Video Jukebox Network ("The Box")

[tin]

Anyone know anything much about this? http://www.itvt.com/itv_doctor/7078/itv ... ox-network

I'm interested in the technology behind it, and perhaps some youtube clips of it in operation. So far only found clips showing the channel's promos. (videos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcp2iz5031I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0JjKNt-898

Over in the UK we had The Box for a while when it was on local cable systems, but local cable has really died out and the Box still exists in name, but it's just a national music channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCf4203RnLM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wyIca38brk

We also had lifestyle satellite jukebox which served all of europe a very long time. I read a feature on the technology in What Satellite magazine years ago. I'll see if I can dig that out too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKDYAZUA_kU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcc3mgXnUzY

[AriX]

Don't know anything about it... Looks cool though. I don't quite understand how the order process worked... Was there an interactive set-top-box required to order a program? And then a machine at the headend to put together the channel?

[tin]

Looks like there was a machine at the headend - that article I linked mentions a 74-disc laserdisc jukebox! There must have been a computer system controlling it and generating onscreen graphics for the votes and playlists (at least there was in the UK The Box anyway). The idea was the voter called a 900 (or 0898) number to vote, which is also how the channel generated money, and the channel put the request into a queue to be played.

The thing that intrigues is that there were evidently many of these such set ups, as like Prevue and weather channel they were local to the cable system. I've never really thought of it as our UK ones seem to have always been national which of course breaks the idea because there's likely to be lots of people voting and waiting forever for their selection to come on.

I've noted a few sellers on ebay selling discs from these systems e.g http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JACKSON-WHITNEY-H ... 0653598018

[AriX]

Looks like there was a machine at the headend - that article I linked mentions a 74-disc laserdisc jukebox! There must have been a computer system controlling it and generating onscreen graphics for the votes and playlists (at least there was in the UK The Box anyway). The idea was the voter called a 900 (or 0898) number to vote, which is also how the channel generated money, and the channel put the request into a queue to be played.

Ah, got it.

I've noted a few sellers on ebay selling discs from these systems e.g http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JACKSON-WHITNEY-H ... 0653598018

Very cool! Speaking of LaserDiscs, I found one guy a few months ago who used to work for UVSG who said he thought he had a Prevue LaserDisc lying around. Unfortunately, he couldn't find it... Also, I tried to buy this one: http://dadons-laserdiscs.com/Sneak-Prev ... -LaserDisc but apparently that site both sells and records information about rare LaserDiscs and the guy didn't know where the information about the disc originally could have come from.

[Bolt96]

Ha, The Box! It seems i've had a few memories with that one. Back when I was a little kid my cousin dared me to order some rock song called "zip lock" if i remember right. Lol being the 'daredevil' I was of course I did it. I got into some big trouble later on though!

[kwest93]

I had an idea for THE BOX. it was like a PPV Channel But for Music Videos. you had to call a number then put the Pin Numbers of that video you want to Vote For.

the channel ran on an analog UHF Antenna Channel or Basic Cable Channel. The Box began in 1993-Ish and ran until 1999. after that Some stations in the US,Canada and UK Replaced them with either MTV 2 (Videos Only),History Channel (one person said) or America's Store (that became Defunct until 2007 because of HSN and QVC.)

in my area it was hosted on Former KTFK Channel 23 In Sacramento, it was a Spanish channel called Telefutura (Now UniMas) KTFK had to move to Channel 64 by 2004 and 23 became HSN on the same year.

As for The Box. here is a Example.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCf4203RnLM

i was thinking maybe i could simulate the video listings from that. what do you think? also because of the copyrighted music im gonna use the logos and that one song on that video only when i do a video.
(funny thing they also used Amigas for this.)

[AriX]

kwest93, I merged your post with the existing thread on The Box so that we can keep it all in one place!

[kwest93]

kwest93, I merged your post with the existing thread on The Box so that we can keep it all in one place!

thanks i forgot we had one. because i was going to update more about it.

[tin]

Interesting! Did they really use Amigas for it? I could not find any evidence of that back when I was looking, because of course, I'd like to own one of those too! I reckon the laserjukes used are exceptionally rare tho.

The box of course has been killed by internet (where people can get what they want immediately) , the proliferation of other music channels and that local cable is almost all but gone (so there's 1000s of people requesting stuff on one channel rather than one).

However back in the day I remember sitting in the pub marveling at the TV screens they had with the Box on it! The pub had local cable and we didn't!

I wonder how financially viable a modern-day box would be. They're talking about setting up uber-local TV over here in the UK on terrestrial, and I wondered how feasible it would be to create something (probably HTML5 again) that would fill the downtime with a genuinely local video jukebox. For the technical challenge of course

Oh BTW that Zig n Zag track that you see a tiny bit of at 0:30 is the most amazing tune ever!

[kwest93]

Interesting! Did they really use Amigas for it? I could not find any evidence of that back when I was looking, because of course, I'd like to own one of those too! I reckon the laserjukes used are exceptionally rare tho.

The box of course has been killed by internet (where people can get what they want immediately) , the proliferation of other music channels and that local cable is almost all but gone (so there's 1000s of people requesting stuff on one channel rather than one).

However back in the day I remember sitting in the pub marveling at the TV screens they had with the Box on it! The pub had local cable and we didn't!

I wonder how financially viable a modern-day box would be. They're talking about setting up uber-local TV over here in the UK on terrestrial, and I wondered how feasible it would be to create something (probably HTML5 again) that would fill the downtime with a genuinely local video jukebox. For the technical challenge of course

Oh BTW that Zig n Zag track that you see a tiny bit of at 0:30 is the most amazing tune ever!

at least we have Havoc and Music Choice Swerv on AT&T U-Verse. but instead of paying for videos you can just vote online.

in fact in 2007 Directv and Havoc had a Channel Block when they were 101 channel. it was setup exactly like the box. but instead you Text with phones. the bad part about it was message and data plans. and you could Chat on TV witch was also texting.

that zig & Zag video is really clear by itself hard to believe. it looked like something VEVO would upload.