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Old 7th Oct 2016, 5:48 pm   #1
camtechman
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Default Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

Does anyone else remember seeing a B&W TV Test (On ITV?) during the Advert Break in the 1950's. I'm sure I was between 7-8 years old.

I think it was during my favourite prog of Hopalong Cassidy and it was a series of flashing monochrome bars/patterns etc and viewers were asked to say what 'Colours' they could 'See' ?

I also think it was put out by OXO and they offered the prize of a colour TV when they became available.

p.s. This was during tea time when I was eating baked beans on toast (great days) !!
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Old 7th Oct 2016, 5:54 pm   #2
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

There have been a few demonstrations of this effect over the years, including an inadvertent instance when a significant number of viewers reported seeing a bunch of flowers in colour. Further research into that case might have proved fruitful, but the only response seemed to be along the lines of 'It must have been an optical illusion' - which was self- evident!
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Old 8th Oct 2016, 8:58 am   #3
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember those adverts, and I think that the letters OXO were on the screen with fast moving high contrast patterns behind.
Got mentioned in the press I believe so useful publicity for Oxo.
I do not think it was during "Hopalong Cassidy" as I think that series was shown on the BBC.

John
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Old 8th Oct 2016, 9:21 am   #4
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember an article on Tomorrow's World that did something similar, I think it was a series of spinning circles that showed colour, just read my post before I sent it. Spinning circles sound stupid but that's how I remember it. But it was quite vivid colour. So long ago.
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Old 8th Oct 2016, 11:11 am   #5
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember being given a broken pair of binoculars. Colour effects were observed
when the pictures were viewed through one of the prisms.
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Old 8th Oct 2016, 11:48 am   #6
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

The pattern was similar to the spokes of a wheel, can't remember if the spokes can be straight or need some sort of curve. When the pattern spins faster than your persistence of vision the alternating black and white areas, at the right frequency, look like rings of colour. I seem to remember it was a demo in the school science lab.

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Old 8th Oct 2016, 2:34 pm   #7
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

When I was a boy, I faintly remember my Dad getting all excited about it and he asked me if I could see the 'colours'... but I couldn't.

Steve
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 4:42 pm   #8
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember seeing those flashing adverts too, but never saw any colour in them, and never found anyone who did. What also remember around that time is a sketch by the late Spike Milligan that was probably prompted by them, where he announced his own experiment with colour TV. The screen then showed his face with the word "Yellow" superimposed on it. The word "Yellow" then gradually shrunk towards his mouth and vanished, and he then said "Oh, I wonder where the Yellow went?". (For the benefit of younger readers, this was a slogan used by "Pepsodent" toothpaste.)
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 7:10 pm   #9
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

Quote:
Originally Posted by emeritus View Post
I wonder where the Yellow went?". (For the benefit of younger readers, this was a slogan used by "Pepsodent" toothpaste.)
Haven't heard that quoted for years! It was the first advert we saw when our BBC only TRF Fergy (941T) was fitted with a converter for the new ITV channel. I was about 4.....

We all thought it was very funny at the time.
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 7:39 pm   #10
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember a demonstration of this in the 70s, possibly on Tomorrow's World. It was a still caption of cereal pouring out of a cereal box that was flickering manically. I remember seeing colours, and so did my family, but we didn't agree on what those colours were.

Even if it worked though, I couldn't bear to watch a colour program that was pulsating like that!
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 8:07 pm   #11
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I'm probably wrong ,but is this what you mean?
This is more modern and it has lots of flashing and blinking so caution when viewing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkC31G5GvXc
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 8:38 pm   #12
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I too remember the Tomorrow's World test. I believe it was based on the Benham's Wheel illusion.
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 10:10 pm   #13
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I distinctly remember one of these demonstrations, back in the 1960's. The words "Colour TV is coming soon" appeared, with the letters in various colours. I don't remember which programme it was on, possibly Look North or a similar magazine show.

Around the same time, I made a magic wheel to give the same effect and, amazingly, I still have it:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...1&d=1476133758

The colours are different, depending on which direction you spin the disc.
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Old 10th Oct 2016, 10:16 pm   #14
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I started a thread on this experimental "colour" Oxo advert in October 2006 (it's still viewable) but don't know how to give you all a reference to it.

John L.
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Old 11th Oct 2016, 12:20 am   #15
Peter.N.
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember the 'crawling dot pattern' which indicated that the picture as being transmitted in colour, the picture I remember most was of a large flower, can't remember what it was.

Peter
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Old 11th Oct 2016, 7:00 am   #16
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

Johnlees' October 2006 thread can be found here.
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Old 11th Oct 2016, 2:01 pm   #17
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I remember (I think in the late '50s) when our family television set was accidentally left switched on after closedown one evening. A few minutes later the screen lit up again for a colour test transmission. Of course for us it was in black-and-white. It was like watching a 'secret' television service.

Exciting!

Steve
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Old 11th Oct 2016, 2:34 pm   #18
Dave Moll
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I assume you're referring to the display (presumably using the experimental NTSC 405-line standard) of a testcard with a legend along the lines of "experimental colour transmission". If so, I too remember seeing (and being fascinated by) it as a child - like you, in monochrome (not having access to a set such as that now in David Boynes' possession)!

These various "trompe l'oeil" effects, however were something different - with a standard monochrome signal and using movement to fool the brain into thinking it sees colour.

I also seem to recall a not-altogether-successful experiment using special specs with filters to create a brightness difference between one eye and the other for similar purposes.
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Old 11th Oct 2016, 5:31 pm   #19
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

In the 1980's, a place I worked at had some Wyse 700 (monochrome) computer monitors. There was something about the refresh rate that caused very odd false colour effects when moving one's eye across the field of view. I always assumed it was due to the same effect as the Benham's Top (pictured above) that I had made as a child.
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Old 11th Oct 2016, 7:43 pm   #20
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Default Re: Colour Experiment On UK B&W TV in The 50's

I saw a demonstration at the Radio Museum in Gothenburg of a B&W TV adapted to colour using a nylon stocking. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a photograph.
http://www.radiomuseet.se/medlem/aud...006/radio.html
Any colour was probably in the viewer's imagination. More detail here:
http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/instant_color_tv
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