When did colour and stereo tv come in?

[Cliff]

Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
perhaps?

I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour broadcasts
happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big hassle
factor on mum and dad to get a set.

What are your memories of this ?
- new station logos, especially 7 with their rainbow circle.
- the brilliant green of cricket ovals and tennis courts on the sets in the
shop windows
- going to visit relatives who had a colour set was a huge deal
- lots of orange looking people on the set because people liked to set the
colour way up high...colour telly meant just that - colour - keeping it
natural looking didn't come into it.
- walking the streets at night and having your attention caught the colour
set in someone's lounge room. I think people did that on purpose...it was a
big status symbol to have a colour set.

On a similar note, when did stereo TV come? Honestly don't remember much of
this at all. Must be at least 15 years ago. It was probably the first
venture a lot of us had into home theatre - getting a stereo VCR (my first
Akai cost $1100), and plugging into the HiFi. Didn't have the same fanfare
as colour, but in someways it made just as big an impact on the television
experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experience.

All this reminiscing...I must be getting old :)

Cheers, Cliff

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

Hello John D Leister!

[David Z]

Stereo I believe was 1986?

"Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> perhaps?
>
> I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour broadcasts
> happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big
hassle
> factor on mum and dad to get a set.
>
> What are your memories of this ?
> - new station logos, especially 7 with their rainbow circle.
> - the brilliant green of cricket ovals and tennis courts on the sets in
the
> shop windows
> - going to visit relatives who had a colour set was a huge deal
> - lots of orange looking people on the set because people liked to set the
> colour way up high...colour telly meant just that - colour - keeping it
> natural looking didn't come into it.
> - walking the streets at night and having your attention caught the colour
> set in someone's lounge room. I think people did that on purpose...it was
a
> big status symbol to have a colour set.
>
> On a similar note, when did stereo TV come? Honestly don't remember much
of
> this at all. Must be at least 15 years ago. It was probably the first
> venture a lot of us had into home theatre - getting a stereo VCR (my first
> Akai cost $1100), and plugging into the HiFi. Didn't have the same
fanfare
> as colour, but in someways it made just as big an impact on the television
> experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experience.
>
> All this reminiscing...I must be getting old :)
>
> Cheers, Cliff
>
>
>
>
>

[mªdcªt]

On Mon, 1 Dec 2003 16:26:35 +1100, "Kevin Hendrikssen" <spam@spam.com>
wrote:

>Hello John D Leister!

Could you possibly explain this joke to me? Pleeeease?

Is it when someone asks for ng readers to "remember when" or to Make a
list of something?

[Deltic]

In article <3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>,
"Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote:

> Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> perhaps?
>
> I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour broadcasts
> happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big hassle
> factor on mum and dad to get a set.
>
> What are your memories of this ?
> - new station logos, especially 7 with their rainbow circle.
> - the brilliant green of cricket ovals and tennis courts on the sets in the
> shop windows
> - going to visit relatives who had a colour set was a huge deal
> - lots of orange looking people on the set because people liked to set the
> colour way up high...colour telly meant just that - colour - keeping it
> natural looking didn't come into it.
> - walking the streets at night and having your attention caught the colour
> set in someone's lounge room. I think people did that on purpose...it was a
> big status symbol to have a colour set.
>
> On a similar note, when did stereo TV come? Honestly don't remember much of
> this at all. Must be at least 15 years ago. It was probably the first
> venture a lot of us had into home theatre - getting a stereo VCR (my first
> Akai cost $1100), and plugging into the HiFi. Didn't have the same fanfare
> as colour, but in someways it made just as big an impact on the television
> experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experience.
>
> All this reminiscing...I must be getting old :)
>
> Cheers, Cliff
>

Colour arrived 1 March 1975. Several of the channels transmitted all
night, which was quite a big deal in those far off days of non-24 hour
television. I remember staying up eventhough my TV was black & white.

After finally getting my first colour tv in August 1975 (an 18" Sony),
my most vivid memory was seeing Countdown in colour for the first time.

Regards
John

[Iggy]

"mªdcªt" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:18plsvcq0unqb54kgksmn99sqs4oban3l3@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 1 Dec 2003 16:26:35 +1100, "Kevin Hendrikssen" <spam@spam.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Hello John D Leister!
>
> Could you possibly explain this joke to me? Pleeeease?
>
> Is it when someone asks for ng readers to "remember when" or to Make a
> list of something?

I always thought it was when someone mentioned naked chicks.

[John]

Deltic wrote:
>
> In article <3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>,
> "Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote:
>
> > Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> > perhaps?

> Colour arrived 1 March 1975. Several of the channels transmitted all
> night, which was quite a big deal in those far off days of non-24 hour
> television. I remember staying up eventhough my TV was black & white.

And test transmissions had been going since Sep or Oct
of the previous year. To coincide with the Spring Racing
Carnival and Grand Final (VFL as AFL was called in those days).
During that test period, the TV stations did everything
with colour, but blocked the sub-carrier at the very
last stage of transmission at their tower except at those
special events.

Didn't have a colour set then but, with the fine tuning
set a bit to the right of centre, you could see the
cross-hatched interference of the the sub-carrier.
That was pretty exciting to see as it was :)

There were people who bought colour TVs early and
used special amplifiers on their antennas to boost
whatever sub-carrier leaked past the blocker so they
could get colour all the time.

And there were the scams, people selling "coloured TV"s
and "colour TV antennas" which where just antennas painted
with colours.

And the 1975 April Fool's edition of A Current Affair
(yes, it was on back then too), which explained the
whole process about the colour signal being blocked
(true), and how you could spray your antenna with
a paint that would block the B&W signal by an equal
amount so you could get colour.

> I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour broadcasts
> happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big hassle
> factor on mum and dad to get a set.

Average price for a set was $700 to $800 for a 52 cm
set. $1000 plus for a fancy German 63 cm set.
This was back when the average weekly earnings were
about $200.


> - new station logos, especially 7 with their rainbow circle.

What about their multi-million dollar computer-animated
dancing colour S's? With electronic synthesiser music?
Or was that just Melbourne?

> On a similar note, when did stereo TV come?

There was a report in Electronics Australia about
stereo TV in mid 1983. The system had recently started
in Germany and Nine was already doing tests.
They were the only ones. At end of the year, we were
shopping for a VCR and got a relatively cheap superseded
VCR which was from Germany and happened to have
stereo tuner. Nine broadcast a few movies and
Hey, Hey It's Saturday in stereo. Official transmissions
started in 1984. Nine added "STEREO" to their logo.

Other networks came in very gradually and very quietly.
Ten sometime in 1984. Seven, maybe 1985. ABC and SBS
even later. There was never any big launch or publicity
like with colour.

> but in someways it made just as big an impact on the television
> experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experienc

The simple act of hooking the VCR into the hi-fi system
made a huge difference to the experience, even with mono
programs. TV amps and speakers are crap.
There is no bass because the cabinets are thin
and have ventilation holes. There is no treble because
the plastic grille protecting the speakers blocks it off.
And the amps filter out the low and high frequencies to
block off the hum and whistle interference from the
picture tube. And they put out no more than a few watts
total.

[Typhoid]

wrote:
>=20
> "m=AAdc=AAt" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
> news:18plsvcq0unqb54kgksmn99sqs4oban3l3@4ax.com...
> > On Mon, 1 Dec 2003 16:26:35 +1100, "Kevin Hendrikssen" <spam@spam.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >Hello John D Leister!
> >
> > Could you possibly explain this joke to me? Pleeeease?
> >
> > Is it when someone asks for ng readers to "remember when" or to Make a
> > list of something?
>=20
> I always thought it was when someone mentioned naked chicks.

Asking insipid questions about banal topics is another JDL MO.

--=20
BBMC

[John Leister]

Colour TV came in during 1975

[David Z]

How do you know that's JDL? Have you checked the IP or something?

"Kevin Hendrikssen" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:3fcad109$0$1742$5a62ac22@freenews.iinet.net.a u...
> Hello John D Leister!
>
>
>

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

"David Z" <dave@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gaEyb.34784$aT.34731@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> How do you know that's JDL? Have you checked the IP or something?

whoooooooooooosh!

[Andrew Bayley]

> > > Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around
'75
> > > perhaps?
>
> > Colour arrived 1 March 1975. Several of the channels transmitted all
> > night, which was quite a big deal in those far off days of non-24 hour
> > television. I remember staying up eventhough my TV was black & white.

http://televisionau.tripod.com/tv280275.htm shows the Melbourne TV guide in
the changeover to colour. Curiosly, GTV9, who would later become the first
Melbourne TV channel to go to full 24 hour transmission (in 1976), stayed on
air only until 2.30am that night. ATV0 and HSV7 stayed on all night, though
with mostly re-run programs - but of course appearing for the first time in
colour. ABV2 had overnight tennis coverage after the special midnight
edition of Countdown.

> And test transmissions had been going since Sep or Oct
> of the previous year.

October 19, 1974 to be precise. The first colour tests were predominantly
sports telecasts, but other programs to appear in colour on an occasional
basis, subject to Govt approvals, included Number 96, The Mike Walsh Show
and daytime soaps like Days Of Our Lives. Individual stations would replace
whole hours of morning TV programs with a colour test patterns.

A few weeks into the colour test period, "Countdown" began on ABC, in
colour, as a 30-minute show. After its initial six week run, it returned in
March 1975 as the first program to be shown after their official colour
launch.

Although the first colour TV program in Australia dated back to June 1967
when Melbourne's ATV0 televised a country race meeting in colour, although
the colour telecast was viewed only by ATV0 and Ansett executives (Ansett
was the original licencee of ATV) on specially imported sets.

[The Raven]

"Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> perhaps?

Definitely prior to '76 but then it consisted of primarily B&W with some
colour shows thrown in.

> I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour broadcasts
> happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big
hassle
> factor on mum and dad to get a set.

We didn't have one immediately but we had one by '76.

> On a similar note, when did stereo TV come?

Don't think I was in the country then but I was disapointed to find that
stereo programming was still sporadic until a few years ago.

> Honestly don't remember much of
> this at all.

Wasn't really hyped at all. What really drove it's full adoption was the US
programs proudly proclaiming they were in stereo *IF* your network supported
it.


--
The Raven
http://www.80scartoons.co.uk/batfinkquote.mp3
** President of the ozemail.* and uunet.* NG's
** since August 15th 2000.

[bill]

I first saw colour tv at the Royal Melbourne Show in about 1972,
showing an Australian Rules match, with lots of green.
Colour broadcasts began in 1974 (I don't think earlier), the tv guide would
show when a program would be in colour. You could go into
Brashs on a Saturday morning and actually see Hey Hey Its Saturday
in colour. Ossie Ostrich was unusually colourful.
Before colour tv started here there was some controversy
in the media about how they used a lot of plastic parts and
might be dangerously combustible.
Officially colour tv started, I know in Melbourne in early
February 1975. Beneath The Planet of the Apes was premiered
that weekend. TV guides now indicated when a program was in colour.
As for stereo tv, I have no idea.

And for the enigmatic area of the early history of colour tv broadcasting
in America, go here:
http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/index.html
the web site for the history of early color television


jj

"Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> perhaps?
>
> I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour broadcasts
> happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big
hassle
> factor on mum and dad to get a set.
>
> What are your memories of this ?
> - new station logos, especially 7 with their rainbow circle.
> - the brilliant green of cricket ovals and tennis courts on the sets in
the
> shop windows
> - going to visit relatives who had a colour set was a huge deal
> - lots of orange looking people on the set because people liked to set the
> colour way up high...colour telly meant just that - colour - keeping it
> natural looking didn't come into it.
> - walking the streets at night and having your attention caught the colour
> set in someone's lounge room. I think people did that on purpose...it was
a
> big status symbol to have a colour set.
>
> On a similar note, when did stereo TV come? Honestly don't remember much
of
> this at all. Must be at least 15 years ago. It was probably the first
> venture a lot of us had into home theatre - getting a stereo VCR (my first
> Akai cost $1100), and plugging into the HiFi. Didn't have the same
fanfare
> as colour, but in someways it made just as big an impact on the television
> experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experience.
>
> All this reminiscing...I must be getting old :)
>
> Cheers, Cliff
>
>
>
>
>

[bill]

Maybe it was March, 1975, as someone else said, but February came to my
mind.
It would probably have coincided with the start of the ratings period
anyway.
I first got a colour tv in 1976, the cricket was on, so again lots of green.
I started having colour in my dreams then with a colour tv in the house.
There's a Custard song about something like this I think.
In America, NBC went all colour in 1966, a curiously seminal year, as you
may be able to tell
from the sudden rise in colour of shows made that year.
Colour had been around since the 50s though. Why had tv shows
such as Lassie and Superman been made in colour in the late 50s?
My impression is that the UK went colour in 1969, judging from watching
tv shows.
Of course, we started so late here, we could pick a better system
than the Americans, NTSC (Never The Same Colour Twice) with PAL. I saw an
actual
hue control for the first time not that long ago. But I have been envying
the ability
to have 24fps with NTSC rather than our 25fps. But NTSC does have problems
with
pan and scan too.

jj


"bill" <fredj@labyrinth.NOnet.SPAMau> wrote in message
news:bqflti$1vd8$1@arachne.labyrinth.net.au...
> I first saw colour tv at the Royal Melbourne Show in about 1972,
> showing an Australian Rules match, with lots of green.
> Colour broadcasts began in 1974 (I don't think earlier), the tv guide
would
> show when a program would be in colour. You could go into
> Brashs on a Saturday morning and actually see Hey Hey Its Saturday
> in colour. Ossie Ostrich was unusually colourful.
> Before colour tv started here there was some controversy
> in the media about how they used a lot of plastic parts and
> might be dangerously combustible.
> Officially colour tv started, I know in Melbourne in early
> February 1975. Beneath The Planet of the Apes was premiered
> that weekend. TV guides now indicated when a program was in colour.
> As for stereo tv, I have no idea.
>
> And for the enigmatic area of the early history of colour tv broadcasting
> in America, go here:
> http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/index.html
> the web site for the history of early color television
>
>
> jj
>
> "Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote in message
> news:3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> > Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> > perhaps?
> >
> > I remember it a lot of fanfare on the day when the first colour
broadcasts
> > happened. It was a huge deal, especially as a kid. There was a big
> hassle
> > factor on mum and dad to get a set.
> >
> > What are your memories of this ?
> > - new station logos, especially 7 with their rainbow circle.
> > - the brilliant green of cricket ovals and tennis courts on the sets in
> the
> > shop windows
> > - going to visit relatives who had a colour set was a huge deal
> > - lots of orange looking people on the set because people liked to set
the
> > colour way up high...colour telly meant just that - colour - keeping it
> > natural looking didn't come into it.
> > - walking the streets at night and having your attention caught the
colour
> > set in someone's lounge room. I think people did that on purpose...it
was
> a
> > big status symbol to have a colour set.
> >
> > On a similar note, when did stereo TV come? Honestly don't remember
much
> of
> > this at all. Must be at least 15 years ago. It was probably the first
> > venture a lot of us had into home theatre - getting a stereo VCR (my
first
> > Akai cost $1100), and plugging into the HiFi. Didn't have the same
> fanfare
> > as colour, but in someways it made just as big an impact on the
television
> > experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experience.
> >
> > All this reminiscing...I must be getting old :)
> >
> > Cheers, Cliff
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[bill]

"Andrew Bayley" <SPAM?NOTHANKYOUabaus2@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:3fcb1e25$0$13591$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> > > > Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around
> '75
> > > > perhaps?
> >
> > > Colour arrived 1 March 1975. Several of the channels transmitted all
> > > night, which was quite a big deal in those far off days of non-24 hour
> > > television. I remember staying up eventhough my TV was black & white.
>
> http://televisionau.tripod.com/tv280275.htm shows the Melbourne TV guide
in
> the changeover to colour. Curiosly, GTV9, who would later become the
first
> Melbourne TV channel to go to full 24 hour transmission (in 1976), stayed
on
> air only until 2.30am that night. ATV0 and HSV7 stayed on all night,
though
> with mostly re-run programs - but of course appearing for the first time
in
> colour. ABV2 had overnight tennis coverage after the special midnight
> edition of Countdown.
>
> > And test transmissions had been going since Sep or Oct
> > of the previous year.
>
> October 19, 1974 to be precise. The first colour tests were predominantly
> sports telecasts, but other programs to appear in colour on an occasional
> basis, subject to Govt approvals, included Number 96, The Mike Walsh Show
> and daytime soaps like Days Of Our Lives. Individual stations would
replace
> whole hours of morning TV programs with a colour test patterns.
>
> A few weeks into the colour test period, "Countdown" began on ABC, in
> colour, as a 30-minute show. After its initial six week run, it returned
in
> March 1975 as the first program to be shown after their official colour
> launch.
>
> Although the first colour TV program in Australia dated back to June 1967
> when Melbourne's ATV0 televised a country race meeting in colour, although
> the colour telecast was viewed only by ATV0 and Ansett executives (Ansett
> was the original licencee of ATV) on specially imported sets.

There was also an experiment, probably back that far. By using a strobing
effect to produce colour on a black and white tv. This actually worked, but
of course
just a gimmick. If I'm not mistaken, there was some cheap record (disc)
associated with
that, and a petrol company, Ampol. It was a flashing effect of the Ampol
logo.

jj
>
>

[John]

bill wrote:

> In America, NBC went all colour in 1966, a curiously seminal year, as you
> may be able to tell
> from the sudden rise in colour of shows made that year.
> Colour had been around since the 50s though. Why had tv shows
> such as Lassie and Superman been made in colour in the late 50s?

They had colour since the late 50s but only for a hour or two
each day.
Even then, maybe only in the big cities.

I remember seeing an old newspaper from that time,
from Ventura near LA, that marked the colour broadcasts.
There weren't that many.

[Darkfalz]

> On a similar note, when did stereo TV come? Honestly don't remember much
of
> this at all. Must be at least 15 years ago. It was probably the first
> venture a lot of us had into home theatre - getting a stereo VCR (my first
> Akai cost $1100), and plugging into the HiFi. Didn't have the same
fanfare
> as colour, but in someways it made just as big an impact on the television
> experience...turned TV into a more immersive 3D experience.

The best thing about getting a HiFi VCR wasn't the TV reception (even though
it was nice to have stereo), it was that the audio quality of stereo VCRs is
HEAPS better than a mono, and not just because it's stereo. Of course, this
goes doubly so for LP mode.

Btw, Channel 10 in Canberra still broacasts mono.

[bill]

"bill" <fredj@labyrinth.NOnet.SPAMau> wrote in message
news:bqflti$1vd8$1@arachne.labyrinth.net.au...
TV guides now indicated when a program was in colour.
> As for stereo tv, I have no idea.
>

Mistake, I meant they now indicated when a program
was in black and white, which you all know today.

jj

[bill]

"Cliff" <nomailthx@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3fcad027$0$13984$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> Does anyone remember exactly when colour TV first came in ? Around '75
> perhaps?
>

From the web site,
http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/index.html

October 21, 1958 First use of stereophonic sound on a TV network color
program. The George Gobel Show. (The second audio channel was simulcast via
the NBC Radio Network.)

February 22, 1959 The "Perry Como Show" is colorcast using "compatible"
stereo sound.

jj