Cablelink Link Channel

Anyone remember this on Dublin's Cablelink network? Started at 5pm each evening when The Children's Channel was cut off. For the most part it just broadcast text ads accompanied by audio from a radio station, usually 2FM. But I remembered tuning in one night around 9pm to be greeted by this (albeit from 3sat rather than ZDF):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=974WFtF_6Pk

Cablelink recorded European news and broadcast it in a segment from around 8 or 9 onwards during the mid 1990s. They literally recorded it onto VHS tape, I remembered trying to open the teletext and it was showing typical VHS interference, the P100 marker was swaying about. I seem to recall news recorded from Rai and TVE also.

Another memory of the channel was from New Year's Day 1995, they never switched the TCC signal off and Dublin was treated to The Family Channel for the whole night. Just thought I'd share my memories of something which certainly is confined to history.

icdg

A page I put together about five years ago....

http://www.iolfree.ie/~icdg/local_link.htm

Happy memories...

The concept for DCTV is not a million miles away...

highdef

The Link Channel actually made it all the way to the 21st century. I think it was 2002 when it finally disappeared. Oh, and the foreign news that was recorded was from Spain, Germany and Italy. It was TVE, 3-Sat and Rai Uno. And the broadcasts were actually recorded onto broadcast SVHS decks :rolleyes:
They did the job but quality on them did go downhill as the final bells tolled for the demise of this community channel. The funny thing is that if any one of the news bulletins did not play out, we usually got a good few calls in complaining so there was a market for news bulletins from overseas even back then when there were fewer foreign nationals living here.

kevinray

hey would anyone know if cablelink has an archive,cause i was in a northside dublin band in the mid nineties and a crew came in from the link channel and interviewed us when we were in recording a song and then it was shown on the link channel that weekend as part of their programme i'd love to get a copy of it..

highdef

Afraid there are no archives of the actual playout broadcasts however there are copies of the old recordings but I don't think of every show.

kevinray

cheers for getting back....do u know where i cud get these copies of the old recordings?..

highdef

I know who may have the archive recording but I'm afraid the chances of getting a copy are around slim to nil. Sorry

icdg

We don't drag up old threads, even here.