The evolution of TVs

Television has been around for a long time now, and has come a long way since John Logie Baird invented the first working model in 1923. The Cathode Ray Tube television became commercially available in the 1930s, although it wasn’t until the late 1940s that TVs really became affordable to the masses. In the 1950s, colour television first emerged, and after a long period of transition finally became the standard during the 1970s.

For the next twenty years, televisions themselves didn’t change a lot, apart from the appearance of widescreen TVs in the 1990s. The focus of development turned instead to accessories – the rise of the VHS video in the 1980s, and both the DVD and Dolby surround sound systems in the 1990s. However, at the end of the century, TV began to evolve once again, with the emergence of the flat screen TV.

Although the flat panel plasma display had been initially invented in 1964, low resolution and high cost meant that mass commercial production didn’t become viable for many years. However, with time the technology improved, and in the late 1990s the first models began to appear on the market. By this time, it was also possible to make flat panel displays using LCD technology, although it was initially inferior to plasma in picture quality. The high resolution and relatively low weight of flat screen TVs meant they could be built in far larger sizes than CRT models, which spurred their popularity. However, CRT televisions still offered a far better picture when displaying standard definition material – regular TV channels for example – and it was a further decade before flat screen sales finally overtook CRT. This wind of change largely came about because of the increasing popularity of High Definition images in games and recorded movies, something that large flat screen TVs were perfect for. With special HD TV channels beginning to emerge at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the death knoll for CRT finally began to sound, and manufacturers began to abandon the format.

Now that flat screen television has finally taken over, the evolution of TV is entering a new, exciting stage. Whereas CRT televisions were essentially uniform in their construction, there are various flat screen technologies in the marketplace today, and even more to come. LCD and plasma are now almost indistinguishable from one another in quality, and each technology offers significant advantages over the other, depending on the priorities of the consumer. This has meant that neither technology has become the sole industry standard, and manufacturers have positioned themselves differently as a result. Sony and Phillips only produce LCD models, LG and Samsung focus equally on both, whereas Panasonic have developed a reputation as industry specialists in plasma technology, although they do produce LCD models as well.

2009 saw the revolution of LED backlighting in LCD televisions, which improves LCD picture quality and reduces both weight and depth. In 2010, the first 3D TVs hit the market, a development that could completely change the way we watch TV. With the prospect of wafer-thin OLED televisions on the horizon, and Autostereoscopic 3D TVs that don’t require expensive glasses, it seems that technological boundaries will continue to be broken at an astonishing rate. After a long early childhood, television is currently going through the rapid growth of puberty – and we can only guess in wonder at the kind of adult it will grow into.


This article was written by Jake Reacher, a writer specialising in home entertainment, who firmly believes that 3D TVs are the future of broadcasting. After being an advocate of LCD TV for many years, Jake jumped ship to plasma when he bought the TX-P50VT20, Panasonic’s ground-breaking 3D television.