Broadcast Standards... at DVinfo.net

Chris Staab · November 2nd, 2005, 06:58 PM

I tried doing a search with no luck and was just wondering what the standards were for delivering Commercial Spots to various stations... the main thing that i am after is in terms of timecode... how long should the bars and tone be... how much space of black should there be between that and the slate, also how long should the slate be, and when in timecode should the spot start...

i remember something along the lines as the program should start at 1hour, but the rest i cant remember...

thanks in advance...

Peter Wiley · November 2nd, 2005, 07:10 PM

It depends on the station and network

see for example http://www.pbs.org/producers/redbook/

Brian Gauthier · November 3rd, 2005, 04:51 AM

That’s not actually what I meant when asking...

All I need to refresh my memory is what the standard for the start of the program in terms of time code, and how long each of the other items before the program are...

The barcode / tone and the slate with black in-between...

Bar / tone @ 00;59;00;00 - 00;59;30;00

Black @ 00;59;30;00 - 00;59;35;00

Slate @ 00;59;35;00 - 00;59;55;00

Black @ 00;59;55;00 - 01;00;00;00

Start of program @ 1;00;00;00 - to what ever the length of the program is and what station its going to...

This is what I recall doing for Warner Bros... But don’t know for sure as it was a few years ago... I have been dealing with news production for too long to remember for sure since we are such a speed oriented style of TV programming...

Thanks in advance

<BUT> first post was logged in under another account... <END BUT>

Glenn Chan · November 6th, 2005, 03:09 AM

It might vary from station to station- try asking them for their standards.

In PAL / Europe it's semi-standardized. There are the CHEFF specs.
No such thing for NTSC/North America as far as I know.

One broadcaster in Toronto wanted non-drop frame timecode instead of drop-frame... I think that was a little perverse. So you may have to ask them or guess.

November 2nd, 2005, 06:58 PM	#1
Chris Staab Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hawaii Posts: 51	Broadcast Standards... I tried doing a search with no luck and was just wondering what the standards were for delivering Commercial Spots to various stations... the main thing that i am after is in terms of timecode... how long should the bars and tone be... how much space of black should there be between that and the slate, also how long should the slate be, and when in timecode should the spot start... i remember something along the lines as the program should start at 1hour, but the rest i cant remember... thanks in advance...

November 2nd, 2005, 07:10 PM	#2
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	It depends on the station and network see for example http://www.pbs.org/producers/redbook/

November 3rd, 2005, 04:51 AM	#3
Brian Gauthier Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: honolulu, hi Posts: 54	That’s not actually what I meant when asking... All I need to refresh my memory is what the standard for the start of the program in terms of time code, and how long each of the other items before the program are... The barcode / tone and the slate with black in-between... Bar / tone @ 00;59;00;00 - 00;59;30;00 Black @ 00;59;30;00 - 00;59;35;00 Slate @ 00;59;35;00 - 00;59;55;00 Black @ 00;59;55;00 - 01;00;00;00 Start of program @ 1;00;00;00 - to what ever the length of the program is and what station its going to... This is what I recall doing for Warner Bros... But don’t know for sure as it was a few years ago... I have been dealing with news production for too long to remember for sure since we are such a speed oriented style of TV programming... Thanks in advance <BUT> first post was logged in under another account... <END BUT>

November 6th, 2005, 03:09 AM	#4
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	It might vary from station to station- try asking them for their standards. In PAL / Europe it's semi-standardized. There are the CHEFF specs. No such thing for NTSC/North America as far as I know. One broadcaster in Toronto wanted non-drop frame timecode instead of drop-frame... I think that was a little perverse. So you may have to ask them or guess.