Frederic Melton
Cyberstar, initially known as Cybervision, was an initiative to introduce video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations. The first iteration of Cybervision was tested in January 1987 in Arlington, Texas, using Betamax tapes. The Cyberstar system was used to control the animatronics' movements in Chuck E. Cheese's 3-stage control room. While the Cyberstar system was replaced by Weigl Controls in 2012, it is unclear whether Chuck E. Cheese's 3-stage control room still uses the Cyberstar system.
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What You'll Learn
- The Cyberstar system was used to control Chuck E. Cheese's animatronics
- Cyberstar was also known as Cybervision
- It was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all Showbiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations
- The system was custom-made by TRIAD Productions
- The last known program was released in July 1989
The Cyberstar system was used to control Chuck E. Cheese's animatronics
Cyberstar, initially known as Cybervision, was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations. The project began in January 1987, with the Arlington, TX store testing the first iteration of Cybervision using Betamax tapes. The tapes featured shots of the stage, providing different viewing angles for the audience.
The Cyberstar system itself was a unit that controlled the animatronics' movements. It was custom-made by TRIAD Productions and consisted of a card cage, DVD player, A/V switcher, LCD display, and television. The DVD player (formerly a VCR) was connected to the Cyberstar, with the DVD containing the show video, audio, and inaudible signals. The signal channel was sent to the Cyberstar, which then retrieved and decoded the signals before sending them to the greybox or Card Cage.
The Cyberstar system was referenced in the 1989-91 intro's music and graphics, which depicted the Cyberstar sending programming signals to the animatronics.
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Cyberstar was also known as Cybervision
Cyberstar, initially known as Cybervision, was an initiative to introduce video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations. The project began in January 1987 with test markets, but it wasn't until 1989 that it was fully implemented, and it was completed by 1990. The first tests of the system, then known as Cybervision, were conducted using Betamax tapes in the Arlington, TX, store. Every showtape from then on would be produced on video, with footage of the stage performances from various angles for the audience to view. Unfortunately, all the tapes from 1987 have been lost, except for segments that were rereleased for later shows.
The name Cybervision was derived from the system's technical specifications. The system was designed to run a 3-stage show with stereo audio and utilised the two longitudinal tracks for character data. The name was changed to Cyberstar in 1989 when it was trademarked. From this point on, separate manuals for ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's were produced.
The Cyberstar system was also used to control the Chuck E. Cheese Cyberamics, animatronic versions of Chuck E. Cheese, which replaced the Fantasy Forest bots. These bots were originally controlled using the Cyberamic Control System.
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It was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all Showbiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations
Cyberstar, initially known as Cybervision, was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations. The initiative began in January 1987 with test markets, and was fully implemented by 1990. The first tests were conducted at the Arlington, TX location, using betamax tapes. Every showtape going forward would have video tapes produced. The videos would consist of shots of the stage performing to acquire different viewing angles for the audience. All of the 1987 video tapes have been lost, except when their segments were rereleased for later shows.
The name Cybervision was coined by Paul and me, who played around with a couple of VCR formats, VHS HiFi and Beta HiFi. These formats used the rotating head on a VCR to record a much higher-quality audio signal. Some professional decks were just starting to become available with the ability to record audio not only on the longitudinal tracks (standard) but also on the HiFi tracks. This meant that they were capable of playing back four audio channels and video simultaneously.
By March 1989, the showtapes changed again to receive new countdown sequences between segments, referencing the new name “Cyberstar” that would be trademarked the same year. These segments would also contain music tracks for the intermissions, replacing the need for the ShowBiz Pizza Program cassettes that had been used since late 1986. In July, the last known program, ShowBiz Pizza Program 18, was released. This may indicate that by this point, enough stores had been converted, removing the need for cassette production. An unknown number of stores still had the old reel systems going into 1990, and it is unclear when the nationwide conversion was completed.
The Cyberstar was a unit that controlled the animatronics' movements. It was custom-made by TRIAD Productions and consisted of a card cage, DVD player, A/V switcher, LCD display, and television. A DVD player (formerly a VCR) was connected to the Cyberstar. The DVD contained the show video along with the audio (on the right audio channel) and inaudible signals (on the left audio channel). The signal channel was sent to the Cyberstar, which retrieved and decoded the signals. The Cyberstar then sent signals to the grey box (on 3-Stages) or the Card Cage (on Cyberamic shows).
The 3-stage control room at Chuck E. Cheese still has the red Showbiz Pizza carpet and the instructions for the Cyberstar, saying "Showbiz Pizza Place". This room has been unaffected by the 21st century.
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The system was custom-made by TRIAD Productions
Cyberstar, previously known as Cybervision, was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations. The project began in January 1987 with the first iteration of Cybervision being tested in Arlington, Texas, using Betamax tapes. The name was later changed to Cyberstar, and the project was trademarked in 1989.
The Cyberstar system was custom-made by TRIAD Productions. It controls the animatronics' movements. A DVD player (formerly a VCR) is connected to the Cyberstar unit. The DVD contains the show video, audio on the right channel, and inaudible signals on the left channel. The signal channel is sent to the Cyberstar, which retrieves and decodes the signals. The Cyberstar then sends signals to the greybox (on 3-Stages) or the Card Cage (on Cyberamic shows). The data is carried to the greybox (on 3-Stages) via a 26-pin ribbon cable and, on Cyberamic shows, from the CPU card through the backplane board to the character driver boards.
During the conversion to Cyberstar, certain parts of the old computer were no longer needed and were removed, such as the decoder board called the playback board (on 3-Stages). The Cyberstar has undergone several Eprom changes over the years. In early 2012, the Cyberstar units were replaced by Weigl Controls, starting with Studio C.
The Chuck E Cheese Cyberamics were animatronic versions of Chuck E Cheese, which were produced by Pizza Time Theatre from 1979 to 1983 as replacements for the Fantasy Forest bots. The bots were originally controlled using the Cyberamic Control System, but this was later changed to the Cyberstar system and the Navori System.
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The last known program was released in July 1989
Cyberstar, also known as Cybervision, was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations. The first iteration of Cybervision was tested in January 1987 using Betamax tapes. The last known program, ShowBiz Pizza Program 18, was released in July 1989. This may suggest that by this time, enough stores had been converted, and cassette production was no longer required.
The Cyberstar system was a custom-made unit by TRIAD Productions that controlled the animatronics' movements. The unit consisted of a card cage, DVD player, A/V switcher, LCD display, and television. The DVD player, which replaced the VCR, would decode inaudible signals from the DVD, which contained the show video and audio. The signals would then be sent to the greybox or the Card Cage.
The Cyberstar system was eventually replaced by Weigl Controls in 2012, starting with Studio C. However, the exact date of the nationwide conversion from the old reel systems to Cyberstar is unclear. Some stores still had the old reel systems going into 1990, and the last known CEC reel was for September 1990.
The Chuck E. Cheese Cyberamics were animatronic versions of Chuck E. Cheese, produced by Pizza Time Theatre from 1979 to 1983. The bots were controlled using the Cyberamic Control System, which was later changed to the Cyberstar system. The animatronics were designed to replace the Fantasy Forest bots, which were handmade and not cost-effective.
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Frequently asked questions
Cyberstar, known initially as Cybervision, was an initiative to bring video showtapes to all ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre locations.
The use of Cyberstar began in January 1987 through test markets, was properly started by 1989, and was completed sometime in 1990.
Cyberstar was a unit that controlled the animatronics' movements. It was custom-made by TRIAD Productions.
In early 2012, the Cyberstar units were replaced by Weigl Controls, starting with Studio C.
