I will try and list as much information as I can on this camera. Please excuse me if I make a few mistakes, as I only have information passed on to me by the previous owners at Zenith. Any corrections would be welcome!

My BTS HDTV Camera!

BTS KCH 1000
Lens is a Fujinon 14 X 12.5

This beautiful camera is a BTS Saticon Tube HD camera riginally designed for multiple HDTV scanning formats by changing boards.
This camera that I now own, was built with non-exchangable boards, and is set to the format of 1280 X 720P I think it was built around 1991. 59.94Hz, with a total line count alternating at 787/788.
This camera cost $800.000.00! Yes, NO JOKE! Zenith had to pay not only for the camera, but for the R&D TOO!!

This camera was originally used to tape the progressive test material for the FCC HDTV Advisory Committee, at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. This camera also was used to tape HD coverage of a few political conventions and even a Chicago Bulls game!!! And some of the first HD coverage of a parade! The 4th of July Parade in Evanston, Il.

This camera was DONATED to my camera museum, and is the pride of my collection! Yes, a real piece of history! I have it working, and can only view the video in RGB on a Sony computer monitor that came with the camera.
As far as I know, only three of these cameras were ever built! I have one, one went to NBC, and the other to Bell Labs in Murry Hill.

I will have more information on the camera soon. Please check back!

A fun note!!!! Zenith retubed this camera only once. I know why!!!
It cost them $85,000.00 to do it!!!!
I want to thank everyone at Zenith for all the work they did to get the SEVEN cases of equipment to my house!
And thank everyone who was involved in donating this camera to my collection.

Last modified on Wednesday, March 07, 2001