Evolution of Television

-Karthik Gurumurthy

The whole concept of TV started way back in the 1880s when scientists like Sawyer and Leblanc realized that our eyes see motion when shown rapid sequences of still images. The first real breakthrough came in 1884 when Paul Nipkow created a spinning disk scanner that could transmit crude images line by line.

John Logie Baird developed the first practical TV system in 1923 using only 30 scanning lines (compared to our standard 525), and the BBC actually used this flickery system for early broadcasts in 1929. Pretty impressive for the time!

The modern TV as we know it came from two independent inventors in the 1920s – Vladimir Zworykin (often called the “father of television”) and Philo Farnsworth. Zworykin’s big moment came in 1938 when he demonstrated his system at the New York World’s Fair, where FDR became the first American president to appear on television!

By the 1950s, TVs were in American homes everywhere, but they were all black and white until color systems were developed. The FCC chose RCA’s color system in 1954 since it worked with existing sets, while the competing CBS system would have required everyone to buy new TVs.

Cable TV started in 1949 but really took off in the 1970s, offering clearer reception and more channels than broadcast television. Today, we’re seeing HDTV with over 1,000 scanning lines (versus the standard 525), giving us that movie-theater quality picture and CD-quality sound.

The technology is fascinating – from electron guns shooting beams at phosphorescent screens to the way signals travel through the air as radio waves. Modern TVs display a complete spectrum of colors through three electron beams (red, green, and blue) that scan the screen 30 times per second!

It’s wild to think that in 1996, HDTV sets were projected to cost $3,500-$5,000 when they’d finally hit American stores in 1998. And now we’re streaming high-def content on small tv devices we carry in our pockets! I can visualize sleeker TVs coming up soon!