Indian-head test pattern

<p>The Indian-head test pattern is a <a href="/facts/Test_card/fhxEqjBc">test card</a> that gained widespread adoption during the <a href="/facts/History_of_television/LcAyDGd7">black-and-white television</a> broadcasting era as an aid in the calibration of <a href="/facts/Television/X4YG5nT1">television</a> equipment. It features a drawing of a <a href="/facts/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States/lr8Qmd6N">Native American</a> wearing a <a href="/facts/War_bonnet/bIn6Llev">headdress</a> surrounded by numerous graphic elements designed to test different aspects of broadcast display. The card was created by <a href="/facts/RCA/NWyjNN6R">RCA</a> to be the standard image for their TK-1 <a href="/facts/Monoscope/STVtdcJh">monoscope</a>, a simple <a href="/facts/Video_camera/pu84VbC7">video camera</a> capable of producing only the image embedded within it. The pattern was introduced in 1939 and over the following two decades became a fixture of television broadcast across North America in <a href="/facts/525-line/3HgfdHCm">525-line</a> resolution and (often in modified form) abroad in 525- and <a href="/facts/625-line/KXywE4Ps">625-line</a> resolution until it was made obsolete by the rise of <a href="/facts/Color_television/Un5dDuF7">color television</a> in the 1960s.
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Indian-head test pattern open-in-new

Indian-head test pattern