This document discusses compatibility in color television systems. It defines forward and backward compatibility. The color television signal must produce a normal black and white picture on a monochrome receiver without modification, and a color receiver must produce black and white from a monochrome signal, which is called reverse compatibility. The color system must meet several requirements to achieve compatibility, including using the same bandwidth and carrier frequencies as monochrome, transmitting the same luminance information, and encoding color in a way that does not affect monochrome receivers. Examples given of compatible systems include NTSC being backward compatible with black and white TVs, and DVD drives playing CDs.