History of Television

Mechanical Television

1800

This tv mechanically scanned images then put the images onto the screen. These televisions were very basic compared to the tvs we have now. The first mechanical television used a rotating disk with holes in a spiral pattern.

Photophone

1880

Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison invented the photophone. It could transfer sound but not pictures.

Television

1900

The first television was seen at the World Fair in Paris.

Cathode Ray Tube

1907

Boris Rosing and A. A. Campbell Swinton combined a cathode ray tube with a mechanical scanning system to create a new television system.

Moving picture

1924

John Baird developed a way to capture objects in motion. It was called the moving pictures.

Television tested publically

1925

The first long distance television test ran between Washington D.C. and new York.

Electronic Television

1927

A 21 year old named Philo Taylor Farnsworth, invented the first electronic television. Philo lived in a house with no electricity until he was 14 years old. Farnsworth's tv captured moving images using a beam of electrons.

First Television Station

1928

Charles owned the first television station named W3XK.

First Television set in America

1928

America's first television was based on the mechanical television system. This set was made by John Baird and was put out to the public in 1928.

Electrical Televisions

1934

By this time, all tvs had been converted into the electric system.

TV Revolution

1936

There were 200 television sets in use by 1936.

First Major Television Network

1937

CBS was the first major television network.

World Fair Exhibit

1939

Tvs were tested at the World Fair in 1939 to market to the public. One of the first TV brands was RCA.

First remote control

1948

The world's first remote control was called the Tele Zoom. The Tele Zoom could only zoom in to the television picture. It could not change the channels or turn the tv on or off.

First Color Program

Jun 21, 1951

The first color program was broadcasted by CBS. Only 12 customers across America could see the first color tv broadcast.

RCA color Broadcasting

1953

RCA released its first color broadcasting system. 12 million people across the world could see this program.

Full Color Network

1965

NBC calls itself the full color network and releases 96% of its programming in color.

Cable News Network

1980

Ted Turner launches CNN (Cable News Network), a channel devoted to showcasing news 24 hours a day.

VCRs

1980

VCRs became a way for consumers to record programs and view them at their own leisure.

Dial-up ISPs

1990

Internet became available in the home through Dial-up ISPs (Internet Service Providers), introducing the dawn of a competing source of content.

Digital Satellite Dishes

1996

Digital Satellite Dishes hit the market in 1996 and became the bestselling electronic item in history next to the vcr.

Digital Video Disc

2000

The DVD (Digital Video Disc) was introduced.

Flat screen Tvs

2005

Flat screen TVs and HDTVs were introduced for the first time.

Blu-ray Disc format

2006

Sony releases its Blu-ray disc format, capable of holding up to 27GB despite being the same size as a DVD.

3D TVs

2010

3D televisions started hitting the market.