Behind the scenes UK experimental colour transmission 1957

[Duke Nukem]

Still never have understood why color TV wasn't available in Blighty & the rest of Yoorup til so late

From what I've read in magazines of the period, even in the latter years of the 50's American colour television wasn't that much of a success. By success, I don't mean technically, rather the take-up of colour TV was still low, cost being an issue. Meantime, the UK and I guess Europe too were far less affluent than America so take-up here would presumably been even worse.

TTFN,
Jon

[ceebee23]

I think primary reason for the BBC and the UK not adopting 405 line NTSC was that the EBU had settled on 625/50 as the new European standard in the early 1950s.

This was being progressively introduced across Europe (both west and eastern Europe). (Australia adopted this standard in 1956)

France was running an 819/50 and the UK its 405 line standard both were phased out by the early 1980s.

The UK decided to introduce colour with the 625 line standard. Various investigations into the colour format were undertaken and ultimately PAL was adopted.

But the key to the decision not to proceed with 405 NTSC seems to have been cost and a fear that if they adopted 405 line NTSC colour the public would have seen less reason to adopt the spanking new 625 line standard ... because on the colour receivers of the day 405 line, 525 line and 625 line looked barely different!

I should also point out that the commercial broadcasters, especially ITN's Lord Grade were pushing heavily for colour from the moment they went on air!

[Duke Nukem]

The primary reason for not adopting colour on 405 line would have been that the decision was to introduce 625 line before colour was introduced and to phase out 405-line. So 405-line colour would have been pointless dead end.

The UK's adoption of PAL was almost a last minute thing. The Pilkington Comittee produced a report on the future of TV and gave a plan for the introduction of 625 line within 2 years with colour to follow on the new standard. However, the report preceeded the German PAL system (or at least its announcement in the trade press), so at the time it was almost certain that the plan was for 625-line NTSC (I say almost certain as there had also been experimental broadcasts using the SECAM system).

As to 405 and 625 not looking much different, even in the 50's some firms such as Ekco were already using a spot wobble system on their up-market sets (17"!) to try and mask the line structure and by the time of the Pilkington report early 60's screen sizes were 19" for paupers and 23" for toffs. There would definitely be a difference between 625 and 405 line colour, though in the early/mid 50's when many mono sets couldn't even fully resolve the 405 line system I accept that there 405 and 625 colour might have not shown much difference.

TTFN,
Jon

[Glenz75]

New Zealand never got colour until 1974, a year before I was born...

[ceebee23]

the sad part of the UK not moving into colour broadcasting with 405 NTSC is that all those great programs from the early 60s from the Beeb were only made in b/w