Telestrator

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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.

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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