What are the colour bars on tv broadcasting for?

Question

I had a dream the other night of just that annoying colour screen that you see back in the day accompanied with that annoying 1khz or whatever tone. What was this really for?

Answer 1

"Back in the Day" when a color-bar pattern was used as a Standard Transmission-check for broadcasted television signals, a chroma-check required much more energy to start-up and run than if it were continually brodcasted.  Very much like a lawn mower that has sit in the garage for months without being used requires much more effort (energy) to start.  Once the lawn mower is started, it runs fine (with minor "tweaking" (adjustments) while running.

%The chroma signals required continual tweaking to maintain a constant video-strength level.

The FCC required all broadcasters to maintain a tight control of their signal levels.

Answer 2

They were used to ensure that all the station equipment was properly set up (Back before they started computerising everything). They were also handy to tune in your tv and ensure the vertical and horizontal moire and colour settings on your tv were set properly. TV's do this automatically now.

I remeber sittin g and watching the "test pattern" for hours. (im easily amused)