UK Testcard Timeline
| Year | Notes | Channel(s) | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936–1939 | The first publicly broadcast testcard. It was a simple line and circle broadcast using Baird's 30 line system, and was used to synchronise the mechanical scanning system. | BBC Television Service | |
| 1947–1948 | The second publicly broadcast testcard. It had more specific details and was referred to as Testcard A. | BBC Television Service | |
| 1948 | Referred to as Testcard B. Used behind the scenes but never broadcast. | None | |
| 1948–1964 | Testcard C is released, with more specific details than Testcard B. | BBC Television Service | |
| 1955 | The ITA broadcasts an unlabelled testcard on ITV. | ITV | |
| 1955–1960 | A revised version of Testcard C is broadcast on ITV. | ITV | |
| 1960–1964 | The ITA "Picasso" testcard is released. | ITV | |
| 1964–1985 | Testcard D is released, and is the final testcard to be released for the 405-line format. Music as well as test tones were regularly used to accompany this image on BBC1 and ITV. | BBC1 ITV |
|
| 1964 | Testcard E is released to comply with the 625-line format. Numerous television vendors complained that the image made on screen was unattractive - its sinusoidal frequency gratings looked soft - and was therefore only used for 5 days before being replaced. | BBC1 BBC2 ITV |
|
| 1964–1969 | Once testcard E was withdrawn, the BBC released a modified version of Testcard C with more specific details on the inside circle. | BBC1 BBC2 ITV |
|
| 1967–1984 | Testcard F, the most famous and used testcard, is released by the BBC to coincide with colour transmissions that started that year on 1 July on BBC2. Only limited programmes were available in colour from the start. The full output became colour on BBC2 on 2 December the same year. BBC1 and ITV started colour in 1969, and began use of this testcard, phasing out Testcard E. It features a picture of Carole Hersee playing noughts and crosses. | BBC1 BBC2 ITV |
|
| 1970s | Testcard G, a variant of the Philips PM5544 test pattern, is created. It was occasionally seen on BBC1 and BBC2 during the 1970s. | BBC1 BBC2 |
|
| 1979–1992 | The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) - Independent Television Authority (ITA) prior to 1972, introduce ETP-1/Electronic Test Pattern One to replace Testcard F within the ITV regions. ETP-1 was also extensively used by Channel 4 and S4C in the run up to the launch of these channels in November 1982 — using 'IBA:CH4'/'IBA:S4C' captioning instead of the 'IBA' captioning used by ITV. ETP-1 became a common sight on British television in the 1980s up until ITV started broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1988. Channel 4/S4C continued to use ETP-1 - using 'NTL:CH4'/'NTL:S4C' captioning from 1990 after the Broadcasting Act 1990 saw the privatisation of the IBA's transmitter network and sale to National Transcommunications Limited (NTL). However ETP-1 disappeared in 1992 when Channel 4 simply broadcast its teletext service 4-Tel on View whilst off air — it later began 24 hour broadcasting in 1997, with S4C simply broadcasting black screen and tone whilst off-air. | ITV Channel 4 S4C |
|
| 1984–1999 | Testcard F is converted to an electronic format. On 4 October 1997, the BBC logo on the testcard was changed to match the current logo. It was removed from BBC One a month later due to the launch of BBC News which is now seen overnight on it. | BBC1 BBC One BBC2 BBC Two |
|
| 1999–2012 | Testcard J is released, replacing Testcard F. Testcard J is a modified version of F, with improvements including an improved centre picture and a dot in the white area at the top. In 2000, Testcard W is released, which is similar but formatted in 16:9 widescreen. Usage of regular testcards on BBC Two gradually started to decline during the early 2000s before regular use was discontinued in 2004. It is still seen occasionally on BBC Two, around mid-January each year. The usage of testcards in the United Kingdom will completely drop in 2012. | BBC Two |
Read more about this topic: Test Card