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Sound heard on Basic Cable channels in the 80s through mid 90s

A

Ageofquarrel

Guest
Does anyone remember when basic cable channels would play station ID commercials and this sound would play over it. Its hard for me to explain exactly what it was. I know most people wont understand what im talking about but I know some out will. I just know almost every channel used to have it over some station IDs some part of the day.
 
Ivan,

Did you ever hear this sound anywhere else on radio or tv? Was it a sound effect or a quick music bed? It was probably something from a SFX Library or a Commercial Jingle Package.
 
Dmargalotti,
Ive never heard this sound anywhere but basic cable channels years ago.
It was like a digital sound that would usually overrided all other audio for about two seconds.
Its one of those things if you heard it you would know what i was talking about.
Its really hard to put into words and describe exactly what it is.
From what I gather it was something that these basic cable stations had to broadcast.
 
Actually, this was a cue for automated equipment at the headends to start rolling the local commercials, as this cue always proceeded the breaks used for local commercials.

This cue all but disappeared when advanced technology enabled the cues to be "hidden", inaudible to casual cable viewers, but audible for commercial equipment.
 
Actually, I still hear it - at least I think it's the same - on Wisconsin Public Radio, which is run out of Madison. There are the electronic touch-tone beeps just before station breaks with the local ID playing.
 
Ivan said:
Dmargalotti,
Ive never heard this sound anywhere but basic cable channels years ago.
It was like a digital sound that would usually overrided all other audio for about two seconds.
Its one of those things if you heard it you would know what i was talking about.
Its really hard to put into words and describe exactly what it is.
From what I gather it was something that these basic cable stations had to broadcast.
Click to expand...

I do remember hearing it and have often wondered what it was. The sound was somewhat similar to what TVLand uses as their ID sounder. I seem to recall that it would just pop up randomly, whether in a commerical or in the middle of the tv show.
 
These were DTMF tones for cueing. (was: Sound heard on basic cable........)

Those Digital Multi-Frequency Tones (DTMF) were/are generally for cueing the headends of cable systems to insert local spots (commercials). Usually, they were sent about 8 seconds before the local break. Originally, networks like CNN Headline News would insert those tones during a bumper promo just before the break on the main audio channel ( (-bleep- DTMF tones in rapid succession) "This is CNN Headline News.... you're in tune with the world....."). Later, most of these DTMF tones (same tones as a touch-tone phone, but faster) would be sent over the "cue" channel, of which only the headend receivers would "hear" them to key up a local break. Very few, if any, cable networks put the cue tones on the main channel today.
 
The last time I recall hearing the tones was when I first got Dish Network, back in the first year they were in operation. The tones blared several seconds before a break on several channels, but after a few months they went away. I assume Dish filtered out the tones.
 
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