Test pattern?

[Celt]

I always liked this one which I refer to as "Old boring B&W movie about Indians".

[Kamakiri]

Originally Posted by Celt

I always liked this one which I refer to as "Old boring B&W movie about Indians".

This brings up an interesting point. What was the meaning of the numbers in the diagram? While they may be measurements of some kind, one can only imagine that it's actually a points score for a TV based bean bag toss

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

This brings up an interesting point. What was the meaning of the numbers in the diagram? While they may be measurements of some kind, one can only imagine that it's actually a points score for a TV based bean bag toss

Aah, TV Indian bean bag toss a favorite among late night drinking buddies and early risers that owned protelgram projectors.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

This brings up an interesting point. What was the meaning of the numbers in the diagram? While they may be measurements of some kind, one can only imagine that it's actually a points score for a TV based bean bag toss

I believe that they define the resolution scale in various parts of the "wedges" from 200 to 450 lines in the center and 200 to 350 at the corners

jr

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

I believe that they define the resolution scale in various parts of the "wedges" from 200 to 450 lines in the center and 200 to 350 at the corners

jr

Yes, resolution in "TV Lines per picture height." 330 lines is the most you could get on a broadcast signal with a black and white set (or color set with comb filter). Maybe 270 lines horizontal with a color set with 3.58 MHz trap.

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

I believe that they define the resolution scale in various parts of the "wedges" from 200 to 450 lines in the center and 200 to 350 at the corners

NBC, oddly enough, had a layout of their famed "bullseye" pattern in which they explained what the significance of the wedge calibration dots as positioned on each side of their horizontal and vertical wedges, were:



Alas, I haven't heard, seen or read anything about this variation being seen on the air.

NOTE: 200 TV lines = 2.5 MHz (or "mc," as it was known as of 1947).

[cbenham]

Originally Posted by Celt

I always liked this one which I refer to as "Old boring B&W movie about Indians".

Here's my favorite test pattern...
Cliff

[Telecruiser]

Google "TV Test Pattern" in their "images" area. There are a ton of them available as jpeg's. If you want to actually use one to set up your old video equipment look for a Micca Digital Media Player at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Micca-MPlay-Di...keywords=micca or eleswhere. You can save the test pattern on a regular SD memory card, and the Micca player will turn it into composite video. The good news is the player is less than $30. I have one on my work bench and have a variety of test patterns and color bars stored on it. I love it.

[W.B.]

As I'd noted in earlier posts, the color circular test pattern design (first unveiled in 1965) originally had two variations, coded by region as per the order of a diagonal black/white wedge at the bottom of the outer lower right quadrant. TP's with this layout:



were for stations east of the Mississippi with 'W' calls; five stations were confirmed to use it - KYW Channel 3 and WIBF (later WTAF and now WTXF) Channel 29 in Philadelphia, PA; WCMC (now WMGM) Channel 40 in Wildwood, NJ; WFLD Channel 32 in Chicago, IL; and WNDT (now WNET) Channel 13 in Newark, NJ / New York City (the last actually confirmed to be color). And as laid out here:



was for west of the Mississippi with 'K' calls. Only one station, to date, has been confirmed to use it, and then with a B&W print: KAET (Channel 8) in Phoenix, AZ.

My question is, how many "old-timers" on this forum remember either layout, and who else would've used either prior to the wedges at bottom right being eliminated? Certainly those stations weren't the only ones . . . ?

[centralradio]

Wow .I remember the days of the late night test patterns.Thanks Telecruiser for the info on the video playback device .I've been looking for something like that for years.

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by W.B.

As I'd noted in earlier posts, the color circular test pattern design (first unveiled in 1965) originally had two variations, coded by region as per the order of a diagonal black/white wedge at the bottom of the outer lower right quadrant. TP's with this layout:



were for stations east of the Mississippi with 'W' calls; five stations were confirmed to use it - KYW Channel 3 and WIBF (later WTAF and now WTXF) Channel 29 in Philadelphia, PA; WCMC (now WMGM) Channel 40 in Wildwood, NJ; WFLD Channel 32 in Chicago, IL; and WNDT (now WNET) Channel 13 in Newark, NJ / New York City (the last actually confirmed to be color). And as laid out here:



was for west of the Mississippi with 'K' calls. Only one station, to date, has been confirmed to use it, and then with a B&W print: KAET (Channel 8) in Phoenix, AZ.

My question is, how many "old-timers" on this forum remember either layout, and who else would've used either prior to the wedges at bottom right being eliminated? Certainly those stations weren't the only ones . . . ?

Turns out that the second one in order on this post was the earliest known variant. One other TV station is confirmed to have used it: KYW-TV itself, during its last full year (1964) in Cleveland while Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) owned the station.


And the other zigzag wedge dated at the earliest to 1965:

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by W.B.

Turns out that the second one in order on this post was the earliest known variant. One other TV station is confirmed to have used it: KYW-TV itself, during its last full year (1964) in Cleveland while Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) owned the station.


And the other zigzag wedge dated at the earliest to 1965:

Cleveland's NBC affiliate, WKYC-TV on channel 3, used a test pattern similar to this one when the station was an NBC O&O in the '60s-early '70s, showing the NBC "snake" logo in the lower right corner; the station may have kept the same test pattern, with few if any modifications, until it went to 24-hour operations. The call sign and channel number were in the top left corner of the test pattern; however, to the best of my knowledge, the black and white wedge was never used, even after the station was sold from NBC to a local company in the mid-'70s.

[W.B.]

The first of those early TP's (with the zig-zag black/white wedge at bottom right) was also used (albeit represented in B&W) by WBOC-TV in Salisbury, MD.

By the mid-1970's, WKYC switched to electronic color bars, and NBC didn't unload it until the mid-'80's.