Test card designed in 1956 to be used with black and white analogue TV systems
EIA 1956 video resolution targetOff-air photo of EIA 1956 test card being broadcast by offshore pirate station TV Noordzee, 12 August 1964Off-air photo of RMA 1946 Resolution Chart being broadcast by Dutch public broadcaster NTS, 7 September 1961
The EIA 1956 Resolution Chart[1][2] (until 1975 called RETMA Resolution Chart 1956) is a test card originally designed in 1956 to be used with black and white analogue TV systems,[3][4] based on the previous (and very similar) RMA 1946 Resolution Chart.[5][6] It consisted of a printed chart filmed by a TV camera or monoscope to be displayed on a TV screen, and was also available as individual rolls of test film to test broadcasting equipment.[7][8] Inspecting the chart allowed to check for defects like ringing, geometric distortions, raster scan linearity, cathode-ray tube uniformity and lack of image resolution.[9][10] If needed, a technician could use it to perform the necessary hardware adjustments.
Today, this chart continues to be used to measure image resolution of modern cameras and lenses and also in scientific research.[3][11][12][13][14][15][16]