Test Card J

Test Card J is a test card, an image used to determine the quality of a broadcast television picture. It is an updated version of Test Card F, which was created by BBC engineer George Hersee, and is used to test analogue television signals. It first appeared in November 1999.

Differences

The centre picture in Test Card J is a new version of the picture at the centre of Test Card F, rescanned from the original transparency, to make the colours in the image look more accurate. The centre picture was also re-aligned within Test Card J to put the cross on the noughts and crosses board at the exact centre of the screen, where it was originally intended.

A green square at the top of the screen, which does not appear in Test Card F, is used within Test Card J to facilitate an easier observation of chrominance to luminance delay.

The negative black squares in the left hand step pattern should flash on and off at 1 Hz. This is to aid in the detection of frozen digital links.

On one of its last appearances during the early hours of 12 January 2009, Test Card J was broadcast on BBC One (and later BBC Two). There was no music and the audio was replaced with an automated female voice rendition of the speaking clock, played on the right audio channel, and a steady 1 kHz tone on the left audio channel on BBC One, and a steady 0.44 kHz on BBC Two.

Test Card J was also broadcast on terrestrial television in the early hours of 18 July 2010, from 02:45am.

Sightings

Due to the onset of 24-hour television, Test Card J (or any other test cards) are rarely broadcast, now only used in engineering tests and transmission problems. Test Card J's broadcast on 18 July 2010 is an example of this. The times before that were 9 January 2008, 5 January 2007, 23 January 2006 and 7 January 2005, and 9 January 2004. It was also seen on 3 and 4 December 2003, 15 December 2002, and August 2000. Its unscheduled appearances were 22 July 2003, 14 August 2001 and 27 July 2001.

The last annual analogue TV RBS Tests were in the early hours of Sunday 18 July 2010. The times were 02:15 - 03:15am for BBC1 and 03:30 - 04:30am for BBC2. Test Card J was present during these tests.

See also

• Test Card W
• List of BBC test cards
• Test card
• Carole Hersee
• Bubbles the Clown

External links

• History of BBC test cards
• The Test Card Circle Details of the UK's Trade Test Transmissions including the history of the BBC and ITA Test Cards, a look at the music used and full details about the Trade Test Colour Films shown from the late fifties to 1973.