"Actually, NTSC color makes pretty good use of bandwidth when you're
constrained to all-analog"

Right, but that is not what I meant. I meant none of this **** is worth watching. When I was a kid and we had like five channels we actually had to have a discussion on what to watch.

Now hot only are there more TVs in the house than people, we got like 500 channels. There used to be shows that were entertaining, even though they were kinda like - junk. They were entertaining. Now we are relegated to watching people remodel houses or something, or Gordon Ramsay bitching out restaurant owners or some retired detective describing a 35 year old case, with re-enactment of course. Most other shows it looks like they let an eight year old kid work the camera, I mean they do EVERYTHING cameramen were taught not to do. It is ****ing unwatchable.

In the 1960s and 1970s having a TV was a status symbol almost. Now, it has gotten so bad that NOT having one is, almost. Or at least leaving it turned off.

"When it was
introduced, compatible color was right at the cutting edge of (or maybe
a bit beyond) technical feasibility for commercial (not to say consumer)
electronics."

Actually it could not be beyond since it worked. It redefined the cutting edge. Color TV is one of the few things the US can claim as its own invention. Other countries came later, albeit with better systems, but I am pretty sure we were first.

I am not sure about FM stereo. Never really looked into it. I know that in Europe they use less modulation and thus less bandwidth. The de-emphasis is 50 uS not 75. I also had the US and European versions of the same album (Golden Earring - Moontan) and their version was cut with alot less groove modulation and had a huge leadout, putting most of the music where the groove velocity was greater and tracking error less. It sounded considerably better. I mean ALOT better.

Seems like the US is all about loud. More modulation, more up compression, and even other tricks to sound louder. Idiots will put their graphic equalizers full tilt up, and have no idea how to properly use a dynamic range expander like a Pioneer RG-1 or RG-2. They think the right way is to turn the input level all the way up. Look asshole, if it was meant to be all the way up all the time why did they even put a control there ?

But that is my opinion after much observation. LOUD is the "American" way. Wasn't it the US came out with laws about reporting the power output of amps ? I guess other countries have the same but that seems like something we probably did first.