Trade test colour films were broadcast by the television network BBC Two in the early days of colour television during intervals when no regular programming had been scheduled. The goal of the trade test colour transmissions was to provide colour broadcasting in these intervals for use by television shops to adjust their television sets, etc.. The earliest such transmission was apparently made in 1962; the last transmission was in 1973. In all, 158 different films were broadcast; on average, each film was shown 90 times.[1]
The frequent broadcasting of the trade test colour films made these films well known to television viewers of the time. The most frequently shown film was The Captive River (1960), which was shown 525 times. The short film Giuseppina (1959), which had won an Academy Award, was shown 158 times and became the last trade test colour transmission on August 24, 1973. Other frequently broadcast films included The Home Made Car (1963), The North Sea Quest (1967), Overhaul (1957), Crown of Glass (1967), Roads to Roam (1967), The Small Propeller (1967), The Cattle Carters (1962), Prospect for Plastics (1962), A Journey into the Weald of Kent (1959) and Evoluon (1968).[2]
The trade test colour films are among the subjects of interest of the Test Card Circle, which is an organization devoted to studying and preserving the test cards used by television broadcasters. The static test cards are typically transmitted for periods before and after regular programming, originally to permit viewers to adjust their television sets.
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