This (somewhat incomplete) 1976 color film created by RCA instructs television salespeople on how to best make a case to customers for the ColorTrak line of XL-100 solid-state TV sets. The program’s hosts and interviewed sales representatives touch upon the appliance’s modular inner components and user-friendly ease of operations (TRT: 7:20)
Film begins abruptly. A host stands alongside an RCA wood-paneled television set, which is tuned to a football game. He paces past other RCA TV models as he addresses an audience of middle-aged men who sit in folding canvas and wood director’s chairs (0:07). Closeup on the exposed inner workings of a television’s rear panel. Circuit boards, wires, and the cone of a cathode ray tube (CRT) are visible inside the chassis. The host’s narration focuses on ease of service diagnosis and repair resulting from modular, separately accessible components (0:18). The chassis tilts down to offer a better view of the CRT (1:57). A medium shot of the sales representative men and women in training. Most wear ties and leather shoes with 1970s hairstyles. They sit under a bold red “RCA” logo (2:59). A veteran salesman, “Bob” offers his advice on working from the top of the product line down to bottom when demonstrating the technology being offered in relation to price. This psychological approach forces the customer to focus on the features lost on more cautious investments (3:19). Another man with a mustache counters that one must be careful not to put down the lower-priced sets too much along the way. The host makes a comparison to Cadillac Eldorado auto sales (3:48). A woman with red hair offers her advice: Lead with the ColorTrak’s “automatic” features. A man with glasses discusses “one-step” tuning (4:10). An African-American salesman notes that parents will appreciate that kids aren’t able to tamper with automatic models. Circus elephants appear on the demo TV sets (5:10). Push in on a “ColorTrak” poster (5:51). A new RCA representative stands between ColorTrak televisions large (25”) and small (19”) showing a science fiction musical number, while a large angular model of a gray human head hovers above the promotional display (5:55). Closeup on the salesman as he sums up, “The new television system that thinks in color.” The ColorTrak rainbow logo (6:35).
The XL-100 was a line of RCA “100% solid-state” television sets that debuted in 1971, introducing top-of-the-line replacements for their “Vista” series, distinguished by a lack of vacuum tubes. The ColorTrak debuted in 1976. Later 1980s models introduced digital keypads and channel indicators. Remote controls and RCA video input jacks followed in the 1990s, as the XL-100 settled into mid-range status.
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