fieldsequential

Fieldsequential is a method of color image display that was an early competitor to other color television technologies. In this system, a cathode ray tube (CRT) displays the primary colors of an image in rapid succession. Each color, typically red, green, and blue, is presented for a very short duration, known as a field. The viewer's eyes and brain then blend these rapidly changing color fields together to perceive a full-color image. This process relies on the persistence of vision, where the human eye retains an image for a fraction of a second after it has disappeared.

The fieldsequential system was developed and championed by inventor Peter Goldmark. It was considered for adoption by the U.S. television industry in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The advantage of fieldsequential was its ability to produce color with relatively simple hardware compared to some other proposed systems at the time. However, a significant drawback was its incompatibility with existing black-and-white television sets. A fieldsequential color signal could not be displayed on a standard black-and-white receiver, meaning viewers would need new equipment to receive the color broadcasts.

Ultimately, the fieldsequential system lost out to the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard, which was designed to be backward-compatible with existing black-and-white televisions. While fieldsequential represented an important step in the development of color television, its lack of compatibility prevented its widespread adoption.