Jayson (History of Television)

Prior to electric televisions, we had mechanical televisions. One of the first mechanical televisions used a rotating disk with holes arranged in a spiral pattern. This device was created independently by two inventors: Scottish inventor John Logie Baird and American inventor Charles Francis Jenkins. Both devices were invented in the early 1920s.

The world’s first electronic television was created by a 21 year old inventor named Philo Taylor Farnsworth. That inventor lived in a house without electricity until he was age 14. Starting in high school, he began to think of a system that could capture moving images, transform those images into code, then move those images along radio waves to different devices.

America’s first commercially produced television sets were based on the mechanical television system, made by John Baird’s television designs. These sets were shown off to the public in September, 1928. It would take until 1938, however, before American electronic television sets were produced and released commercially. They were an instant hit after release.

The world’s first television stations first started appearing in America in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The first mechanical TV station was called W3XK and was created by Charles Francis Jenkins. That TV station aired its first broadcast on July 2, 1928. One of the world’s first television stations, WRGB, has the honor of being the world’s only continuously operating station since 1926 to the modern day.

The first American advertisement aired on July 1st of 1941. The ad was for a Bulova watch and lasted for 10 seconds.

The tele zoom was kind of like the first remote control but can barely even be categorized as a remote control. The Tele Zoom was only used to “zoom in” to the picture on the television. You could not use it to change any channels or turn the TV on or off. The Tele Zoom was released in 1948.

Produced by Zenith and released in 1955. This remote control could turn the television on or off and change the channel. It was also completely wireless.

This led to a rapid increase in sales of color television sets.

The medium can store any kind of digital data and is widely used for software and other computer files as well as video programs watched using DVD players.

The First Flat Screen TV In 1997, Sharp and Sony introduced the first large flat screen TV. It was created using the PALC technology and measured 42 inches, a record size at the time. This first model sold for more than $15,000, making it well out of reach for most Americans.