whirlcool
Well-known member
Here is another Philco Prototype color tv from 1953, and the tube was made by Sylvania.
Vintage colour tv anyone?
- Thread starter rickr
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What a neat TV Rick
My family also Canadian also spells it the right way.
Whirlcool, our 1968 RCA was a tube set, and boy WHAT COLOR that had, I still remember how vivid The Tonight Show was!
My family also Canadian also spells it the right way.
Whirlcool, our 1968 RCA was a tube set, and boy WHAT COLOR that had, I still remember how vivid The Tonight Show was!
whirlcool
Well-known member
Jetcone:
It's funny that you bring up how colorful things were when you watched television in color. I felt the same way. In fact, watching "The Price Is Right" the other day I took note of how colorful the set was. It's a painters palette of colors!
We have a 1969 Zenith 12" B&W portable set we have in the garage that I use sometimes when I am out there. Believe it or not is still works! I haven't purchased an ATSC tuner for it yet though. The last time I watched a show on it, I thought how strange it was that this was the way we actually watched television before color.
It's funny that you bring up how colorful things were when you watched television in color. I felt the same way. In fact, watching "The Price Is Right" the other day I took note of how colorful the set was. It's a painters palette of colors!
We have a 1969 Zenith 12" B&W portable set we have in the garage that I use sometimes when I am out there. Believe it or not is still works! I haven't purchased an ATSC tuner for it yet though. The last time I watched a show on it, I thought how strange it was that this was the way we actually watched television before color.
Zenith Color
It should be noted as Norgeway correctly pointed out, Zenith did indeed design their own circuitry, as they did not want to license RCA's design. As a result, Zenith's color de-modulator circuit was a poor substitute to RCA's and as such produced inferior color.
It was a stupid decision, as Zenith, in all other ways, made a very fine television set - oh yeah - except for their ingenious but ultimately stupid Space Command wireless remote control. Ingenious in that it required no batteries; stupid in that all their remotes only allotted three sound levels, seemingly none correct. And their pinnacle remote, the Space Command 600, five-function remote (whoops, that's seven if placed in mute) was a bit of a joke even back then as the added two functions - the tint up down control, moved in steps, again often none correct. Also, common to all units, the relatively small spring wires, supporting the tuned rods which provided the individualized signals for each function, often broke, rendering one or more functions intermittent or useless.
But it was part of an exciting new technology back then and who am I to complain? (Color de-modulator circuit, notwithstanding).
It should be noted as Norgeway correctly pointed out, Zenith did indeed design their own circuitry, as they did not want to license RCA's design. As a result, Zenith's color de-modulator circuit was a poor substitute to RCA's and as such produced inferior color.
It was a stupid decision, as Zenith, in all other ways, made a very fine television set - oh yeah - except for their ingenious but ultimately stupid Space Command wireless remote control. Ingenious in that it required no batteries; stupid in that all their remotes only allotted three sound levels, seemingly none correct. And their pinnacle remote, the Space Command 600, five-function remote (whoops, that's seven if placed in mute) was a bit of a joke even back then as the added two functions - the tint up down control, moved in steps, again often none correct. Also, common to all units, the relatively small spring wires, supporting the tuned rods which provided the individualized signals for each function, often broke, rendering one or more functions intermittent or useless.
But it was part of an exciting new technology back then and who am I to complain? (Color de-modulator circuit, notwithstanding).
whirlcool
Well-known member
I don't know, but IMHO I always found 1964-1970 RCA sets to have a overall green tint to the picture and the color often is garish. Maybe it was the color company producing the show that did it?
I know shows with "Color By DeLuxe" often were grainy with crappy color, where shows that were "Color by Pathe" or "Color by Technicolor" looked much, much better.
I found Zenith sets to have much subdued colors and IMHO more natural.
But then again it could be that the people with the RCA sets didn't know how or were too lazy to adjust the color. But RCA did sell a ton of sets.
Where I grew up most people had either RCA or Zenith sets with the odd Admiral, Magnavox, Motorola or Sylvania set.
FWIW we now have a Sony Wega set and it seems to have the best picture of all.
I know shows with "Color By DeLuxe" often were grainy with crappy color, where shows that were "Color by Pathe" or "Color by Technicolor" looked much, much better.
I found Zenith sets to have much subdued colors and IMHO more natural.
But then again it could be that the people with the RCA sets didn't know how or were too lazy to adjust the color. But RCA did sell a ton of sets.
Where I grew up most people had either RCA or Zenith sets with the odd Admiral, Magnavox, Motorola or Sylvania set.
FWIW we now have a Sony Wega set and it seems to have the best picture of all.
Allen
much to my nephews chagrin, I still enjoy B&W shows & Movies! They can't get their heads around it! I think they would be stumped with a rotary phone too!
much to my nephews chagrin, I still enjoy B&W shows & Movies! They can't get their heads around it! I think they would be stumped with a rotary phone too!
danemodsandy
Well-known member
When Colour TV Was New....
....A lot of people turned their colour controls up to the max or close to it - like, "I paid for colour and I wanna see COLOUR!" My dad, who was with RCA, once told me that you could tell on a service call who'd had their sets a while and who was a new owner - recent purchasers tended to have the colour turned way up, and older owners usually opted for a more natural-looking setting.
Jon - I personally do not think children should be allowed to watch anything in colour until they're around sixteen, so that they will grow up with a proper appreciation for the beauty of black-and-white. ;-)
....A lot of people turned their colour controls up to the max or close to it - like, "I paid for colour and I wanna see COLOUR!" My dad, who was with RCA, once told me that you could tell on a service call who'd had their sets a while and who was a new owner - recent purchasers tended to have the colour turned way up, and older owners usually opted for a more natural-looking setting.
Jon - I personally do not think children should be allowed to watch anything in colour until they're around sixteen, so that they will grow up with a proper appreciation for the beauty of black-and-white. ;-)
oldappliancenut
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to bad
its so far away I would take it
its so far away I would take it
captainmoody
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- 348
Anyone in Rick's area interested in a '56 Frigidaire Range? Or a 1971 GE Filter-Flo?
If so, I will give both away free for the transportation of his tv to Detroit!
If so, I will give both away free for the transportation of his tv to Detroit!
cornutt
Well-known member
Tint
I should mention for the youngsters here, that back in the day, tint control was not automatic. Because of the way the color NTSC signals work, the tint would drift around and periodically you'd have to get up and adjust it, unless you wanted everyone's face to look like they were sunburned or seasick. (That's why the high-end Space Command that nanook mentioned had a tint control on the remote.) A thing called the "VITS" system fixed that problem in the early '80s.
I should mention for the youngsters here, that back in the day, tint control was not automatic. Because of the way the color NTSC signals work, the tint would drift around and periodically you'd have to get up and adjust it, unless you wanted everyone's face to look like they were sunburned or seasick. (That's why the high-end Space Command that nanook mentioned had a tint control on the remote.) A thing called the "VITS" system fixed that problem in the early '80s.
