Fascinating Look Back at the RCA Colortrak 2000, the CRT Television from 1982 Hidden Behind Glass

Photo credit: This-Profession-1680
Collectors frequently pause for a second when they see one in a thrift store or internet listing. A 1982 RCA Colortrak 2000 stands there with that 25-inch CRT screen behind a full tinted glass panel that swings open like a cabinet door, seeming almost like a piece of furniture at first glance. It protected the tube from dust and made darker scenes appear much more dramatic in well-lit spaces by reducing reflections.

RCA positioned the Colortrak 2000 as the top of their line in the early 1980s. The regular Colortrak sets were fairly reliable at the time, but the 2000 series went one step further by including a specialized comb filter. This item split color signals considerably cleanly than any other way, resulting in incredibly clean edges and minimal “bleeding” between colors on TV or recordings. They also included a light sensor near the screen. Cover it up in a bright area and the display will automatically decrease to reflect the surroundings, since it was quite futuristic stuff for its time, especially given most TVs. You just have a lot of manual knobs to mess with.

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People enjoyed the entire cabinet as much as the hardware itself. Acacia veneer and several good hardwoods received a warm golden finish, polished to a wonderful gloss that blended perfectly with the living room decor. The speakers were located at the bottom of the cabinet, on a glossy chrome base, and featured a dual dimension audio arrangement with two nine-inch oval drivers and a built-in amplifier. RCA even touted it as stereo-ready before stereo broadcasting became popular, and you could connect other sources via audio jacks and tune the bass and treble independently, which was unusual in ordinary sets at the time.

The controls were concealed until you needed them, as a smoked acrylic door moved to one side to display all of the buttons for turning on and off the power, selecting channels, and making picture modifications such as sharpness and hue. There are no large knobs jutting out anywhere. The original remote, later renamed as the Digital Command Center, was compatible with the set and could also control other components in a comprehensive RCA system. A minor but neat feature, since you can push the remote and it will switch on the TV without the need for a separate power button, just a little indication at how RCA conceived of these sets as part of a comprehensive home entertainment package.

The early models, like this 1982 example, only had RF connectors. Cable-ready tuning supported 127 channels, and a super ACU filter ensured color consistency among stations. Later, certain 2000 model Colortraks added composite inputs and even S-video plugs to the back, which could be accessed by tuning to a specific non-broadcast channel. This made the sets extremely useful even after they were brand new, particularly for plugging in gaming consoles or VCRs without the need for a variety of adapters. Yes, there were a few uncommon types with BNC connectors, an homage to all the professional video equipment that most people never saw.