SPECIAL 3 DAY BIRTH OF COLOR EVENT: DAY 2, PART 6

Today is the 63rd anniversary of commercial color broadcasting in America. Over the weekend, Eyes Of A Generation will continue to tell the most complete story of the development of RCA’s Compatible Color System, ever presented on the internet. Pass the word! More below the line. -Bobby Ellerbee
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The CBS Chromacorder System…An “Also Ran” In NTSC Color

After RCA’s challenge to the FCC over the adaption of the CBS Field Sequential System in the early 50s, more and more manufacturers and industry leaders were betting on RCA’s Compatible Color System. Even CBS!

To keep a hand in the game, and try and salvage some of the millions they had spent acquiring a tube and set maker, CBS came up with the Chromacorder System. In essence, the camera used the old Field Sequential color wheel, and set the signal to the Chromacorder unit that converted it to NTSC Compatible Color standards.

In October of 1953, a big demonstration was held in New York for the FCC, NTSC and others. CBS, RCA/NBC and Dumont participated by broadcasting their own color demonstrations. Starting on Page 35, of the Broadcasting Magazine issue, you can read all of the interesting details and see what not so good things most had to say about the CBS portion.

http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1953/BC-1953-10-12.pdf

For a deeper dip into the Chromacorder system, our friend Steve McVoy’s excellent site has this article (link below) with 5 very interesting links/parts, including the work CBS was doing with GE, who was going to supply the camera equipment if things went well, but they didn’t. The camera in the photo is one of the GE black and whites with the CBS Field Sequential color wheel inside, and there are more detailed photos in the Early Television article.

http://www.earlytelevision.org/chromacoder.html

More Tomorrow! -Bobby Ellerbee

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