(Source: Early Television Museum)
Earlier this year, over 120 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl, and many made a big purchase in the weeks prior to capture the spectacle in all its grandeur and glory. The newest smart TVs, with their amazing picture quality and immersive sound experience, afford viewers the ability to feel like they’re at the game without paying an astronomical amount for a ticket. Today, an array of advanced light-emitting diode (LED) technologies lights up our home screens with magnificent colors. But to fully appreciate the majesty of modern televisions, let’s take a trip back to 1954, when color televisions first broke into the market.
While the collector community debates between the Admiral C1617A and the Westinghouse H84OCK15 as the first true color TV to be released, we’ll focus on the RCA CT-100, which came out right on their heels and was the first color TV to be mass produced (while the Admiral and Westinghouse were both discontinued only months after release).
Marketed as “The Merrill,” the CT-100 marked a turning point in the evolution of television, introducing vibrant hues to a world accustomed to monochrome screens. Manufactured by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), this groundbreaking device featured a 15-inch screen that brought a spectrum of colors into living rooms, transcending the limitations of black-and-white broadcasting. At the center of the RCA CT-100's revolutionary design were its technical components that paved the way for the future of color television.
The heart of the system was the cathode-ray tube (CRT), responsible for rendering the images on the screen. Unlike its monochromatic predecessors, the CT-100 incorporated a shadow mask—a metal sheet with precision-drilled holes—to ensure precise placement of color phosphors. These phosphors emitted light when struck by the electron beam, allowing for a wide range of color hues and saturation. This breakthrough allowed viewers to experience a level of visual richness previously unseen, making the CT-100 a symbol of technological advancement and innovation.
The CT-100 incorporated capacitors, resistors, transistors, and vacuum tubes into its CTC-2 chassis (Figure 1) to process and amplify the incoming television signal. Included among its complex layout of 36 vacuum tubes was the 15GP22 color picture tube, which used electrostatic convergence that necessitated static and focus adjustment knobs on the cabinet. Between their short service life and higher cost compared to other picture tubes of the time, the 15GP22 became a rare component that, while essential for synchronizing the color and brightness information and driving the CRT to produce the final image, has made restoration projects for the CT-100 rather difficult.
Figure 1: The RCA CT-100’s CTC-2 chassis was not only a wonder of its time but has proven to be a treasure for collectors and restoration projects. (Source: HumanisticRationale at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In addition to these new-age picture tubes, the CT-100 featured sophisticated color decoding circuits responsible for processing the color information contained in the broadcast signal. These circuits decoded, or “demodulated,” the chrominance (color) signal and synchronized it with the luminance (brightness) signal to accurately reproduce colors on the screen.
Color was not the only marvel that set the CT-100 apart from other televisions during this broadcasting revolution. The CT-100 also featured a turret-style tuner and RF components that allowed it to receive broadcast signals over the airwaves. The tuner tuned into specific channels, which surprisingly included very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) broadcasts emerging at the time, while RF components amplified and processed the incoming signal before it was decoded and displayed on the screen. These components, combined with color-rendering capabilities, forced television network companies of the time to play catch-up with the RCA CT-100.
The release of the RCA CT-100 in 1954 unfolded against the backdrop of post-World War II optimism and the burgeoning consumer culture of the 1950s. Television, already a popular medium, was evolving rapidly. The United States was experiencing economic prosperity, and as households became more affluent, the desire for modern conveniences grew. The release of the CT-100 aligned with this cultural shift, offering consumers a glimpse into the future of television—a future painted in vibrant colors.
The timing of the CT-100's release also coincided with the concurrent efforts of major television networks to embrace color broadcasting. NBC made history by airing the first coast-to-coast color broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 1954. This event served as a dazzling showcase for the capabilities of color television and generated tremendous excitement among viewers.
Since the launch of the RCA CT-100, color television has become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. Technological advancements have propelled the evolution of television displays, moving from cathode-ray tubes to flat-panel technologies such as LED, liquid crystal display (LCD), and organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The journey from the CT-100 to contemporary displays has seen improvements in resolution, contrast ratios, and overall visual fidelity.
Beyond hardware, the evolution of color television is evident in content production. Filmmakers and content creators now leverage the full spectrum of colors to tell compelling stories and create visually stunning experiences. High-definition content, streaming services, and smart TV capabilities have further transformed how we consume television, offering a diverse range of content accessible at our fingertips.
The transition from black-and-white to color television was not without its challenges. Concerns about compatibility, the cost of upgrading infrastructure, and the need for standardization initially slowed the widespread adoption of color broadcasting. However, as technology matured, these challenges were overcome, and color television became the norm rather than the exception.
The RCA CT-100's importance transcended its role as a technological marvel; it marked a cultural and visual revolution. The introduction of color television was a transformative moment in the history of mass media. It elevated the viewing experience, making it more immersive, engaging, and reflective of the vibrant world it aimed to capture.
Recently, while watching an old black-and-white show on television, my daughter asked me if that’s how the world looked back then. A silly question filled with curiosity and innocence, and one I likely asked my parents as a child, but it reveals just how magical the advent of color TV was. For many in the 1950s, the world outside their own town was accessible only through their television screens, and when vivid colors found their way onto those screens, other parts of the world became even more real and people’s imaginations were lent a color palette of possibility.
As we look back at the journey from the CT-100 to the present, it's clear that color television has not only survived but thrived. It has become an integral part of our visual experience, enriching our lives in ways unimaginable to those first viewers in 1954. The evolution of color television mirrors the broader trajectory of technological progress—a journey marked by innovation, adaptation, and an unending quest to enhance daily experiences to new heights. Reflecting upon the introduction of the CT-100, we celebrate not just the evolution of technology but the enduring impact of a device that brought color to our screens and changed the way we view the world.
Vince Sosko is a Technical Content Specialist at Mouser Electronics. When he’s not contemplating the rules of grammar or researching new and old tech, he enjoys spa time at home with his girls or catching a good concert. He is a proud graduate of Miami University and John Carroll University, specializing in rhetoric and composition.