Adrian Ettlinger Explained

Adrian Ettlinger (January 26, 1925 – October 23, 2013[1]) was an American electrical engineer and software developer and a pioneer in television and video technology. He has been described as a "visionary"[2] and the "legendary" "engineering father"[3] of non-linear video editing, and has been recognized for his contributions to a range of technologies important to the advancement of television and video as well as several other accomplishments.

Early life

Ettlinger was born on January 26, 1925, and studied Electrical Engineering at Purdue University, graduating in 1944.[4]

Family

Adrian Ettlinger's parents were Eli and Ruth Ettlinger, his sister Geraldine. He was married to Carol Burns Ettlinger and had two children: Michael Ettlinger and Amanda. He was also the nephew of Hyman Ettlinger who served on the Math faculty and as a football coach at the University of Texas for many years and authored notable math text books.

Work at CBS

Ettlinger entered the world of television engineering when he joined the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) as an electrical engineer. While at CBS, among other innovations, he:

Post-CBS Video Editing and Lighting Control Work

After leaving CBS in 1970, Ettlinger worked as a consultant and with several technology companies. Skirpan Lighting Control marketed the lighting system that he had developed while at CBS after CBS chose not to pursue commercial applications. Installations of the system included Wolf Trap Farm Park outside Washington DC, all three of the major television networks of the time, as well as other theatrical installations.[11] He also participated in the development of the "CBS-Sony" editing system.

He then developed the "Ediflex" video editing system and co-founded the company Cinedco to market it. This system received an Emmy award in 1986, was widely used in both television and film productions, and was important to the broadening acceptance and use of non-linear video editing.[12] [13]

Awards and recognition

Ettlinger was the 1976 recipient of the David Sarnoff Medal from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. The Sarnoff medal is awarded annually for contributions to television engineering. He was given the award ”[f]or his important contributions to the application of computers to on-air television station switching control, for conceiving of the application of video disc stop-action systems to sports broadcasts, and for contributions to computer control of studio lighting systems and videotape editing systems.”

In 1996 Videography magazine, in its 20th anniversary publication The Age of Videography, named Ettlinger as one of the 18, then-living, "People Who Made a Difference" in video production technology, calling him "[t]he father of modern video post [production]."[14] He was profiled in Post: The Magazine for Post Production Professionals as "The Father of Electronic Editing."[15]

To Every U.S. County and other accomplishments

After retiring from the television industry Ettlinger engaged in a number of other projects of note. In July 1993 he completed a decades-long effort of visiting every county in the United States, with the last being Blanco County, TX. In honor of this accomplishment Ettlinger and his wife, Carol Burns Ettlinger, were made honorary citizens of the county by Judge Charles Scott.[16]

Ettlinger had also walked every street in Manhattan end-to-end in the 1950s into the early 1960s. Another earlier activity was running as the Democratic candidate for mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971, advocating for a local fair housing ordinance. He also served as chairman of the Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Democratic Committee.[17]

AniMap

In connection with his interest in counties, Ettlinger developed the program AniMap which allows the user to see the county outline map of any state in any year. This has proved useful for those studying genealogy.[18]

FreeCell-related Research and Development

Another post-career project was co-authoring of an enhanced FreeCell implementation called FreeCell Pro. FreeCell Pro was inspired by the FreeCell implementation that shipped with Microsoft Windows, and tried to stay compatible with it, but does not share code. FreeCell Pro provides many features useful to FreeCell researchers, including integration with some automated FreeCell solvers, starting from an enhanced version of the Freecell solver written by Don Woods.[19] [20]

Railroads

Ettlinger also had a lifelong interest in railroads. He authored a number of the entries in the Encyclopedia of North American Railroads, developed software that allows the user to see the railroad map of southern New England for any year and was the webmaster for the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society and the New York Railroad Enthusiasts, and a member of the Lexington Group.[21]

Death

On October 23, 2013 Adrian Ettlinger died peacefully at home in Carmel NY. The cause was congestive heart failure.

Notes and References

  1. News: Adrian Ettlinger . Obituaries . The Rivertowns Enterprise . W.H. White. November 1, 2013 . 31 .
  2. Web site: Editing: Tracks in the Sand . Ankeney . Jay . September 17, 2003 . TVTechnology . NewBayMedia . 29 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131109141501/http://www.tvtechnology.com/editing/0153/editing-tracks-in-the-sand/183749 . 9 November 2013 . dead .
  3. Book: John. Buck. Timeline, A History of Editing . Enriched Books . Melbourne. 348, 448. 1988 . 978-0-646-49224-7.
  4. Web site: Electrical and Computer Engineering Class of 1944 . Purdue University . Purdue University.
  5. Ettlinger . Adrian B . September 1, 1961 . CBS-KNXT Computer Control System for Program Switching . SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal . 70 . 9 . 691–695 . Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers . July 29, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160403045937/http://journal.smpte.org/content/70/9/691.abstract . April 3, 2016 . 10.5594/j09377 . live.
  6. Web site: The David Sarnoff Medal Award Recipients . Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers . https://web.archive.org/web/20140201214348/https://www.smpte.org/about/awards-programs/Sarnoff . February 1, 2014 . live . July 29, 2013 .
  7. Web site: Interview with Adrian Ettlinger . Fish . Shlomi . August 21, 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130809014810/http://www.shlomifish.org/open-source/interviews/adrian-ettlinger.html . August 9, 2013 . live . July 29, 2013 .
  8. Web site: YOU SAW IT ON CBS FIRST . CBS Press Express . https://archive.today/20130803050520/http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-sports/media-guides/the-nfl-on-cbs/document?id=33 . August 3, 2013 . live . July 30, 2013 .
  9. - US . 3898643 . patent . ELECTRONIC DISPLAY CONTROLLED STAGE LIGHTING SYSTEM . 1975 . Aug 24, 1973 . Adrian Ettlinger. .
    - Ettlinger . Adrian B . Bonsignore . Salvatore J . April 1, 1972 . A CBS Computerized Lighting Control System . SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal . 81 . 4 . 277–281 . Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers . July 30, 2013 . https://www.webcitation.org/6IV6ttz0t?url=http://journal.smpte.org/content/81/4/277.short?related-urls=yes&legid=smptej%3B81%2F4%2F277 . July 30, 2013 . 10.5594/j08272 . dead.
    - Web site: Control . Rubin . Joel E. . March 1, 2000 . Live Design . New York . https://www.webcitation.org/6IV86g3gU?url=http://livedesignonline.com/mag/control . July 30, 2013 . live . July 30, 2013.
  10. - US . 3721757 . patent . METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY EDITING. TELEVISION INFORMATION . Mar 20, 1973 . Feb 8, 1971 . Ettlinger, Adrian B. . Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. .
    - Book: Rubin . Michael . Diamond . Ron . Nonlinear: a field guide to digital video and film editing . 4th . August 2000 . 1991 . Triad Publishing Company . Gainesville . 978-0-937404-85-0 . 46 . 1971: The CMX 600/200 combination costs $500,000 and is patented by CBS, its inventor is Adrian Ettlinger. . registration .
    - Web site: CMX Model 600 . Museum of Early Video Editing Equipment and Techniques . https://www.webcitation.org/6ITdmIk06?url=http://www.vtoldboys.com/editingmuseum/cmx600.htm . July 29, 2013 . live . July 29, 2013.
    - ADVANCED ELECTRONIC POST-PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY TAKES ITS CUE FROM JVC . JVC . Wayne, NJ . 2013-07-29 . https://www.webcitation.org/6ITYetDFx?url=http://pro.jvc.com/pro/users/appl/A1043.htm . July 29, 2013 . live . Ettlinger has won three Emmy's for his contributions to CMX 600 (the first real time preview system) and other systems, as well as the David Sarnoff Gold Medal of SMPTE in 1976 for life achievements..
    - Turner . Bob . CMX RIP . Videography . 1997 . Miller Freeman PSN . July 29, 2013 . https://www.webcitation.org/6ITZtkAa2?url=http://www.editorsbench.com/documents/cmxrip.html . July 29, 2013 . dead.
  11. March 1978 . AUTOCUE ASTRAL Stage Lighting Control Systems (Advertisement) . SMPTE Journal . 87 . 3 . 197 . Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers . July 30, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160403045937/http://journal.smpte.org/content/87/3/local/advertising.pdf . April 3, 2016 . live.
  12. Book: John. Buck. Timeline, A History of Editing . Enriched Books . Melbourne. 1988 . 448 . 978-0-646-49224-7.
  13. News: NBC LEADS EMMY WINNERS WITH 15 HONORS IN BEHIND-SCENES CATEGORIES . Associated Press . Padadena, CA . September 8, 1986 . July 30, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150928230637/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1986/NBC-Leads-Emmy-Winners-With-15-Honors-In-Behind-Scenes-Categories/id-b0bef37b4cc86b35ea770cb2443d3dc4 . September 28, 2015 . live.
  14. Book: McKernan . Brian . The Age of Videography . limited . Miller-Freeman PSN . 73 . New York . 1996 . 0-87930-477-4.
  15. Eller . Claudia . The Father of Electronic Editing: Adrian Ettlinger. Post: The Magazine for Post Production Professionals. 34–47 . 1986 .
  16. News: County collector's visit to Blanco completes quest . Mark . Holan . Blanco County News . Blanco County, TX . July 14, 1993 . 1 . When Adrian Ettlinger, 68, walked across the imaginary line into Blanco County, he completed a fifty year journey of tens of thousands of miles..
  17. News: Hastings Democrats Name Fusion Ticket at Caucus . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616205153/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2017/Ossining%20NY%20Reminder%20Weekly%20News/Ossining%20NY%20Reminder%20Weekly%20News%201970-1971/Ossining%20NY%20Reminder%20Weekly%20News%201970-1971%20-%200352.pdf . dead . June 16, 2022 . The Reminder Weekly News . John Lambert . Ossining, NY . February 17, 1971 . 1 . September 22, 2013 .
  18. Web site: AniMap County Boundary Software . The Gold Bug . https://web.archive.org/web/20130628071024/http://goldbug.com/animap/ . June 28, 2013 . live . July 30, 2013.
  19. Web site: FreeCell FAQ . Solitaire Library . https://web.archive.org/web/20130719194533/http://www.solitairelaboratory.com/fcfaq.html . July 19, 2013 . live . August 12, 2013.
  20. Web site: Don Woods' Freecell Solver.
  21. - Book: Encyclopedia of North American Railroads . Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana University Press . 2007 . 978-0-253-34916-3 .
    - September 2013 . President's Notes . Bulletin . New York Railroad Enthusiasts . 35 . 8 . https://www.webcitation.org/6Ke5Sv63A?url=http://www.nyrre.org/nbv35n8.htm . October 26, 2013 . October 25, 2013 . dead . mdy-all.
    - Web site: The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. . RLHS . https://www.webcitation.org/6IVVQ3oV9?url=http://www.rlhs.org/ . July 30, 2013 . live . July 30, 2013.
    - Web site: The Lexington Group in Transportation History . https://www.webcitation.org/6IVVkZiFv?url=http://2002.dsn.org/ . July 30, 2013 . live . July 30, 2013.

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