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The TV instant replay machine: Rhodri Marsden’s Interesting Objects No.90 | Tech | Lifestyle | The Independent

“Verna’s idea centred on using a spare audio track on the tape to record short clips whenever anything interesting happened. It usually took minutes to cue up videotape, but this system meant engineers could instantly hear where to rewind to, so could work in seconds. As the game got under way, Verna wrestled with the machine. The tape already contained an episode of I Love Lucy, and it took more than 30 attempts to get a replay that didn’t feature a faint outline of Lucille Ball. But finally, in the fourth quarter, the machine was ready. Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh scored. Seconds later, TV viewers saw him score again. Lindsey Nelson, the announcer, yelled by way of explanation: “Ladies and gentlemen – Army has NOT scored again!” After the game, Nelson said to Verna: “What you’ve done today is non-retractable. People are going to expect instant replays … it’s never going to go away.” Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan described it as a “post-convergent moment in the world of television”. In 1995, Verna received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of America.”