HISTORY OF TELEVISION:Early History, The Black & White Images, Color Television

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Introduction to Broadcasting MCM 411

LESSON 23

HISTORY OF TELEVISION

The electronic way of communication was quite well known by the start of the 20th century but

in almost all cases it was limit to sending or receiving voice messages. Since most

researchers and scientists were focusing on the voice transmission, the radio broadcast

resulted almost simultaneously in many parts of the world with the exception of a difference of

few years. The name of Marconi, however, stands distinguished in the eyes of many as the

inventor of radio.

The inventor of television, the device responsible for receiving voice as well as images, is

John Logie Baird of Scotland. Controversy, however, surrounds the matter to mark as who

really invented the television. Most historians have settled the issue by reaching the

conclusion that it is an outcome of many scientists who worked on different areas of this

outstanding device, which, ever since its inception, has been bringing about so many social,

cultural and economic changes - and that too with rapid speed, and is considered as one

major factor to help globalize human thinking and understanding on various matters by fully

exploiting all the elements possible in visual communication, or say broadcasting.

Here below we will make an attempt to see TV history and various stages, it has scaled so far.

Early History

Although the Scotsman John Logie Baird is generally considered to be the creator of

television, it remains a challenging job about television history from where exactly to begin.

Most inventions begin with a vision and so for the sake of argument we can begin our story as

far back as 1869. For that was the year that the French artist Albert Robida, published a

picture of a man, reclining in an armchair in the comfort of his own home, And this more than

two decades before the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison had caught one of his

assistants, Fred Ott, sneezing on camera, which was then copyrighted as 'Record of a

Sneeze', on 7th January 1894. But whilst scientists and photographers the world-over had

been trying to invent the movies for years, television had its own definite requirements, and

these were not the result of a single discovery, but of successive and independent

developments.

The discovery of a material known as selenium is said to be very important, if we have to

begin from somewhere.

In 1817 the Swedish scientist Berzelius discovered selenium, a metalloid in the oxygen group

with electrical properties. But it wasn't until 1873 that a telegraph operator named Joseph May

discovered the photosensitive properties of selenium which led to the possibility of converting

light waves into electrical impulses. But it wasn't until 1881 that another American, Shelford

Bidwell, demonstrated a method for transmitting silhouettes. Paul Nipkov's disc scanner made

use of the selenium cell, but like other inventors and demonstrators around that time his

equipment lacked the means of amplifying the impulses.

Karl Ferdinand Braun introduced the first cathode-ray tube for commercial use in 1897 and

four years later Dr Ambrose Fleming patented the two-diode thermionic valve. After this there

was little in the way of public recognized progress until 1923 when a number of scientists in

Introduction to Broadcasting MCM 411

the US, France and England had progressed to the point where they were able to transmit

shadows.

It's at this point, that Baird came onto the scene in a big way. Although he had been

developing his own methods of televised images for many years, it was in 1924 that he first

demonstrated a mechanically scanned television system which transmitted objects in outline

and went on the following year to show the head of a dummy, not just in outline but as a real

image.

Since the time of Baird, the dizzyingly rapid development of the medium of television has

taken many of the disparate elements chanced upon by those early, far-sighted, pioneers and

consolidated them into a unified whole which has arguably become one of the key

cornerstones of modern society.

Viewed with the benefit of perfect hindsight, the beginning and subsequent rise of television

can now be appreciated as a complex mosaic of inspired individuals. A vision, which

ultimately combined to form a cohesive foundation for one of the most important and far

reaching invention in human history.

The Black & White Images:

Though many companies patented the new technology in their respective countries, the world

saw an unusual interest in the black and white programs which normally consisted of the

filmed music, live chats announcements and news. Since TV transmission was very limited in

covering distance, only urban population was there to enjoy early days of TV life.

THE World War II

The

sudden

outbreak of World

War II halted to

some

extent

progress on TV

transmissions and

improvement

technological

advancement

making

household item for

most. The B/W

limited scale TV

transmission

continued to excite

people. The images

of war ridden and

ravaged sites on mini screens of old-fashioned TV sets would pull crowd to watch those and

get influenced by the devastation of the mad war. Seeing is believing, worked to make people

understand as who was winning the war and who was controlling the noted and known cities

at different stages of the years long fighting. It was a sight not to be forgotten for those who

first witnessed defeat of German armies at different fronts and marching of the allied forces on

the German land towards the last days of the war.

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Color Television

A German patent in 1904 contained the earliest recorded proposal for a color television

system. In 1925, Zworykin, a scientist, filed a patent disclosure for an all-electronic color

television system. Both of these systems were not successful, however, they were the first for

color television.

"Between 1946 and 1950 the research staff of RCA Laboratories invented the world's first

electronic, monochrome compatible, color television system."

In 1940, prior to RCA, CBS researchers led by Peter Goldmark invented a mechanical color

television system based on the 1928 designs of John Logie Baird. The FCC authorized CBS's

color television technology as the national standard in October 1950, despite the fact that the

system was bulky, flickered, and was not compatible with earlier black and white sets. Color

television production was halted during the Korean war in the early years of the 50s.

Those factors provided RCA, manufacturers of TV sets, with the time to design a better color

television. Their system passed FCC approval in late 1953 and sales of RCA color televisions

began in 1954.

In December of 1954, RCA introduced their 21" color TV. Although the number recorded in

history books is 5,000 units sold, the common belief (amongst collectors) is that the actual

number sold to the public was considerably less.

1950-1959 was an exciting time period for television. In the USA, B&W television exploded

onto the scene at the beginning of the decade, mid-decade saw electronic color television and

remote controls launched, and at the end of the decade the public witnessed some interesting

styling changes and the introduction of transistorized television.

Nature of Programs

TV took most of its program patterns from radio. Classification of its transmission has been

made in the following manner;

News

Music

Films

Comedy shows

Live shows

Sports

The Cultural Revolution

There have been changes in the lifestyle of societies which have been brought about by the

introduction of TV broadcast. The following factors helped take TV broadcast across the world

and effect changes in the living style of people;

Tourism

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Languages

Immigration policies

Education

The Transmission Systems

Since a range of technical advancement on some different lines was available when TV

transmission was introduced in 40s and 50s in different countries, there are still different

systems which operate the whole functions of transmission and receiving TV signals.

Here below is some detail of various valid systems, and a chart of countries showing the

system they allowed for TV transmission.

The

table

below

shows

the

type

television

broadcast

standard

used in most countries around the world.

There are currently 3 main television standards used throughout the world:

NTSC - National Television Standards Committee. The oldest existing standard, developed in

the USA. First used in 1954, consists of 525 horizontal lines of display and 60 vertical lines.

SECAM - Système Électronique pour Couleur avec Mémoire. Developed in France. First used

in 1967. A 625-line vertical, 50-line horizontal display.

PAL - Phase Alternating Line. Developed by German engineer Walter Bruch and the German

electronic corporation Telefunken. Walter Bruch patented his invention in 1963 and the first

commercial application of the PAL system in August 1967. Also a 625/50-line display and

alternative of NTSC. Proponents call it "Perfection At Last."

Television Standards by Country:

COUNTRY

SIGNAL TYPE

AFGHANISTAN

PAL B, SECAM B

ALBANIA

PAL B/G

ALGERIA

PAL B/G

ANGOLA

PAL I

ANTARCTICA

NTSC M

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

NTSC M

ARGENTINA

PAL N

ARMENIA

SECAM D/K

ARUBA

NTSC M

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AUSTRALIA

PAL B/G

AUSTRIA

PAL B/G

AZERBAIJAN

SECAM D/K

AZORES

PAL B

BAHAMAS

NTSC M

BAHRAIN

PAL B/G

BANGLADESH

PAL B

BARBADOS

NTSC M

BELARUS

SECAM D/K

BELGIUM

PAL B/H

BELGIUM (ARMED FORCES NETWORK)

NTSC M

BELIZE

NTSC M

BENIN

SECAM K

BERMUDA

NTSC M

BOLIVIA

NTSC M

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA

PAL B/H

BOTSWANA

SECAM K, PAL I

BRAZIL

PAL M

BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY

NTSC M

(AF DIEGO GARCIA TV - AFRTS)

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

PAL B

BULGARIA

PAL

BURKINA FASO

SECAM K

BURUNDI

SECAM K

CAMBODIA

PAL B/G, NTSC M

CAMEROON

PAL B/G

CANADA

NTSC M

CANARY ISLANDS

PAL B/G

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

SECAM K

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CHAD

SECAM D

CHILE

NTSC M

CHINA (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC)

PAL D

COLOMBIA

NTSC M

CONGO (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC)

SECAM K

CONGO, DEM. REP. (ZAIRE)

SECAM K

COOK ISLANDS

PAL B

COSTA RICA

NTSC M

COTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST)

SECAM K/D

CROATIA

PAL B/H

CUBA

NTSC M

CYPRUS

PAL B/G

CZECH REPUBLIC

PAL B/G (cable), PAL D/K (broadcast)

DENMARK

PAL B/G

DIEGO GARCIA

NTSC M

DJIBOUTI

SECAM K

DOMINICA

NTSC M

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

NTSC M

EAST TIMOR

PAL B

EASTER ISLAND

PAL B

ECUADOR

NTSC M

EGYPT

PAL B/G, SECAM B/G

EL SALVADOR

NTSC M

EQUITORIAL GUINEA

SECAM B

ESTONIA

PAL B/G

ETHIOPIA

PAL B

FALKLAND ISLANDS (LAS MALVINAS)

PAL I

FIJI

NTSC M

FINLAND

PAL B/G

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FRANCE

SECAM L

FRANCE (FRENCH FORCES TV)

SECAM G

GABON

SECAM K

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

NTSC M

GAMBIA

PAL B

GEORGIA

SECAM D/K

GERMANY

PAL B/G

GERMANY (ARMED FORCES TV GERMANY)

NTSC M

GHANA

PAL B/G

GIBRALTAR

PAL B/G

GREECE

PAL B/G

GREENLAND

PAL B

GRENADA

NTSC M

GUAM

NTSC M

GUADELOUPE

SECAM K

GUATEMALA

NTSC M

GUIANA (FRENCH)

SECAM K

GUINEA

PAL K

GUYANA

NTSC M

HAITI

SECAM

HONDURAS

NTSC M

HONG KONG

PAL I

HUNGARY

PAL K/K

ICELAND

PAL B/G

INDIA

PAL B

INDONESIA

PAL B

IRAN

PAL B/G

IRAQ

PAL

IRELAND, REPUBLIC OF

PAL I

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ISLE OF MAN

PAL

ISRAEL

PAL B/G

ITALY

PAL B/G

JAMAICA

NTSC M

JAPAN

NTSC M

JOHNSTONE ISLAND

NTSC M

JORDAN

PAL B/G

KAZAKHSTAN

SECAM D/K

KENYA

PAL B/G

KOREA (NORTH)

SECAM D, PAL D/K

KOREA (SOUTH)

NTSC M

KUWAIT

PAL B/G

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

SECAM D/K

LAOS

PAL B

LATVIA

PAL B/G, SECAM D/K

LEBANON

PAL B/G

LESOTHO

PAL K

LIBERIA

PAL B/H

LIBYA

PAL B/G

LIECHTENSTEIN

PAL B/G

LITHUANIA

PAL B/G, SECAM D/K

LUXEMBOURG

PAL B/G, SECAM L

MACAU

PAL I

MACEDONIA

PAL B/H

MADAGASCAR

SECAM K

MADEIRA

PAL B

MALAYSIA

PAL B

MALDIVES

PAL B

MALI

SECAM K

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MALTA

PAL B

MARSHALL ISLANDS

NTSC M

MARTINIQUE

SECAM K

MAURITANIA

SECAM B

MAURITIUS

SECAM B

MAYOTTE

SECAM K

MEXICO

NTSC M

MICRONESIA

NTSC M

MIDWAY ISLAND

NTSC M

MOLDOVA (MOLDAVIA)

SECAM D/K

MONACO

SECAM L, PAL G

MONGOLIA

SECAM D

MONTSERRAT

NTSC M

MOROCCO

SECAM B

MOZAMBIQUE

PAL B

MYANMAR (BURMA)

NTSC M

NAMIBIA

PAL I

NEPAL

NETHERLANDS

PAL B/G

NETHERLANDS (ARMED FORCES NETWORK)

NTSC M

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

NTSC M

NEW CALEDONIA

SECAM K

NEW ZEALAND

PAL B/G

NICARAGUA

NTSC M

NIGER

SECAM K

NIGERIA

PAL B/G

NORFOLK ISLAND

PAL B

NORTH MARIANA ISLANDS

NTSC M

NORWAY

PAL B/G

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OMAN

PAL B/G

PAKISTAN

PAL B

PALAU

NTSC M

PANAMA

NTSC M

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

PAL B/G

PARAGUAY

PAL N

PERU

NTSC M

PHILIPPINES

NTSC M

POLAND

PAL D/K

POLYNESIA (FRENCH)

SECAM K

PORTUGAL

PAL B/G

PUERTO RICO

NTSC M

QATAR

PAL B

REUNION

SECAM K

ROMANIA

PAL D/G

RUSSIA

SECAM D/K

ST. KITTS & NEVIS

NTSC M

ST. LUCIA

NTSC M

ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON

SECAM K

ST. VINCENT

NTSC M

SAO TOMÉ E PRINCIPE

PAL B/G

SAMOA, AMERICAN

NTSC

SAUDI ARABIA

SECAM B/G, PAL B

SAMOA

NTSC M

SENEGAL

SECAM K

SEYCHELLES

PAL B/G

SIERRA LEONE

PAL B/G

SINGAPORE

PAL B/G

SLOVAKIA

PAL B/G

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SLOVENIA

PAL B/H

SOMALIA

PAL B/G

SOUTH AFRICA

PAL I

SPAIN

PAL B/G

SRI LANKA

PAL

SUDAN

PAL B

SURINAME

NTSC M

SWAZILAND

PAL B/G

SWEDEN

PAL B/G

SWITZERLAND

PAL B/G

SYRIA

SECAM B, PAL G

TAHITI

SECAM

TAIWAN

NTSC

TAJIKISTAN

SECAM D/K

TANZANIA

PAL B

THAILAND

PAL B/M

TOGO

SECAM K

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

NTSC M

TUNISIA

SECAM B/G

TURKEY

PAL B

TURKMENISTAN

SECAM D/K

TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS

NTSC M

UGANDA

PAL B/G

UKRAINE

SECAM D/K

URUGUAY

PAL N

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

PAL B/G

UNITED STATES

NTSC M

UNITED KINGDOM

PAL I

UZBEKISTAN

SECAM D/K

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VENEZUELA

NTSC M

VIETNAM

NTSC M,SECAM D

VIRGIN ISLANDS (US & BRITISH)

NTSC M

WALLIS & FUTUNA

SECAM K

YEMEN

PAL B/NTSC M

YUGOSLAVIA

PAL B/G

ZAMBIA

PAL B/G

ZIMBABWE

PAL B/G

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