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In 1924 John Logie Baird invented the first working television using any material he could find. -
The Baird Televisor became the first television sold commercially in 1929. -
The Marconi 702 invented in the 1930s, was a luxury item only the rich could afford. The tv set was sold for $130. -
His Master's Voice or HMV combined both radio and television together in the 1930s. -
The popularity of televisions like this Motorola Golden View boomed in the 1940s. Due to price drops, Americans were buying 100,000 TVs a week in 1949. -
In the late 1940s, broadcast stations started producing shows based on their radio serials for TVs such as the General Electric 807. -
With more shows and technological improvements, TVs — like this Raytheon M 1601 — were more popular than ever in the 1950s. The first color television system began broadcast in 1953. -
Companies continued to invent new technology such as the electronic remote control switch for the RCA Victor TV in 1960. -
Daytime television was introduced on receivers like the Philco Tandem Predicta in the 1950s and '60s. -
The 1960s brought creative and bizarre TV designs, including the home entertainment center. -
Though color television proved popular, price drops on black-and-white TVs like the Marconiphone monochrome receiver meant households could afford more than one set in the 1970s. -
The Sinclair Microvision was released in 1976, offering portable television for the first time. -
Similar in spirit to Sinclair's pocket television, the Seiko TV Watch claimed to be the smallest TV in the world. -
No longer a new commodity, TVs such as the Philips 21St became a staple in most homes by the 1980s and '90s.
Around 60% of households in America had cable by 1989, according to research by The Drum. -
The first flat-screen TVs were an expense most people couldn't afford, but during the 2000s, they quickly began to replace the box television sets of old. -
Companies like Sony tested a new dimension in the living room with the creation of its 3D TVs in the 2010s. -
A few short years later, 4K flat screens are obsolete with the introduction of 8K resolution.