proper settings for older color sets
 

I posted some pictures of one of my Ctc 9's to show how the pictures should look on the older sets. Keep in mind back in the 50's and early 60's customers sometimes would close the drapes or blinds in order to watch tv.

These sets were never ment to operate with the contrast and brightness jacked up. Before the advent of the rare earth phospors driving up the brightness would turn red into orange. I'm sure thats guys like Steve D. and John Folsom would concur

Your third picture looks especially good.

Before we ever had a color TV in my family (my grandmother's in 1974), I remember everyone seemed to "want to get their money's worth" from their color sets, and they cranked the color to extremes, just about every set I saw. When my grandma got her set (a Hitachi 19-inch), and I tinkered with the controls when she let me watch it, I was happy to find that you could adjust it to "real" color. Regarding contrast, I set it to the lowest I can accept rather than the highest the TV can handle.

And now they come out of the box that way. Factory sets them to
scream "look at me" from the rows of junk. Most never go into the menu to
make them right. Trouble is life isnt that colorful.
When I delivered a new set they got a complete lesson on all controls.
No big box here its mom & pop. Also told them to LOOK at a face, it
dosnt have much color & adjust it that way. Everything else falls into line then.
I think the roundies have such a natural pix is because that they designed them
for the real world & people with fingers to adjust...........

73 Zeno

You are correct
 

Most tv sets on display are set to demo mode which cranks the contrast and color intensity. I always thought it was funny when people would come in and ask what the contrast ratio was. Keeping in mind 98% on them had no clue as to what that was. Lg had a set that had theatre mode on it and basically it made the picture look more like what you would see in the theatre. Unfortunately most people don't like pictures that are realistic on their tv screens. My only point of this thread was I see lots of great sets shown here that would have a great picture is the controls were set properly. Back in the day you were supposed to set the black and white settins to reproduce a proper picture and then add color to the mix.

I think that's why the tubes in our TV's last a long time. We don't like to drive them too high, especially the brightness plus Mom does not like to crank up the color very high. I see her point, when you do, sometimes it looks too cartoonish and gives me a headache. I know my aunt sometimes likes to do that and Mom always complains about it. Well, My aunt gave us her 1999 35 inch Sony a few years ago and the picture tube just died so we had to bring out the old 1982 Zenith again. :p

"Cinema" or "theater" mode is not "right". Its meant to emulate
the excessively dim images used in movie theaters for two
reasons:

1) they are too cheap to use 50 kilowatts of lamp power to make
a bright picture (and that would melt 35mm film not in a fluid
heat exchanger system).

2) to cover up the disastrously too-low 24 Hz frame rate.

TV is not the movies ... with 60Hz field or frame rate and plenty
of brightness, its simply superior.

Doug McDonald

I'm surprised at the number of folks I've run across that say they are color blind. So one has to assume there are many shades between true black and white, and whatever range of color an individual perceives. Makes it very hard to specify normal. I think we'd be a little surprised to see through another persons eyes.

Larry,

I do concur. I have always backed the chroma down, on the vintage color sets I've owned over the years. Usually eyeballed the tint using flesh tones or known colors as a guide. This, of course, after the tv was properly set up. Even w/the various phosphors introduced it wasn't to difficult to achieve a realistic "living color" image.

-Steve D.

2 simple guidelines:

1: Get it right in black and white first

2: Turn the colour up from zero until it looks right. Don't try to turn the colour down until it looks right.

Coming from a PAL country I can't comment on setting the hue control.

i remember so many service calls that were just color adjustments.the tint was way off,the color was too high,etc.we actually didnt charge for these calls but was paid by the owner for the call.if we had to degauss or something of that nature,of course an invoice was written.those were some great gays and the knowledge we gained dealing with people was priceless

Along similar lines, as a teenager, I worked at EJ Korvette. I worked in the Audio Department and it was right next door to the Color Television Room. That room had doors just like the exterior doors to the store, aluminum, plate glass with a push bar. Inside of the room, it was very dim lighted. Of course, that was to make the televisions look better. Time frame was mid 60s. I remember!

A room just for TV sets?
My "first" TV was a 1962 Motorola 19" metal cabinet BW, bought at EJ Korvette store in Camp Hill (Harrisburg) and all sets in these parts after 1952 had UHF.:thmbsp:

woolco,kreske,etc always had an area like an alcove or a separate room for color tv back in the 60s.dimly lit to make the sets looks brighter.it was always my favorite part of the store

I look at the room I am in, then at the TV. If the TV has colors that I don't see in the room it needs to be turned down. I find 50-60% of the factory default is usually about right for color level

Yeah Dave, they actually had a separate room with the aluminum frame and plate glass whole length door, just as you would have for an entrance door to a business. The room was very dim and I think the sets were positioned around the walls with a group in the middle as well. Very dim so it made the sets just stand out. Time frame was mid 1966 to the end of 1967 (when I got drafted).

That was my first job, EJ Korvette. Can you imagine being a teenager, working in the Audio Department, selling all of that component audio equipment? We had an aluminum frame glass door also that was locked when the store was closed. No consoles allowed in our room! They were sold out in the appliance department.