relationship between "the government" and "the people" in modern American politics.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Watched it twice (antenna as I don't have cable/dish) and the sound was fine.
Ken Burns is one hell of a producer for historical documentary's. 'The War' was awesome and I must have watched it about five times. It really connected to me and what my father went through who was blinded at St. Lo shortly after the invasion (God bless his soul).

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
The Burns series on the Roosevelts was incredible. I keep thinking about it, mostly in terms of the way

it attempted to unveil the human beings within these iconic figures who possessed such historical presence

and mythical weight. Their lives, especially TR and FDR seemed to have such grandeur and isolation, men

alone with their demons, both died rather young given their wealth and vigor. Eleanor seemed the most

realized of the three, but wasn't under the pressure of public office to the degree of the others. She had more

room to find her own way. Boy, you can really see how Theodore served as a model and mentor of Ernest

Hemingway, although I suspect E.H. would have scorned any connection. But the infatuation with war,

adventuring and hunting.

 
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