History of the Television: Evolution in 90 Years

The television has traveled a long path: from a bulky box with blurry image and poor sound, it has transformed into an interactive screen managed by remote control and only a centimeter thick in less than a hundred years. We tell you how it happened.

1920s. Mechanical Television

In 1925, thanks to British inventor John Logie Baird, the first mechanical television was seen. It worked simply: the image changed due to a special rotating disc, and the picture had only 30 vertical lines. Today, in our televisions, we see 24 frames per second, whereas then there were only five. In the four subsequent years, 1000 devices were sold, which was a big breakthrough for the inventor.

The Germans went further and in 1928 presented a device that worked like a projector — projecting the image on the opposite wall and showing only shadows and unclear silhouettes.

In 1929, an American company released the first 'Vitaphone' televisions.

However, the device did not become popular due to poor image quality. The picture was the size of a stamp, and even with lens magnification, only general outlines were visible, and faces were not distinguishable at all.

1930s. Electronic Television

With the arrival of the new decade, a breakthrough happened. In 1931, Russian immigrant and RCA employee Vladimir Zworykin invented the 'iconoscope', from which the transition from electromechanical to electronic television began.

In 1931, at the Eighth Radio Exhibition in Berlin, German company LOEWE demonstrated the first image transmission in the world. This was a serious statement for mass television broadcasting.

Already in 1933, electronic televisions arrived in stores in France, Great Britain, and the United States. However, they were not accessible to everyone: the cheapest model with a 30-centimeter diagonal screen was sold for $445. In today's equivalent, that would be about $7,500.

In the same 1933, company LOEWE released the first television in the world with a dynamic speaker.
At that time, the sound quality of this television was at an impossibly high level.

1940s. Crisis in Europe

During World War II and several years after it, Europe had no time for television, while in the USA production of televisions developed rapidly.

If in 1946, televisions were in only five out of 100 families, by the end of the 1950s, television receivers stood in 77% of the population.

1950s. Color and Remote Control

In 1953, the United States introduced analog color television system NTSC. In the same year, 40 thousand color televisions were sold.

In the 1950s, the first remote control was also introduced. It was developed by Eugene Polley, an employee of the American company Zenith Radio Corporation. However, the remote was connected to the television via a cable.

But in 1955, the wireless remote Flashmatic appeared, which contained a photo element reacting to the light beam. Today, this principle is used in, for example, gate remotes or metro turnstiles.

1960s. Pixels

In the early 60s, the first plasma screen was launched in the USA. However, initially it was used as an information board at train stations and airports and had a resolution of only 16x16 pixels.

1970s and 1980s. Infrared Emission and Computers

In 1974, the infrared remote was introduced, which is still used today. In the 80s, it became possible to connect gaming consoles, video recorders, and computers to the television.

1990s. Plasma

The first full-color plasma panel appeared in 1992.

The sensational event of 1997 was the first television in the world LOEWE with Internet access. This was the first Smart TV, without which it is impossible to imagine any television today.

In 1998, a German company was among the first to introduce a flat-screen television LOEWE Spheros.

2000s. Race for Design

At the beginning of the zero years, among 'plasma' manufacturers, a race started for the largest and thinnest television, as well as a television with additional effects.

In 2004, Japanese corporation developed backlighting on all sides of the television, which enhanced the effect of what was happening on the screen. However, this technology quickly caused eye strain, and the model was removed from production.

2010s. 8K Image and OLED Display

One of the latest technologies for modern TVs became OLED displays with organic LEDs and infinite image contrast.

Many manufacturers plan to release 8K screen resolution models soon. Modern models have Internet access, automatic synchronization, and playback from any mobile device.

The most eloquent statement on this topic was made by one of Google's company directors, Kevall Desai: “The future of television lies in eliminating the difference that exists today between television and Internet.”

The future of television is in eliminating the difference between television and the Internet.

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