The Evolution of Television

“TV will never be a serious competitor for radio because people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn't time for it.” ~Author Unknown, from New York Times, 1939

Paul Nipkow O Regarded as the inventor of the TV set O Born: 22 August 1860 O Died: 24 August 1940 O Patented the Nipkow Disk in 1884

Philo Farnsworth O Invented a fully functional all-electronic image pickup device O Born: August 19, 1906 O Died: March 11, 1971 O In 1929, he transmitted the first live human image (3.5 inch pic of wife Pem)

Commercial Television Sets O Cathode Ray Tubes were manufactured in Germany starting in 1934 O Sold beginning in 1938 in America O 3-inch screen: US $125 (equivalent to US $2020) O 12-inch screen: US $445 (equivalent to US $7200) O Approximately sets made in America before WWII

1938 Dupont Model 180

After WWII O Television usage skyrocketed O 0.5% of U.S. households had a television set in 1946 O 55.7% had one in 1954 O 90% by 1962 O In 1947, Motorola introduced the VT-71 television for $ (affordable)

1946/1947 RCA 630-TS

Motorola VT-71

Colour Television O On February 28 th, 1954, the Westinghouse H840CK15 became available in New York O It cost $1295 (equivalent to $11 400) O Available at 60 stores, not a single sale was reported

Westinghouse H840CK15

High Definition O In the late 1980s, HDTV technology was introduced in the United States O In 1993, it was official by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance O On July 23 rd, 1996, WRAL-TV became the first to broadcast a digital television signal O HDTV sets became available in the U.S. in 1998 O In November 1998, the first public HDTV broadcast occurred (Discovery space shuttle launch)

1995 HDTV Meeting

Evolution