Classic TV Memories Quiz
How Well Do You Remember Television Before Streaming?
Eight questions about test cards, listings magazines, aerials and the rituals of watching television when everybody watched the same thing at the same time.
Television used to be something you arranged your evening around. There was no pause, no catch-up and no second chance, and the whole country was watching roughly the same handful of things at the same time.
That produced a set of rituals that have disappeared completely: circling programmes in a magazine, negotiating over the one set in the house, and staring at a test card because there was genuinely nothing else on.
Eight questions below. Some of them are about the technology, some about the habits.
Take the quiz
Eight questions about the era of scheduled broadcast television.
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1 What was the test card actually for?
Test cards carried precise patterns of greyscale, colour bars and fine lines so that engineers, retailers and viewers could set up and check a set. It also happened to fill hours of downtime, which is why so many people remember it.
Show the answer
A. To let engineers and viewers adjust picture quality — Test cards carried precise patterns of greyscale, colour bars and fine lines so that engineers, retailers and viewers could set up and check a set. It also happened to fill hours of downtime, which is why so many people remember it.
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2 Why did so many people put foil on an indoor aerial?
It was folk engineering rather than official advice. Adding conductive material could change how the aerial picked up the signal, and moving it around often mattered more than the foil itself.
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A. To improve reception by increasing the effective surface — It was folk engineering rather than official advice. Adding conductive material could change how the aerial picked up the signal, and moving it around often mattered more than the foil itself.
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3 What did it mean when a programme was described as a repeat in the listings?
With no way to watch on demand, repeats were the only way to see an older programme, and they were scheduled deliberately, often years after the original broadcast.
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A. It had been broadcast before, often years earlier — With no way to watch on demand, repeats were the only way to see an older programme, and they were scheduled deliberately, often years after the original broadcast.
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4 Roughly when did colour television broadcasting begin in the United Kingdom?
Regular colour broadcasting in the UK began in 1967 on BBC Two, with BBC One and ITV following in 1969. Sets were expensive, so black and white remained common for years.
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C. The late 1960s — Regular colour broadcasting in the UK began in 1967 on BBC Two, with BBC One and ITV following in 1969. Sets were expensive, so black and white remained common for years.
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5 What was a television licence detector van meant to do?
Detector vans were part of licence enforcement and were heavily publicised. How effective the technology was, as opposed to the publicity around it, has been debated for decades.
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A. Identify homes using a television without a licence — Detector vans were part of licence enforcement and were heavily publicised. How effective the technology was, as opposed to the publicity around it, has been debated for decades.
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6 Why did programmes often end with a continuity announcer over a still image?
Continuity filled the join between programmes, which mattered when tapes and films had to be physically cued and channels ran to a fixed clock.
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A. To cover the gap while the next programme was cued — Continuity filled the join between programmes, which mattered when tapes and films had to be physically cued and channels ran to a fixed clock.
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7 What was the point of the small white dot that appeared when some sets were switched off?
On cathode ray tube sets the image collapsed to a bright point as the tube lost power, then faded. It was a side effect of the technology, not a feature.
Show the answer
A. It was the picture tube discharging — On cathode ray tube sets the image collapsed to a bright point as the tube lost power, then faded. It was a side effect of the technology, not a feature.
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8 Why did listings magazines matter so much?
With no on-screen guide, planning a week of viewing meant buying a magazine and marking it. For decades listings rights were tightly controlled, which made those magazines enormously powerful.
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A. They were the only complete guide to what was on and when — With no on-screen guide, planning a week of viewing meant buying a magazine and marking it. For decades listings rights were tightly controlled, which made those magazines enormously powerful.
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Where this came from
- Television and broadcasting collections — National Science and Media Museum
- History of television broadcasting — BBC
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