The telestrator is a device that allows its operator to draw a freehand sketch over a motion picture image.

History

The telestrator was invented by physicist Leonard Reiffel, who used it to draw illustrations on a series of science shows he did for public television in the late 1960s. The user interface for early telestrators required the user to draw on a TV screen with a light pen, whereas modern implementations are commonly controlled with a touch screen or tablet PC.

Today telestrators are widely used in broadcasts of all major sports. They have also become a useful tool in televised weather reports.

Telestration in sports coverage

The telestrator's major network debut came in 1982, when the CBS television network introduced it as the "CBS Chalkboard" during coverage of American football games. Announcer John Madden utilized the device effectively to diagram football plays on the viewers' television screens, including during the Super Bowl XVI broadcast, and is generally credited with popularizing the use of telestration during sports commentary.

Other notable telestrator users include:

• Mike Fratello, who received the moniker "The Czar of the Telestrator" from Marv Albert for his masterful way of diagramming basketball plays on screen during his days as a color commentator for NBC and TNT

• Bert Blyleven, Minnesota Twins color commentator, famous for using his telestrator to circle Twins fans at ball games

• Australian football commentators Dennis Cometti and Garry Lyon

• Mike Krukow for "eliminating" fans attending a San Francisco Giants baseball game.

• WWE professional wrestler and color commentator Jerry Lawler utilized the "Magistrator" to draw insulting things on babyface wrestlers during match replays in the mid-1990s.

External links and references

• Telestrator Invention Wins Emmy Just In Time For Super Bowl (Feb. 7, 2005)
• John Madden on Gridiron Tech Wired News: Oakes, Chris (Jan. 22, 1999)

Television technology | Film and video technology | National Football League on television | The NFL on CBS | National Basketball Association media | Major League Baseball media | National Hockey League media