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First All Electronic TV Image Tube Created
In 1927, Philo Farnsworth filed a patent for the first ever all electronic TV imaging tube. He did not recieve his patent until 1930. At around that time RCA developed a better tube that required less light and was more practical to use. http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Farnsworth's_Image_Dissector -
First Sports Broadcast
The first athletic event broadcasted was a baseball game between Columbia and Princeton. 5 months later the first professional game was broadcasted from Ebbets field by NBC. http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/spr99/34a.html -
First Advertisement on TV
The FCC first allowed stations to broadcast advertisements in July of 1941. A New York NBC station broadcasted the first ad, which promoted clocks, on July 1st just before a Brooklyn Dodgers game. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_history -
First TV Sold for Less than $200
In 1947, Motorola introduced the first TV to sell for less than $200, the VT-71. This made TV available for most Americans and helped raise the amount of homes with a TV from 0.5% in 1946 to 55.7% less than 10 years later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_history -
First Live Broadcast
The first ever live national broadcast was of President Truman's speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_history -
Color Transmission System is Approved
The FCC approved color transmission systems to allow programs to be broadcast both to old black and white TVs and the new color TVs. http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/20031231colortv1231p3.asp -
First Wireless TV Remotes
The first wireless remote control was the Zenith Space Commander. It had a little hammer in it that hit a small rod which made an ultrasonic sound. Based on the sound, the TV either turned the TV on and off, changed channels,changed the volume, or muted the sound. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023689_2023681_2023586,00.html -
First Satellite Broadcast
On this day the first stellite broadcast was made with AT&Ts Telstar. The signal traveled from Maine to England and included pictures of the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and highlights of a baseball game. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-telstar-anniversary-20120712,0,6459362.story -
Color TVs Increase in Popularity
For the first time, in 1972, color TV sales out number the sales of black and white TVs http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/20031231colortv1231p3.asp -
Rear Projection TVs Introduced
The Rear Projection TV allowed CRT TVs to grow in size. Most big screen TVs before 2000 were Rear Projection TVs. Now, with the invention of LCD screens, the sale of rear Projection TVs is greatly declining http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/tv-evolution-pictures10.htm -
First LCD TVs Sold
Sharp sold the first LCD TV in 1988. It only had a 14 inch screen and was only available in standard definition. This was mostly used by businesses to display things. In 2007, LCDs became the best selling type of TV because of their great resolution and low energy consumption. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459492_lcd-tv-history.html -
Plasma TVs Introduced
Plasma TVs can be as large as rear projection TVs and a lot thinner. Even though they had the benefits of large size and low weight, they could not compete with LCDs because of their expensive price tag. http://www.howtogeek.com/95459/the-evolution-of-television-infographic/ -
HD Introduced
On this day there was the first High Definition broadcast seen from coast to coast. The broadcast showed a return mission to space aboard the Discovery. HD is transmitted in 720p and 1080p. These offer the clearest, most lifelike picture quality and sound. 1080p is the greatest resolution so it gives you the best picture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television -
DVR Introduced
In 1999 the first Digital Video Recorder was introduced. This allowed people to record shows and watch them later with the ablitiy to pause, fastforward, rewind, and more. Before the DVR people would record things on tape with a VCR. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/tv-evolution-pictures15.htm -
LED TV Introduced
The first LED TV was introduced to consumers in 2004 by Sony. TVs back lit by LEDs are brighter while using even less power than LCDs and are thinner. http://www.ehow.com/info_8749775_led-tv-history.html -
TV and the Internet Combine
With the release of Apple TV in 2007 TVs started to connect with tthe internet. People were able to watch videos, view pictures, and even search the internet on their giant HDTV. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/tv-evolution-pictures20.htm -
Polarized 3D
Just like at the movies, you had to wear glasses with polarized lenses to see the 3D effect. Without the glasses the screen would be blurry. -
Alternate Frame 3D
Glasses must be worn for the 3D effect. You can watch the TV without the glasses without the image being blurry, but it won't be in 3D -
TV Popularity
Today, nearly 99% of households in America have at least one TV and over half of the homes have at least 3. The average person spends 14% of their day watching TV and in a year most children spend more time watching TV than being in school. http://www.billshrink.com/blog/10082/television-in-america/ -
Auto 3D
3D TVs are being developed where the people watching it don't have to wear glasses. This technology exists in the Nintendo 3DS, but it has not been perfected for a TV
