SMPTE Color Bars Screensaver
The SMPTE Color Bars screensaver recreates the classic SMPTE broadcast color-bar calibration pattern used by television stations for decades. It is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
Live preview
Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.
How the SMPTE Color Bars screensaver works
The saver draws the real, standardized SMPTE color-bar layout — white, yellow, cyan, green, magenta, red, blue and black bands.
A subtle scanline overlay and gentle flicker give it an authentic analog-broadcast feel.
The pattern is static by design, with only a gentle animation to avoid burn-in on modern displays.
This recreates a real, well-documented broadcast engineering standard.
A worked example
The familiar band of colors sits steady on screen, exactly as generations of TV engineers used it to calibrate broadcast equipment.
Settings & tips
- Accent tints the scanline overlay.
- Based on the real, standardized SMPTE color-bar broadcast pattern.
- A gentle animation avoids static burn-in on modern displays.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a real broadcast standard?
- Yes — the real SMPTE color-bar pattern used by broadcast engineers for decades.
- Is a key needed?
- No — it is a pure visual pattern.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
- Will it burn in on my screen?
- The pattern gently animates specifically to avoid that.