Looking for an Ampex ADO or similar Vintage DVE system

V

va-vid

Member
I know that no one in this forum is much interested in vintage analog equipment, but I bet there are some old timers like me around. I'm a video artist in need of a functional DVE system with target frame store capability, to make "trails." These are typically large, heavy multi-box systems (the very definition of obsolete). I know that there must be a few that missed the trip to the dump hiding in closets and collecting dust. I'm looking for suggestions for how to find one. Ebay is a joke. Periodically a console interface box shows up, but it is useless without the rest.
 
If I still had the NEC DVE (I bought used from Osmond Studios around 1988) I'd be happy to let you have it for free . . . if you could afford the shipping. If I recall, the operator's console weighed about 30 lbs. and the rack-mount guts of thing was probably over 50 lbs. It gave me some great capabilities for it's day, but now my iPhone has 100x more power. How times have changed.

I hadn't thought about that DVE for years. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Also brings up memories of my old Quanta CG, Chyron, Video Toaster, VideoCube, Strataspehere, Paltex Abner, Pyxis, and tons more obsolete stuff. But it all earned good money, so no regrets.
 
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va-vid said:
I know that no one in this forum is much interested in vintage analog equipment, but I bet there are some old timers like me around. I'm a video artist in need of a functional DVE system with target frame store capability, to make "trails." These are typically large, heavy multi-box systems (the very definition of obsolete). I know that there must be a few that missed the trip to the dump hiding in closets and collecting dust. I'm looking for suggestions for how to find one. Ebay is a joke. Periodically a console interface box shows up, but it is useless without the rest.
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WOW! An ADO. Ampex's ground braking DVE. Down here, it was AU$110.000 for a single channel of ADO-100. Add another $90K if you wanted a second channel. Everybody was doing page-turns and page-rolls to death. But back then we were getting $800 an hour for editing on an online three 'C' format 1" machine CMX based suite.

In fact, my first major online NLE was a discreet edit* suite running a Targa RTX card with a real-time 3D Abekas Dveous card, which was basically an ADO-100 in an NLE environment.

Your post got me curious. I see a linear suite one sold here for $86.00. Good luck in finding one!

Chris Young

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...08&acctid=1581

 
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va-vid said:
I know that no one in this forum is much interested in vintage analog equipment, but I bet there are some old timers like me around. I'm a video artist in need of a functional DVE system with target frame store capability, to make "trails." These are typically large, heavy multi-box systems (the very definition of obsolete). I know that there must be a few that missed the trip to the dump hiding in closets and collecting dust. I'm looking for suggestions for how to find one. Ebay is a joke. Periodically a console interface box shows up, but it is useless without the rest.
Click to expand...
Greetings, I DO have a complete Ampex ADO-100 - TWO CHANNEL! With all the fixin's including some old 5-inch floppies from the last user (US Air Force Academy). I bought the system in a government surplus auction thinking I could use it - but I found out it needs 220v power which my shop was never set up with. It's been stored in an outdoor container ever since, so no climate control, and hopefully - no mice. No reasonable offers refused! Thanx, Tom
 
Aztec said:
Greetings, I DO have a complete Ampex ADO-100 - TWO CHANNEL! With all the fixin's including some old 5-inch floppies from the last user (US Air Force Academy). I bought the system in a government surplus auction thinking I could use it - but I found out it needs 220v power which my shop was never set up with. It's been stored in an outdoor container ever since, so no climate control, and hopefully - no mice. No reasonable offers refused! Thanx, Tom
Click to expand...
PS I'll post photos soon.
 
I'm curious now, because while I supervised a few post sessions with legit ADO effects back in those days (and did my best to duplicate some of it with much lower end gear in the small facility I worked in), I am wondering what this trail effect is that can't be duplicated digitally. Was it like a video feedback effect with the kind of decay that is much easier to replicate in analog, and is it possible that no-one has found a way to emulate that with modern gear? Please post an example! Of course if it is more about the fun and nostalgia of using the original gear than the actual results, perfectly understandable also.
 
Aztec's dual channel 100 sounds great if it's all working. All SD 4:3 but they were a great tool in their day. Back in the late '80s early or early '90s Sony brought out the poor man's ADO. The single channel Sony DFS-500. (Digital Frame Store 500) I had a couple of them in our edit bays. Both fitted with the optional lighting and trails board. For the price they were a big break through as they could do page turns with lighting effects, drop shadows and trails etc. The trails were programmable for duration, color and decay. You may pick up one of those on eBay or likewise.

Just be mindful, a hell of a lot of this old equipment if not powered up for ages can have dried out capacitors. If that happens, you are up for a lot of money to fix them. It was cheaper to buy replacement boards from Sony. Even back in the late '90s... or was it the early 2000s? I can't remember now? A replacement main board was around about $3K!


Chris Young.
 
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