From Analog To Digital
It all started with radio. It is said the first radio station was KDKA , in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but some contest this theory.
Congress passed The Radio Act of 1927 in order to regulate what was chaos at the time.
Television in the 1920′s was experimental. The fall of 1927 is when the first complete electronic image was transmitted. This is considered the birth of television, developed by Philo Farnsworth.
In the 1930′s, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) pumped millions of dollars into the television industry. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to speak on TV.
Commercial television began in the 1940′s. In 1946, RCA sold 10,000 sets, at $352.00 apiece. On March 12, 1947 Harry S. Truman gave the Truman Doctrine. By 1949 there were over two million sets.
The 1950′s brought the age of color television and they were expensive. On January 1, 1954, the Colorcast of the Rose Parade was presented.
In the year of 1956 the remote control was invented by Zenith.
By 1958, thirty-seven westerns were being watched on TV. In 1959 Bonanza was aired. It was the first hour-long series to be filmed in color. On Jan. 17, 1961, Dwight Eisenhower gave his farewell speech.
In 1962, Telstar, the first active communications satellite, was launched. President Kennedy gave a press conference that was relayed to Europe via satellite in 1962. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
Apollo 11 became the first manned spacecraft, and was covered live on television in 1969. By then, color television had become mainstream.
In the 1970′s, the first television war was watched, covering the Vietnam War . President Nixon’s resignation was covered live on television.
The 1980′s brought us video games and videocassette recorders. Cable became very popular in the early 1980′s. Huge satellite dish antennas dotted across rural America.
President Reagan used television effectively to communicate with millions of viewers. His famous line: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
The 1990′s brought us the Gulf War. Never in television history had a war been covered so extensively.
By the end of the 1990′s, personal computers were starting to be found across America. The satellite dish had reached its maturity and had gotten much smaller.
The September 11 attacks in 2001 brought terror into the homes of America. The tragedy was watched by millions.
In 2003, President George W. Bush initiated the Iraq invasion. TV viewers were surprised as Saddam Hussein was captured that same year.
The first decade of the 21st century brought broadband to most of America. Communication has never been so readily available. And Google’s YouTube has significantly changed the way we watch video clips.
In 2009, Barrack Obama was the first African American to be president. The Digital Revolution had started. After over 60 years of service, analog TV would finally be ending.
Sources:
* Consumer Electronics Association (CEA): A History from Analog to Digital TV (1920s-1930s) – YouTube
* Part 2: 1940s
* Part 3: 1950s
* Part 4: 1960s
* Part 5: 1970s
* Part 6: 1980s
