Ever since overtaking radio as the popular mass medium in the 1950s, television has become such an integral part of human life that for some, it is almost impossible to imagine life without it. In a relatively short period, television sets evolved from being a luxury product to a household necessity.
The story of TV adoption in Kenya occurs on a different timeline from the rest of the world, but its transformative effect is still just as palpable. Only a few decades ago, owning a tv set distinguished you from your neighbours, who accorded you certain respect.
In fact, others’ children would befriend your kids so they could watch after-school cartoons. Random visitors would pop in at around 6.45 pm so they could catch the 7.00 pm news.
But how did the television evolve from the bulky boxes of the past with three channels and grainy images on tiny screens to the gargantuan high-definition flat panel displays with internet connectivity and 3D capabilities that we have today?
Here’s a little evolution journey of Television:
Evolution of the Television
In 1924, Scottish engineer John Logie Baird invented the first working Television. He used materials such as cardboard, a bicycle lamp, and wax. In 1925, he demonstrated his invention to the public by successfully transmitting an image of a ventriloquist’s dummy. Baird showcased his invention in department stores. It then became the first television to be sold commercially in 1929. Only 1000 devices were made. The screen was the size of a postage stamp.
In the 1930s, John’s TV, which was a mechanical device was made obsolete by the electric TV that was invented by Philo Farnsworth. He used an “image dissector” (the first television camera tube) to convert the image into a current, and an “image oscillate” (picture tube) to receive it. The television had better resolution and was also easier to mass-produce.
Still, in the 1930s, Marconi’s TV was invented and was regarded as a luxury item because its retail price was $130 (about $2,400 today) which was half the average annual income in England at the time. The Marconi 709 was a self-contained floor-standing model with a 9-inch screen. It could receive worldwide broadcasts courtesy of its 3-band radio, and it was advertised as “a very attractive model of the latest design and convenient dimensions for most houses.”
The HMV (his master’s voice) was also invented in the 1930s. It was a 2-in-1 combination between radio and television. HMV went on sale in 1938 which 20000 sets were sold in Britain. It was a new record at the time.
In the next decade, Americans had their eyes on the Motorola Golden TVs and with that, they were in high demand. Americans were buying 100,000 sets every week. TVs reached the rural parts of the US.
Broadcasting stations began producing shows for TVs and in the 1950s, there were more shows and technological improvements. The Raytheon M 1601 was also popular in the 1950s.
In 1953, the first coloured television system was produced. However, mass adoption of colour television didn’t happen until a decade later because early colour systems were incompatible with black-and-white tv sets.
In 1960, a remote control invention was made for the RCA Victor TV and it was around that time when television sets started making an appearance in Africa. There were also a lot of bizarre creative designs for TVs and by the mid-60s, over 92% of US households possessed a tv set.
The introduction of coloured TVs led to a massive price drop for black-and-white TVs, making them affordable for more households. The Marconiphone monochrome television was the most popular at the time.
1976 saw the invention of the first portable television. It was called the Sinclair Microvision. Similar to Sinclair’s pocket television, the Seiko TV Watch claimed to be the smallest TV in the world. It was an invention that took the spy world by storm. It holds the 1983 Guinness Book of World Records title.
In the 1980s and 1990s, TVs such as the Philips 21st became popular in households. In the 2000s, the first flat screens were introduced. While they still used Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT technology) — responsible for their big backs — they had high-definition displays. They initially started as luxury items, but with economies of scale quickly became affordable to most people.
CRT technology was soon made obsolete by the introduction of flat panel displays in the 2000s and 2010s. These much thinner TVs initially used LCD screen technology, which was quickly replaced by OLED as the defacto screen technology owing to its crisp colours, sharper contrast, and energy-saving capabilities. The malleability of flat panel displays, also allowed manufacturers to produce curved TVs that give the watcher a better viewing experience. They also came with more features such as a multimedia centre, multiple input ports, and internet connectivity.
The 2010s saw the introduction of 3D television, which add a vivid dimension of depth to the image. 4K and 8K TVs soon followed, with a pixel count of 4 and 8 times as much as HD respectively.
Since then, TVs have not changed much in form factor. The current trend is smart TVs, which are internet-ready, enabling one to easily stream content from services such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Spotify. They also enable casting. Smart TVs offer a combination of both traditional television and a plethora of streaming services and apps. Beyond that, TV manufacturers are keener in improving the functionality of TVs, from higher resolutions to functional capabilities of the TV.
