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  #31  
Old 11-29-2010, 07:03 AM
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Color was a big deal back then

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
Dad and his siblings bought grandma a CTC-7 economy Anderson model for Christmas of 1957. I distinctly remember the Rose Bowl Parade of 1958 and the Dinah Shore Chevy Show in the following weeks. Her house was the center of the family gatherings to see this miracle. 20+ adults and kids all in the living room to enjoy Living Color during holiday gatherings. Her collie dog figured out that if he sat down in front of the set he would get a lot of attention...mostly yelling.

At age 7, I was unafraid to touch the color controls and adjust the picture...a sign of things to come. And years later, I would ride my bike to her house to watch Star Trek and Dark Shadows in 1964 and beyond.

The set went to my dad who gave it some kind of 70's finish that resembled peanut butter. It was replaced by a RCA 19" color tabletop set which I still have. After the CTC7 died, I salvaged the 3-way speakers and remounted them in my own home-made cabinet for some kind of crude amp. I still have it.

Just as Dave stated color was indeed a big deal back then people who had color sets back then usually had lots of company to help watch them. The same cannot be said of HDTV today, it is almost a ho-hum technology. The networks made a big deal about color, the people who had sets made a big deal about color and the shows that were in color were highly promoted. I guess it was a better time back then. I havent seen anything in my lifetime that left a lasting impression like seeing color programs back in the fifties.
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  #32  
Old 11-29-2010, 07:39 AM
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Ho-Hum technology...Indeed ! I'd say "Big-Woop" technology...All the fol-der-rol & fiddle-dee-dee over HDTV to deliver...a marginally better-at best-slightly wider picture...w/odd digital "artifacts" & motion sequences that make me a bit nauseous. Big-Woop. Hundreds of interactive channels, allowing you to be bombarded w/even more annoying ads than ever before, w/concommitant loss of privacy. Big Woop. Rendering half a zillion TVs "obsolete" requiring expensive HDTV replacements, sets that are markedly INFERIOR (from a repair/longevity standpoint, anyhow) than their old, clunky CRT cousins...Again, Big Woop. Pardon me while I go throw up....
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  #33  
Old 11-30-2010, 07:30 PM
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I wonder if everyone over 65 (or whatever) grumbled and whined about color TV in its early days as some do today about HDTV. It would have been something like "the sets are too big and heavy", "they are WAY too expensive", "the picture is not as clear as my regular TV", "everyone I know with a color TV is always having to get it repaired" (you KNOW that would have been one of the biggest whines), "the color looks way too gaudy/bright" (that was MY complaint about almost every color TV I saw when I was a kid), etc. And, then when the first mentions of X-rays started, hoo boy, THAT must have been a big stink, and of course it even led to a specific law being passed.

The first time I remember seeing color TV for sure was about 1971 maybe, when I was 11. I went to a friend's house and saw The Flintstones, and I remember Fred's tie was orange and Dino the dinosaur was purple. In 1974, my mother and my aunt's family got together and bought my grandmother a 19" Hitachi color TV for Christmas, for over $400 (a massive amount of money in my family at the time). I would go over to her house and watch it a lot, and that is when I learned how to properly adjust a color TV ("Wow, this can be adjusted so colors look like they do in real life! The first thing to do is turn the color knob down eighty percent from where it was when it matched all the other color TVs I have ever seen!"). Five years later, I had earned enough to buy my own brand-new color set, and a VCR right after that.
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  #34  
Old 11-30-2010, 08:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV View Post
I wonder if everyone over 65 (or whatever) grumbled and whined about color TV in its early days as some do today about HDTV. It would have been something like "the sets are too big and heavy", "they are WAY too expensive", "the picture is not as clear as my regular TV", "everyone I know with a color TV is always having to get it repaired" (you KNOW that would have been one of the biggest whines), "the color looks way too gaudy/bright" (that was MY complaint about almost every color TV I saw when I was a kid), etc. And, then when the first mentions of X-rays started, hoo boy, THAT must have been a big stink, and of course it even led to a specific law being passed.

The first time I remember seeing color TV for sure was about 1971 maybe, when I was 11. I went to a friend's house and saw The Flintstones, and I remember Fred's tie was orange and Dino the dinosaur was purple. In 1974, my mother and my aunt's family got together and bought my grandmother a 19" Hitachi color TV for Christmas, for over $400 (a massive amount of money in my family at the time). I would go over to her house and watch it a lot, and that is when I learned how to properly adjust a color TV ("Wow, this can be adjusted so colors look like they do in real life! The first thing to do is turn the color knob down eighty percent from where it was when it matched all the other color TVs I have ever seen!"). Five years later, I had earned enough to buy my own brand-new color set, and a VCR right after that.
20+ years after color TV was introduced, there were still people who refused to own a color TV and it was because of some of the reasons you mentioned. Back in April, I obtained a brand new 22" B&W solid state Sylvania console from 1978 that was never sold by a TV dealer. He explained to us that even as recent as the late '70's-early '80's, there were still some people (usually senior citizens) who insisted on a B&W TV. He said that some people were afraid of the X-rays from a color TV and others claimed that color didn't "look right" or it hurt their eyes. I think Zenith probably made the last 22" B&W and '81 was the last year. I think 19" B&W's stayed around for a few more years.

I know a man in his early '70's who told me that his father wouldn't have a color TV if someone gave him one. After his father passed away in the early '80's, the family gave his Mother a color TV. She pitched such a fit about it and they ended up giving her back the 12" B&W TV just to keep her quiet.

And, I knew some older people as recent as the mid '90's who still had nothing but B&W TV.

I'm not making fun of these people as I would probably throw a fit if someone tried to sneak a new HDTV in on me. I don't watch that much TV and what I do watch is mostly older stuff and I can watch it on a B&W or color TV, just as long as it's adjusted properly. And, I certainly don't feel like I need to see every detail of a blade of grass or someone's nasal hairs. And, I'm only 33.
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  #35  
Old 11-30-2010, 09:15 PM
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The question I always got was "when do you think they will perfect color TV?" - so people may not have been able to diagnose what was wrong with the picture, but they knew they didn't like it. (My answer was "I hope they never do - that's my job!") Of course, when people came to my house and saw a correctly adjusted set, they thought much more highly of color.
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  #36  
Old 12-01-2010, 02:56 PM
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living color ?

Go speed racer, go speed racer goooooooo!
I was impressed when the NBC logo would say, "in living color", then cockroaches would start crawling out of the TV.
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  #37  
Old 12-01-2010, 04:43 PM
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Knobs and customers

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV View Post
I wonder if everyone over 65 (or whatever) grumbled and whined about color TV in its early days as some do today about HDTV. It would have been something like "the sets are too big and heavy", "they are WAY too expensive", "the picture is not as clear as my regular TV", "everyone I know with a color TV is always having to get it repaired" (you KNOW that would have been one of the biggest whines), "the color looks way too gaudy/bright" (that was MY complaint about almost every color TV I saw when I was a kid), etc. And, then when the first mentions of X-rays started, hoo boy, THAT must have been a big stink, and of course it even led to a specific law being passed.

The first time I remember seeing color TV for sure was about 1971 maybe, when I was 11. I went to a friend's house and saw The Flintstones, and I remember Fred's tie was orange and Dino the dinosaur was purple. In 1974, my mother and my aunt's family got together and bought my grandmother a 19" Hitachi color TV for Christmas, for over $400 (a massive amount of money in my family at the time). I would go over to her house and watch it a lot, and that is when I learned how to properly adjust a color TV ("Wow, this can be adjusted so colors look like they do in real life! The first thing to do is turn the color knob down eighty percent from where it was when it matched all the other color TVs I have ever seen!"). Five years later, I had earned enough to buy my own brand-new color set, and a VCR right after that.
I was always amazed going to peoples homes that had color and it was rare to see a set adjusted properly. Most people were content just setting on the couch and watching tv. Back in the day there was a big difference between color signals from different networks. I guess most people were happy just watching a picture. Until they started running sets with microprocccessors the set up issue always existed. Even today most old people are afraid of many of the new technologies where as kids grow up with this stuff and it becomes second nature to them. I miss the day of walking into someones house and watching green martians on Bonanza or The Virginian.
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  #38  
Old 12-01-2010, 05:50 PM
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I guess my first show in color tv show was Gilligan's Island/I dream of Genie my aunt had the only color tv I seen around until about 71, then my parents brought home an Admiral combo it worked until late 77 until it blew a capacitor I remember the sparks shooting out the bottom it went to the land fill after that. Was replaced by a 77/78 RCA XL 100 and I got a 25mc33 my mom said wont go in the living room very sternly to my father.
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  #39  
Old 12-01-2010, 09:14 PM
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Whoa! There are really a lot of old dudes in the audience, aren't there Pete?
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  #40  
Old 12-03-2010, 02:47 AM
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Quote:
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Whoa! There are really a lot of old dudes in the audience, aren't there Pete?
HA! I resemble that remarque!

My first color experience was when I lived in St. Petersburg, FL.

I saw the Howdy Doody Show in 1957 on a CTC-4 at the home of the owner of the TV shop where I hung out after school. I went to school with his kids and got invited over that day. The color was great since the set was set up by an RCA field service tech who visited the shop every few months.

Later I got to watch Bonanza and The Perry Como Show every couple of weeks. More really great color...

With regard to "Matinee Theater" I remember watching a few minutes of that at the TV shop, when, during the course of the show, a lady appeared on camera wearing a brilliant blue dress. She had very blonde hair, but her red lipstick was smeared about three inches to the right of her mouth, hanging there in thin air! Can you say differential phase and gain???
Cliff

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  #41  
Old 12-03-2010, 08:31 AM
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sampson159 sampson159 is offline
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"wizard of oz" is still the best movie to watch for color.many technicolor movies look fantastic,also shows like "bonanza" and the "virginian".i remember a company called "perfect pathe" in the screen credits,those movies always had a very nice look.when "the fugitive" went to color,it lost something.maybe the sinister,desperate feel.the nbc color shows seemed to be a little better than the rest."you dont say"was really great to watch.abc s "hollywood palace" was another."dean martin show"was the king of all.that was a beautiful,fun,show to watch.like going to a party for an hour.color tv was technical marvel in the 50s and 60s.imho,the greatest addition to television.i like hd,but the coming of color was greatest milestone.
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  #42  
Old 12-03-2010, 10:42 AM
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Funny you should mention Dean Martin. During the great Chicago snowstorm of '67, I got home at exactly 9:00 pm - I know, because the Dean Martin show was just starting (my dad was watching on the 20-inch color Motorola table model I got at employee sales). Dean had a way of giving full attention to his guests that made every one give their best in return. I have the full collection of DVDs, and it is amazing how good those shows still are.
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  #43  
Old 12-03-2010, 01:00 PM
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dean was king!coolest that ever lived and one of my personal heroes.the show had beautiful color and even our philco ford roundie made it look awesome.i remember a show with tony franciosa and jack soo from 1964?i watched it on an airline console my uncle had.the reds were spectacular.he kept that set in tip top shape.did many mods to get the picture even better.color tv back then was really an event.we take it for granted now,but i really miss those days
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  #44  
Old 12-06-2010, 07:45 AM
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A little research helped me narrow down my first color viewing experience. It was in the early '60's, probably 1961-1963. We went over to my dad's best friends house and watched Disney's "The Wonderful World of Color".

Macon, GA had only one local TV station which was a CBS affiliate that did not have the capability of broadcasting in color. The closest stations that could broadcast in color were in Atlanta, 85 miles north, making Macon in the "deep fringe" range. Reception was spotty at best and required a rotating antenna mounted high in a tree or on a tower. WSB-TV, channel 2, had the best reception since it was at a lower frequency and had a powerful transmitter. Luckily they were an NBC affiliate, which had the most color programming. The Wonderful World of Color moved to NBC in 1961.

Color TV's were very expensive and when viewed as a percentage of family income even large LCD flat panel TV's are a bargain. My dad's best friend had a habit of spending too much money on electronic toys. He was an early stereo adopter and owned McIntosh and Bozak equipment.

I ended up working at the local TV station just after they started color broadcasting. They had an old DuMont transmitter that they converted to color. They also converted an old RCA tube quad VTR to color. They bought one Philips color camera and for over a year all local shows were with one camera!

I love HDTV. When I was a boy I never dreamed I'd someday own a home projection system that would allow me to watch a 120" image that rivals or in some ways surpasses the quality of image at the local movie theater. I paid $700 for my projector. A Westinghouse color TV cost $1295 in 1954, more than $10k in today's money.
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  #45  
Old 12-06-2010, 08:37 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sampson159 View Post
"wizard of oz" is still the best movie to watch for color.many technicolor movies look fantastic,also shows like "bonanza" and the "virginian".i remember a company called "perfect pathe" in the screen credits,those movies always had a very nice look.when "the fugitive" went to color,it lost something.maybe the sinister,desperate feel.the nbc color shows seemed to be a little better than the rest."you dont say"was really great to watch.abc s "hollywood palace" was another."dean martin show"was the king of all.that was a beautiful,fun,show to watch.like going to a party for an hour.color tv was technical marvel in the 50s and 60s.imho,the greatest addition to television.i like hd,but the coming of color was greatest milestone.
Perfect Pathe was used by Screen Gems Television, a part of Columbia Pictures. Bewitched, I Dream Of Jeannie, etc.
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