Originally designed to test early color camera encoders, it is commonly (albeit incorrectly) used as a standard test signal.

The saturated color bars and luminance gray bar are usually used to check monitors for color accuracy. The saturated color bars are a poor test of any nonlinear circuit or system and at best, show video continuity. Testing a video system using color bars is analogous to testing an audio system using a simple set of monotonal frequencies. Many color TV test signals have been developed to accurately assess video processing equipment such as ADCs, compressors, etc.