Transfer Characteristics in NTSC Color Television

The paper shows generalized curves of over-all system transfer characteristics measured from the luminance input to the luminance output; including the factors of background control settings at the receiver and of setup at the transmitter. These curves are shown for various pairs of power law characteristics at transmitter and receiver. The methods for translating transfer characteristics into colori-metric transfers are shown. The method is used to determine the colorimetric fidelity of the system, and illustrations are given in terms of CIE diagrams showing colorimetric departures for various background settings. The paper discusses the relationship between television and photographic systems in respect to gamma.