August 19, 1949…First CBS Color Test Footage Shot

August 19, 1949…First CBS Color Test Footage Shot

The day before this, CBS did their first experimental color broadcast in Washington, D.C. for the FCC using the system they were building for Smith, Kline & French which was to be used in operating rooms for medical teaching.

The next week, on August 25, RCA announced their Dot Sequential color system which is the one we used today. CBS was making color with a system that used a spinning red, blue and green color wheel on the cameras and receivers, so the CBS system was mechanical where the RCA system was all electronic. For more of the chronology on the early days of color systems, here is a link to Ed Reitan’s great research. https://www.earlytelevision.org/Reitan/index.html

Below is three minutes of the oldest known color recording (on film, but not a kinescope) of a CBS Field Sequential color television test featuring a lady holding colorful scarves. A small low quality sample of this footage has been on the web for many years, this version is full 3 min worth in HD. Thanks to Troy Walters in Australia for bringing this to us. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

#t=15″ target=”_blank”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5tf6SQjFlQ #t=15

Link to order this clip: http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675075009_color-television-broadcast_Columbia-Broadcasting-Systems_Color-Television-Monitor-Tube…

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