Tint control

Because the NTSC color television standard relies on the absolute phase of the color information, color errors occur when the phase of the video signal is altered between source and receiver. To correct for phase errors, a tint control is provided on NTSC television sets, which allows the user to manually adjust the phase relationship between the color information in the video and the reference for decoding the color information, known as the "color burst", so that correct colors may be displayed.

The tint control is normally set by sight to create satisfactory skin tones in a picture. The range of adjustment typically allows these colors to be adjusted from a green to a magenta tint. Television sets produced in recent decades typically include a (sometimes non-defeatable) distortion of the color decoding spectrum, to minimize the visual effects of phase error and lessen the need to adjust the tint control.

On broadcast equipment, such as timebase correctors and studio monitors, this control is typically marked "phase," as it adjusts the phase of the color signal with respect to the color burst signal.