COW - Computer Originated World

[Refugee]

Was there an electronic version of that mirror globe?

[BVH2000]

If you mean with the mirror effect of the continents behind the globe, then, No. it went straight from the mechanical model to the COW electronic version with just the globe..

In theory, I think you could, with a new sequence data set and new background images create an output something similar to the mirror globe.

The fact that everything was stored in Eprom should have made it future proof with graphic updates "just" a matter of swapping out roms (or cards thereof) however after only 6 years the COWs were replaced by the Lambie Nairn swirly globes generated on high end graphics systems and played out from Laservision discs.

I'm curious how much the whole COW project actually cost, the 6000 odd 27128 Eproms would have been a fair wedge in 1985

[ppppenguin]

It's an illustration of just how fast the technology was moving. In the early 1970s the DICE 625<>525 standards converter used a framestore that occupied much of two 7ft high rack bays and cost over £200,000 at the time. By the early 1980s a framestore was expensive but routine. By the late 1980s it was fairly cheap, by the early 1990s it was trivial.

The COW was made using 27128 EPROMs though the boards were designed to allow for 27256 or 27512 parts in case these became a more economic solution between design and manufacture.

[Mike Watterson]

Just to prove I'm not going senile 

BBC1 NORTH WEST mirror globe with and without region ident. pictures courtesy of TV Ark

I remember the BBC NI plate could fall off easily.

[BVH2000]

Mike, funny you should mention that. Have a look here about the restoration of the Belfast mirror globe
https://www.kecskebak.hu/?p=190

[Mike Watterson]

Seems mad that it predated and out-lived the COW!
I wonder is it still kept in same room as in the mid 1970s and what camera(s) were used. The camera in 1975 was an old mono monster.

Thanks for the link!

[ppppenguin]

If it's ever threatened with the bin we would love to have it at Broadcast Engineering Museum.

[Mike Watterson]

If it's ever threatened with the bin we would love to have it at Broadcast Engineering Museum.

Sadly I don't know anyone there now, or I'd say so.

I'd guess you'd like the big pedestal mono camera used in 1970s too. Maybe an EMI? Huge thing.

[ppppenguin]

We've got so many cameras so that would be less interesting.

[BVH2000]

Well, seems I need to correct a statement I made earlier about the 1991 successor to the COW.
The Lambie Nairn “swirly” globe was fundamentally a plastic, pulleys and string creation more akin to the Abram Games Bat Wings first ident. See this link

https://rewind.thetvroom.com/43113/featu...he-scenes/