RCA TK-40/41

The RCA TK-40 is considered to be the first practical[1] color television camera, initially used for special broadcasts in late 1953, and with the follow-on TK-40A actually becoming the first to be produced in quantity in March 1954.

The cameras are considered to have been of very good quality, better than the very different TK-42 which succeeded the TK-40/41, and probably better than anything produced by RCA for several years after the production line shut down (NBC didn't fully replace their TK-41s in Rockefeller Center or their Burbank, California broadcast facility until the release of the TK-44A around 1968).

The early cameras required a very large amount of lighting, which caused television studios to become very warm due to the use of multi-kilowatt lamps (a problem that still exists somewhat today, but is less pronounced).

The live broadcast was staged in the now famous Ed Sullivan Theatre and production costs were greater than most movies were at the time not only because of all the stars featured on the hour-long extravaganza but the extreme high intensity lighting and electronics required for the new RCA TK-40 cameras.

TK-40A camera setups were brought to several TV stations around the country as part of demonstrations throughout the year, including: WKY, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (April 8); WBAP, Fort Worth, Texas (May 15); WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (July 18); WBEN Buffalo, New York; WCCO Minneapolis, Minnesota, (August 5); and KTLA Los Angeles, California.