Fernseh
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The Fernseh AG television company was registered in Berlin on July 3, 1929 by John Logie Baird, Robert Bosch and other partners[1] with an initial capital of 100,000 Reichsmark[2].
The word "Fernseh" is a short form of the German word "Fernsehapparat" meaning television. In German: "fern" means far, "seh" means see, and "apparat" means device/apparatus. The company was mainly known by its German abbreviation "FESE" [3].
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[edit] Early years
Fernseh AG's original board of directors included: Emanuel Goldberg, Oliver George Hutchinson (for Baird), David Ludwig Loewe, and Erich Carl Rassbach (for Bosch) and Eberhard Falkenstein who did the legal work[4]. Along with early TV sets (DE-6, E1, DE10) Fernseh AG made the first "Remote Truck", an "intermediate-film" mobile television camera in August 1932. This was a film camera that had its film developed in the truck and a "telecine" then transmitted the signal almost "live"[5].
[edit] Fernseh GmbH
- In 1939 Robert Bosch GmbH took complete ownership of Fernseh AG when Zeiss Ikon AG sold its share of Fernseh AG.
- In 1952 Fernseh moved to Darmstadt, Germany and increase its Broadcast product line.
- In 1967 Fernseh colour TV Products were introduced and manufactured. A full line of Fernseh video and film equipment was made: professional video camera, VTRs and Telecine. Often called "Bosch Fernseh".
[edit] Fernsehanlagen GmbH
In 1972 Robert Bosch renamed its TV division: Fernsehanlagen GmbH. The company supplied almost all the studio equipment for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
[edit] Fernseh Inc.
- In October 1979 Bell and Howell's TeleMation Inc. Division located in Salt Lake City, UT entered a joint venture with Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch’s Fernseh Division. The new joint venture was call Fernseh Inc., Bosch Fernseh Division was located in Darmstadt, Germany
- In April 1982 Bosch fully acquired Fernseh Inc., renaming it “Robert Bosch Corporation, Fernseh Division”
- In 1986 Bosch entered into a new joint venture with Philips Broadcast in Breda, Netherlands. This new Company was called Broadcast Television Systems or BTS inc. Philips had been in the Broadcast market for many years with a line of PC- and LDK- Norelco professional video cameras and other video products.
- In 1995 Philips Electronics North America Corp. fully acquired BTS Inc., renaming it Philips Broadcast-Philips Digital Video Systems.
- In March 2001 this division was sold to Thomson SA, the current owner; the Division was call Thomson Multimedia. In 2002, the French electronics giant Thomson SA also acquired the Grass Valley Group from Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon, USA, Grass Valley (company), the current name of this division of Thomson. The Fernseh's Darmstadt factory, near the Darmstadt Train Station and European Space Operations Centre was moved a short distance to Weiterstadt, Germany.
[edit] Products
- Home Television (later moved to the Blaupunkt Division (1930- )
- Intermediate-film Remote Truck (1936)
- Filmgeber Film Chain F16LP15 Analog
- OMY Film Chain - Analog
- BCM-40 2 inch Quadruplex videotape 1970s
- Standards conversion (1970s) Analog
- BCN series 1 inch type B videotape (1979-1989) Analog VTR
- KC series color professional video camera KCU, KCR, KCK, KCK-R, KCP, KCA, KCF, KCM (1967-1990)
- MC series Video monitorMC-37, MC-50 MCH 51, MH 21
- OB Van - TV Remote Trucks - and Terminal Rack Equipment
- RME series Mixers - Vision mixer, Analog
- FDL-60 Telecine - The world's first CCD telecine (1979-1989)
- FRP-60 Color Corrector-Color grading (1983-1989)
- FDL-90 Telecine (1989-1993) (now under BTS)
- Noise/Grain Reducer: FDGR, DNR7, MNR9, MNR10, MNR11, VS4, Scream, Scream 4k
- Quadra 4:4:4 Telecine (1993-1998)
- KCA-110 ENG Camera
- KCF-1 ENG Camera (later Quartercam, not sold)
- CCIR 601 Products CD7, DC7, 4X4 Booster, Test Gen. Encoders, Decoders.
- DD series CCIR 601-D1 Mixers - Vision mixer DD5, DD10, DD20, DD30
- DCR series D1 VTR DCR-100 DCR-300 DCR-500
- BCH 1000 HDTV 1" VTR
- KCH 1000 HDTV camera (RMH 1000)
- FLH 1000 Telecine The world's first HDTV CCD Telecine (1994-1996)
- D6 HDTV VTR Uncompressed HDTV VTR (VooDoo)-(Gigabit Data Recorder (2000-2006) (Now under Philips)
- Spirit Datacine HDTV Telecine SDC-2000 (1996-2006) also: SDC2001, SDC2002
- Phantom Transfer Engine Software for Spirit Datacine Telecine for Virtual telecine(1998-)
- Shadow HDTV Telecine STE (2000-2006)
- VDC-2000 Specter Virtual telecine (1999-2002)
- Specter FS Virtual telecine (2002-2006)
- Spirit 4k Datacine - Telecine (2004- ) also Spririt 2k (now Under Thomson-Grassvalley)
- Bones Linux-Based Software for Spirit Datacine Telecine Transfer Engine Software (2005- )
- LUTher 3D LUT Color Space (2005- )
[edit] Offices
Thomson still operates offices in the cities of all these acquisitions (see History):
- Cergy, France (Thomson World Headquarters)
- Salt Lake City, Utah, USA - from TeleMation Inc -Bell and Howell
- Beaverton, Oregon, USA - from Tektronix
- Nevada City, California, USA - from Grassvalley Group
- Breda, The Netherlands - from Philips - Norelco
- Weiterstadt - Darmstadt, Germany from Bosch Fernseh
