When Was Color TV Invented? (Answered)

Color TV was invented in 1951. This was a new technology that was shown at the World’s Fair. The 50s and 60s were a time when inventions seemed to be happening every day. Color TV was just one of many very exciting things that happened during this decade.

Color TV didn’t make its way into people’s homes for a while after it was first presented at the World’s Fair, however. Just like the invention of regular TV, it took time for the cost of color TV to come down enough that most people could afford to get a color TV.

When Did Color TVs Go On Retail Sale?

The first color TVs were sold in September of 1951. Many people did not have a color TV until the 60s, but there were probably people who invested right away in this new technology. The color that these TV sets presented was not like the TV that people are used to today. The colors that TVs are able to create and display today are so much more vibrant than what the original TVs could display.

The original color TV was much less vibrant and bright, and you often had to adjust the way that the color was displayed to get the best possible outcome from your TV. By the mid-70s, color had become much better, even in-home TV sets, but there was still a long way for TV to go before it would be like today’s TV sets.

Changes in technology have allowed for 3-D TV as well as vibrantly colorful shows. There has never been a time when TV has been more beautiful to look at. If you love watching TV, this is the era that you want to have been able to enjoy. Old color TV was nothing like today’s TV.

It was not until the mid-1980s that most people had a color TV. This is actually a pretty new technology when it comes to TV as a whole. The distance that TV has come in this short amount of time really says a lot about how much technology has leaped ahead in a short time period. Lovers of TV should thank all the engineers and scientists who have worked so hard to make truly beautiful TV watching a reality.

Color TV is Relatively New Compared to TV Technology as a Whole

If you have ever wondered when color TV was first invented, now you know! Color TV has come a very long way in just about forty years, and today’s TV is vibrant and has depth and texture that the original color TVs could never have offered. It is hard for today’s TV-watching audiences to comprehend just how basic the original color TVs were. 

Being unable to see the full spectrum of colors and having to adjust your TV to show the optimal range of a few colors is a very foreign concept now. If you love color TV and cannot imagine watching in black and white or in early color, you should be grateful to all the people who have innovated for years to make quality color TVs so affordable.

This article was last updated on September 12, 2023 .

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By Adam

The Display Blog staff account. We know display.