television for other uses see television disambiguation and tv disambiguation this article is about television as a medium for the appliance itself see television set flatscreen televisions for sale at a consumer electronics store in 2008 television tv sometimes shortened to tele or telly is a telecommunication medium used for transmitting moving images in monochrome black and white or in colour and in two or three dimensions and sound the term can refer to a television set a television program tv show or the medium of television transmission television is a mass medium for advertising entertainment and news television became available in crude experimental forms in the late 1920s but it would still be several years before the new technology would be marketed to consumers after world war ii an improved form of blackandwhite tv broadcasting became popular in the united states and britain and television sets became commonplace in homes businesses and institutions during the 1950s television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion in the mid1960s color broadcasting was introduced in the us and most other developed countries the availability of multiple types of archival storage media such as betamax vhs tape local disks dvds flash drives highdefinition bluray discs and cloud digital video recorders has enabled viewers to watch prerecorded materialsuch as movies at home on their own time schedule for many reasons especially the convenience of remote retrieval the storage of television and video programming now occurs on the cloud at the end of the first decade of the 2000s digital television transmissions greatly increased in popularity another development was the move from standarddefinition television sdtv 576i with 576 interlaced lines of resolution and 480i to highdefinition television hdtv which provides a resolution that is substantially higher hdtv may be transmitted in various formats 1080p 1080i and 720p since 2010 with the invention of smart television internet television has increased the availability of television programs and movies via the internet through streaming video services such as netflix amazon video iplayer hulu roku and chromecast in 2013 79 of the worlds households owned a television set television signals were initially distributed only as terrestrial television using highpowered radiofrequency transmitters to broadcast the signal to individual television receivers alternatively television signals are distributed by coaxial cable or optical fiber satellite systems and since the 2000s via the internet until the early 2000s these were transmitted as analog signals but a transition to digital television is expected to be completed worldwide by the late 2010s a standard television set is composed of multiple internal electronic circuits including a tuner for receiving and decoding broadcast signals a visual display device which lacks a tuner is correctly called a video monitor rather than a television etymology the word television comes from ancient greek tle meaning far and latin visio meaning sight the first documented usage of the term dates back to 1900 when the russian scientist constantin perskyi used it in a paper that he presented in french at the 1st international congress of electricity which ran from 18 to 25 august 1900 during the international world fair in paris the anglicised version of the term is first attested in 1907 when it was still a theoretical system to transmit moving images over telegraph or telephone wires history history of television mechanical mechanical television the nipkow disk this schematic shows the circular paths traced by the holes that may also be square for greater precision the area of the disk outlined in black shows the region scanned facsimile transmission systems for still photographs pioneered methods of mechanical scanning of images in the early 19th century alexander bain introduced the facsimile machine between 1843 and 1846 frederick bakewell demonstrated a working laboratory version in 1851 the first demonstration of the live transmission of images was by georges rignoux and a fournier in paris in 1909 a matrix of 64 selenium cells individually wired to a mechanical commutator served as an electronic retina in the receiver a type of kerr cell modulated the light and a series of variously angled mirrors attached to the edge of a rotating disc scanned the modulated beam onto the display screen a separate circuit regulated synchronization the 8x8 pixel resolution in this proofofconcept demonstration was just sufficient to clearly transmit individual letters of the alphabet an updated image was transmitted several times each second in 1921 edouard belin sent the first image via radio waves with his belinograph in 1911 boris rosing and his student vladimir zworykin created a system that used a mechanical mirrordrum scanner to transmit in zworykins words very crude images over wires to the braun tube cathode ray tube or crt in the receiver moving images were not possible because in the scanner the sensitivity was not enough and the selenium cell was very laggy baird in 1925 with his televisor equipment and dummies james and stooky bill right by the 1920s when amplification made television practical scottish inventor john logie baird employed the nipkow disk in his prototype video systems on 25 march 1925 baird gave the first public demonstration of televised silhouette images in motion at selfridges department store in london since human faces had inadequate contrast to show up on his primitive system he televised a ventriloquists dummy named stooky bill whose painted face had higher contrast talking and moving by 26 january 1926 he demonstrated the transmission of the image of a face in motion by radio this is widely regarded as the first television demonstration the subject was bairds business partner oliver hutchinson bairds system used the nipkow disk for both scanning the image and displaying it a bright light shining through a spinning nipkow disk set with lenses projected a bright spot of light which swept across the subject a selenium photoelectric tube detected the light reflected from the subject and converted it into a proportional electrical signal this was transmitted by am radio waves to a receiver unit where the video signal was applied to a neon light behind a second nipkow disk rotating synchronized with the first the brightness of the neon lamp was varied in proportion to the brightness of each spot on the image as each hole in the disk passed by one scan line of the image was reproduced bairds disk had 30 holes producing an image with only 30 scan lines just enough to recognize a human face in 1927 baird transmitted a signal over 438 miles 705km of telephone line between london and glasgow in 1928 bairds company baird television development companycinema television broadcast the first transatlantic television signal between london and new york and the first shoretoship transmission in 1929 he became involved in the first experimental mechanical television service in germany in november of the same year baird and bernard natan of path established frances first television company tlvisionbairdnatan in 1931 he made the first outdoor remote broadcast of the derby in 1932 he demonstrated ultrashort wave television bairds mechanical system reached a peak of 240lines of resolution on bbc television broadcasts in 1936 though the mechanical system did not scan the televised scene directly instead a 175mm film was shot rapidly developed and then scanned while the film was still wet an american inventor charles francis jenkins also pioneered the television he published an article on motion pictures by wireless in 1913 but it was not until december 1923 that he transmitted moving silhouette images for witnesses and it was on 13 june 1925 that he publicly demonstrated synchronized transmission of silhouette pictures in 1925 jenkins used the nipkow disk and transmitted the silhouette image of a toy windmill in motion over a distance of five miles from a naval radio station in maryland to his laboratory in washington dc using a lensed disk scanner with a 48line resolution he was granted us patent no 1544156 transmitting pictures over wireless on 30 june 1925 filed 13 march 1922 herbert e ives and frank gray of bell telephone laboratories gave a dramatic demonstration of mechanical television on 7 april 1927 their reflectedlight television system included both small and large viewing screens the small receiver had a 2inchwide by 25inchhigh screen the large receiver had a screen 24inches wide by 30inches high both sets were capable of reproducing reasonably accurate monochromatic moving images along with the pictures the sets received synchronized sound the system transmitted images over two paths first a copper wire link from washington to new york city then a radio link from whippany new jersey comparing the two transmission methods viewers noted no difference in quality subjects of the telecast included secretary of commerce herbert hoover a flyingspot scanner beam illuminated these subjects the scanner that produced the beam had a 50aperture disk the disc revolved at a rate of 18 frames per second capturing one frame about every 56 milliseconds todays systems typically transmit 30 or 60 frames per second or one frame every 333 or 167 milliseconds respectively television historian albert abramson underscored the significance of the bell labs demonstration it was in fact the best demonstration of a mechanical television system ever made to this time it would be several years before any other system could even begin to compare with it in picture quality in 1928 wrgb then w2xb was started as the worlds first television station it broadcast from the general electric facility in schenectady ny it was popularly known as wgy television meanwhile in the soviet union lon theremin had been developing a mirror drumbased television starting with 16 lines resolution in 1925 then 32 lines and eventually 64 using interlacing in 1926 as part of his thesis on 7 may 1926 he electrically transmitted and then projected nearsimultaneous moving images on a fivefoot square screen because only a limited number of holes could be made in the disks and disks beyond a certain diameter became impractical image resolution on mechanical television broadcasts was relatively low ranging from about 30 lines up to 120 or so nevertheless the image quality of 30line transmissions steadily improved with technical advances and by 1933 the uk broadcasts using the baird system were remarkably clear the advancement of allelectronic television including image dissectors and other camera tubes and cathode ray tubes for the reproducer marked the beginning of the end for mechanical systems as the dominant form of television mechanical television despite its inferior image quality and generally smaller picture would remain the primary television technology until the 1930s the last mechanical television broadcasts ended in 1939 at stations run by a handful of public universities in the united states electronic video camera tube in 1897 english physicist j j thomson was able in his three famous experiments to deflect cathode rays a fundamental function of the modern cathode ray tube crt the earliest version of the crt was invented by the german physicist ferdinand braun in 1897 and is also known as the braun tube in 1908 alan archibald campbellswinton fellow of the royal society uk published a letter in the scientific journal nature in which he described how distant electric vision could be achieved by using a cathode ray tube or braun tube as both a transmitting and receiving device in 1926 hungarian engineer klmn tihanyi designed a television system utilizing fully electronic scanning and display elements and employing the principle of charge storage within the scanning or camera tube on 7 september 1927 american inventor philo farnsworths image dissector camera tube transmitted its first image a simple straight line at his laboratory at 202 green street in san francisco vladimir zworykin demonstrates electronic television 1929 meanwhile vladimir zworykin was also experimenting with the cathode ray tube to create and show images while working for westinghouse electric in 1923 he began to develop an electronic camera tube but in a 1925 demonstration the image was dim had low contrast and poor definition and was stationary in 1933 rca introduced an improved camera tube that relied on tihanyis charge storage principle at the berlin radio show in august 1931 manfred von ardenne gave a public demonstration of a television system using a crt for both transmission and reception however ardenne had not developed a camera tube using the crt instead as a flyingspot scanner to scan slides and film the original american iconoscope was noisy had a high ratio of interference to signal and ultimately gave disappointing results especially when compared to the high definition mechanical scanning systems then becoming available this was the first time that anyone had broadcast a live street scene from cameras installed on the roof of neighboring buildings because neither farnsworth nor rca would do the same until the 1939 new york worlds fair ad for the beginning of experimental television broadcasting in new york city by rca in 1939 indianhead test pattern used during the black white era before 1970 it was displayed when a tv station first signed on every day on the other hand in 1934 zworykin shared some patent rights with the german licensee company telefunken american television broadcasting at the time consisted of a variety of markets in a wide range of sizes each competing for programming and dominance with separate technology until deals were made and standards agreed upon in 1941 the worlds first 625line television standard was designed in the soviet union in 1944 and became a national standard in 1946 color color television the basic idea of using three monochrome images to produce a color image had been experimented with almost as soon as blackandwhite televisions had first been built although he gave no practical details among the earliest published proposals for television was one by maurice le blanc in 1880 for a color system including the first mentions in television literature of line and frame scanning scottish inventor john logie baird demonstrated the worlds first color transmission on 3 july 1928 using scanning discs at the transmitting and receiving ends with three spirals of apertures each spiral with filters of a different primary color and three light sources at the receiving end with a commutator to alternate their illumination mechanically scanned color television was also demonstrated by bell laboratories in june 1929 using three complete systems of photoelectric cells amplifiers glowtubes and color filters with a series of mirrors to superimpose the red green and blue images into one full color image the first practical hybrid system was again pioneered by john logie baird in 1940 he publicly demonstrated a color television combining a traditional blackandwhite display with a rotating colored disk this device was very deep but was later improved with a mirror folding the light path into an entirely practical device resembling a large conventional console however baird was not happy with the design and as early as 1944 had commented to a british government committee that a fully electronic device would be better in 1939 hungarian engineer peter carl goldmark introduced an electromechanical system while at cbs which contained an iconoscope sensor the cbs fieldsequential color system was partly mechanical with a disc made of red blue and green filters spinning inside the television camera at 1200 rpm and a similar disc spinning in synchronization in front of the cathode ray tube inside the receiver set cbs began experimental color field tests using film as early as 28 august 1940 and live cameras by 12 november as early as 1940 baird had started work on a fully electronic system he called telechrome early telechrome devices used two electron guns aimed at either side of a phosphor plate the phosphor was patterned so the electrons from the guns only fell on one side of the patterning or the other using cyan and magenta phosphors a reasonable limitedcolor image could be obtained he also demonstrated the same system using monochrome signals to produce a 3d image called stereoscopic at the time a demonstration on 16 august 1944 was the first example of a practical color television system work on the telechrome continued and plans were made to introduce a threegun version for full color however bairds untimely death in 1946 ended development of the telechrome system similar concepts were common through the 1940s and 1950s differing primarily in the way they recombined the colors generated by the three guns the geer tube was similar to bairds concept but used small pyramids with the phosphors deposited on their outside faces instead of bairds 3d patterning on a flat surface the penetron used three layers of phosphor on top of each other and increased the power of the beam to reach the upper layers when drawing those colors the chromatron used a set of focusing wires to select the colored phosphors arranged in vertical stripes on the tube one of the great technical challenges of introducing color broadcast television was the desire to conserve bandwidth potentially three times that of the existing blackandwhite standards and not use an excessive amount of radio spectrum in the united states after considerable research the national television systems committee compatible compatible color featured in rca advertisements of the period is mentioned in the song america of west side story 1957 the brightness image remained compatible with existing blackandwhite television sets at slightly reduced resolution while color televisions could decode the extra information in the signal and produce a limitedresolution color display the higher resolution blackandwhite and lower resolution color images combine in the brain to produce a seemingly highresolution color image the ntsc standard represented a major technical achievement color bars used in a test pattern sometimes used when no program material is available although allelectronic color was introduced in the us in 1953 high prices and the scarcity of color programming greatly slowed its acceptance in the marketplace the first national color broadcast the 1954 tournament of roses parade occurred on 1 january 1954 but during the following ten years most network broadcasts and nearly all local programming continued to be in blackandwhite it was not until the mid1960s that color sets started selling in large numbers due in part to the color transition of 1965 in which it was announced that over half of all network primetime programming would be broadcast in color that fall the first allcolor primetime season came just one year later in 1972 the last holdout among daytime network programs converted to color resulting in the first completely allcolor network season early color sets were either floorstanding console models or tabletop versions nearly as bulky and heavy so in practice they remained firmly anchored in one place the introduction of ges relatively compact and lightweight portacolor set in the spring of 1966 made watching color television a more flexible and convenient proposition in 1972 sales of color sets finally surpassed sales of blackandwhite sets color broadcasting in europe was not standardized on the pal format until the 1960s and broadcasts did not start until 1967 by this point many of the technical problems in the early sets had been worked out and the spread of color sets in europe was fairly rapid by the mid1970s the only stations broadcasting in blackandwhite were a few highnumbered uhf stations in small markets and a handful of lowpower repeater stations in even smaller markets such as vacation spots by 1979 even the last of these had converted to color and by the early 1980s bw sets had been pushed into niche markets notably lowpower uses small portable sets or for use as video monitor screens in lowercost consumer equipment by the late 1980s even these areas switched to color sets digital digital television see also digital television transition digital television dtv is the transmission of audio and video by digitally processed and multiplexed signals in contrast to the totally analog and channel separated signals used by analog television due to data compression digital tv can support more than one program in the same channel bandwidth in the mid1980s as japanese consumer electronics firms forged ahead with the development of hdtv technology the muse analog format proposed by nhk a japanese company was seen as a pacesetter that threatened to eclipse us electronics companies technologies until june 1990 the japanese muse standard based on an analog system was the frontrunner among the more than 23 different technical concepts under consideration then an american company general instrument demonstrated the feasibility of a digital television signal this breakthrough was of such significance that the fcc was persuaded to delay its decision on an atv standard until a digitally based standard could be developed in march 1990 when it became clear that a digital standard was feasible the fcc made a number of critical decisions first the commission declared that the new atv standard must be more than an enhanced analog signal but be able to provide a genuine hdtv signal with at least twice the resolution of existing television images7 then to ensure that viewers who did not wish to buy a new digital television set could continue to receive conventional television broadcasts it dictated that the new atv standard must be capable of being simulcast on different channels8the new atv standard also allowed the new dtv signal to be based on entirely new design principles although incompatible with the existing ntsc standard the new dtv standard would be able to incorporate many improvements the final standards adopted by the fcc did not require a single standard for scanning formats aspect ratios or lines of resolution this compromise resulted from a dispute between the consumer electronics industry joined by some broadcasters and the computer industry joined by the film industry and some public interest groups over which of the two scanning processesinterlaced or progressivewould be best suited for the newer digital hdtv compatible display devices progressive scanning the format that the computer industry had long adopted for computer display monitors scans every line in sequence from top to bottom progressive scanning in effect doubles the amount of data generated for every full screen displayed in comparison to interlaced scanning by painting the screen in one pass in 160second instead of two passes in 130second the computer industry argued that progressive scanning is superior because it does not flicker on the new standard of display devices in the manner of interlaced scanning it also argued that progressive scanning enables easier connections with the internet and is more cheaply converted to interlaced formats than vice versa the film industry also supported progressive scanning because it offered a more efficient means of converting filmed programming into digital formats for their part the consumer electronics industry and broadcasters argued that interlaced scanning was the only technology that could transmit the highest quality pictures then and currently feasible ie 1080 lines per picture and 1920 pixels per line broadcasters also favored interlaced scanning because their vast archive of interlaced programming is not readily compatible with a progressive format william f schreiber who was director of the advanced television research program at the massachusetts institute of technology from 1983 until his retirement in 1990 thought that the continued advocacy of interlaced equipment originated from consumer electronics companies that were trying to get back the substantial investments they made in the interlaced technology digital television transition started in late 2000s all governments across the world set the deadline for analog shutdown by 2010s initially the adoption rate was low as the first digital tunerequipped tvs were costly but soon as the price of digitalcapable tvs dropped more and more households were converting to digital televisions the transition is expected to be completed worldwide by mid to late 2010s smart tv smart television not to be confused with internet television internet protocol television or web television a smart tv the advent of digital television allowed innovations like smart tvs a smart television sometimes referred to as connected tv or hybrid tv is a television set or settop box with integrated internet and web 20 features and is an example of technological convergence between computers television sets and settop boxes besides the traditional functions of television sets and settop boxes provided through traditional broadcasting media these devices can also provide internet tv online interactive media overthetop content as well as ondemand streaming media and home networking access these tvs come preloaded with an operating system smart tv should not to be confused with internet tv internet protocol television iptv or with web tv internet television refers to the receiving of television content over the internet instead of by traditional systems terrestrial cable and satellite although internet itself is received by these methods iptv is one of the emerging internet television technology standards for use by television broadcasters web television webtv is a term used for programs created by a wide variety of companies and individuals for broadcast on internet tv a first patent was filed in 1994 smart tvs are expected to become dominant form of television by late 2010s 3d 3d television 3d television conveys depth perception to the viewer by employing techniques such as stereoscopic display multiview display 2dplusdepth or any other form of 3d display most modern 3d television sets use an active shutter 3d system or a polarized 3d system and some are autostereoscopic without the need of glasses stereoscopic 3d television was demonstrated for the first time on 10 august 1928 by john logie baird in his companys premises at 133 long acre london broadcast systems terrestrial television terrestrial television see also timeline of the introduction of television in countries a modern high gain uhf yagi television antenna it has 17 directors and one reflector made of 4 rods shaped as a corner reflector programming is broadcast by television stations sometimes called channels as stations are licensed by their governments to broadcast only over assigned channels in the television band at first terrestrial broadcasting was the only way television could be widely distributed and because bandwidth was limited ie there were only a small number of channels available government regulation was the norm in the us the federal communications commission fcc allowed stations to broadcast advertisements beginning in july 1941 but required public service programming commitments as a requirement for a license by contrast the united kingdom chose a different route imposing a television license fee on owners of television reception equipment to fund the british broadcasting corporation bbc which had public service as part of its royal charter wrgb claims to be the worlds oldest television station tracing its roots to an experimental station founded on 13 january 1928 broadcasting from the general electric factory in schenectady ny under the call letters w2xb it therefore claims to be the birthplace of tv broadcasting as we know it today with the widespread adoption of cable across the united states in the 1970s and 80s terrestrial television broadcasts have been in decline in 2013 it was estimated that about 7 of us households used an antenna a slight increase in use began around 2010 due to switchover to digital terrestrial television broadcasts which offered pristine image quality over very large areas and offered an alternate to cable television catv for cord cutters all other countries around the world are also in the process of either shutting down analog terrestrial television or switching over to digital terrestrial television cable television cable television see also cable television by region this section needs expansion you can help by adding to it december 2014 coaxial cable is used to carry cable television signals into cathode ray tube and flat panel television sets cable television is a system of broadcasting television programming to paying subscribers via radio frequency rf signals transmitted through coaxial cables or light pulses through fiberoptic cables this contrasts with traditional terrestrial television in which the television signal is transmitted over the air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television in the 2000s fm radio programming highspeed internet telephone service and similar nontelevision services may also be provided through these cables the abbreviation catv is often used for cable television it originally stood for community access television or community antenna television from cable televisions origins in 1948 in areas where overtheair reception was limited by distance from transmitters or mountainous terrain large community antennas were constructed and cable was run from them to individual homes the origins of cable broadcasting are even older as radio programming was distributed by cable in some european cities as far back as 1924 earlier cable television was analog but since the 2000s all cable operators have switched to or are in the process of switching to digital cable television satellite television satellite television dbs satellite dishes installed on an apartment complex satellite television is a system of supplying television programming using broadcast signals relayed from communication satellites the signals are received via an outdoor parabolic reflector antenna usually referred to as a satellite dish and a lownoise block downconverter lnb a satellite receiver then decodes the desired television program for viewing on a television set receivers can be external settop boxes or a builtin television tuner satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services especially to geographic areas without terrestrial television or cable television the most common method of reception is directbroadcast satellite television dbstv also known as direct to home dth the directbroadcast satellite television signals were earlier analog signals and later digital signals both of which require a compatible receiver digital signals may include highdefinition television hdtv some transmissions and channels are freetoair or freetoview while many other channels are pay television requiring a subscription in 1945 british science fiction writer arthur c clarke proposed a worldwide communications system which would function by means of three satellites equally spaced apart in earth orbit the first satellite television signals from europe to north america were relayed via the telstar satellite over the atlantic ocean on 23 july 1962 the worlds first commercial communications satellite called intelsat i and nicknamed early bird was launched into geosynchronous orbit on 6 april 1965 the first in a series of soviet geostationary satellites to carry directtohome television ekran 1 was launched on 26 october 1976 internet television streaming television not to be confused with smart television internet protocol television or web television internet television internet tv or online television is the digital distribution of television content via the internet as opposed to traditional systems like terrestrial cable and satellite although the internet itself is received by terrestrial cable or satellite methods internet television is a general term that covers the delivery of television shows and other video content over the internet by video streaming technology typically by major traditional television broadcasters internet television should not be confused with smart tv iptv or with web tv smart television refers to the tv set which has a builtin operating system internet protocol television iptv is one of the emerging internet television technology standards for use by television broadcasters web television is a term used for programs created by a wide variety of companies and individuals for broadcast on internet tv sets television set rca 630ts the first massproduced television set which sold in 19461947 a television set also called a television receiver television tv set tv or telly is a device that combines a tuner display an amplifier and speakers for the purpose of viewing television and hearing its audio components introduced in late 1920s in mechanical form television sets became a popular consumer product after world war ii in electronic form using cathode ray tubes the addition of color to broadcast television after 1953 further increased the popularity of television sets and an outdoor antenna became a common feature of suburban homes the ubiquitous television set became the display device for recorded media in the 1970s such as betamax and vhs which enabled viewers to record tv shows and watch prerecorded movies in the subsequent decades tvs were used to watch dvds and bluray discs of movies and other content major tv manufacturers announced the discontinuation of crt dlp plasma and fluorescentbacklit lcds by the mid2010s televisions since 2010s mostly use leds display technologies display device disk nipkow disk the earliest systems employed a spinning disk to create and reproduce images these usually had a low resolution and screen size and never became popular with the public crt cathode ray tube a 14inch cathode ray tube showing its deflection coils and electron guns the cathode ray tube crt is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns a source of electrons or electron emitter and a fluorescent screen used to view images it has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beams onto the screen to create the images the images may represent electrical waveforms oscilloscope pictures television computer monitor radar targets or others the crt uses an evacuated glass envelope which is large deep ie long from front screen face to rear end fairly heavy and relatively fragile as a matter of safety the face is typically made of thick lead glass so as to be highly shatterresistant and to block most xray emissions particularly if the crt is used in a consumer product in television sets and computer monitors the entire front area of the tube is scanned repetitively and systematically in a fixed pattern called a raster an image is produced by controlling the intensity of each of the three electron beams one for each additive primary color red green and blue with a video signal as a reference dlp digital light processing the christie mirage 5000 a 2001 dlp projector digital light processing dlp is a type of video projector technology that uses a digital micromirror device some dlps have a tv tuner which makes them a type of tv display it was originally developed in 1987 by dr larry hornbeck of texas instruments while the dlp imaging device was invented by texas instruments the first dlp based projector was introduced by digital projection ltd in 1997 digital projection and texas instruments were both awarded emmy awards in 1998 for invention of the dlp projector technology dlp is used in a variety of display applications from traditional static displays to interactive displays and also nontraditional embedded applications including medical security and industrial uses dlp technology is used in dlp front projectors standalone projection units for classrooms and business primarily but also in private homes in these cases the image is projected onto a projection screen dlp is also used in dlp rear projection television sets and digital signs it is also used in about 85 of digital cinema projection plasma plasma display a plasma display panel pdp is a type of flat panel display common to large tv displays 30 inches 76cm or larger they are called plasma displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent lamps lcd liquid crystal display a generic lcd tv with speakers on either side of the screen liquidcrystaldisplay televisions lcd tv are television sets that use lcd display technology to produce images lcd televisions are much thinner and lighter than cathode ray tube crts of similar display size and are available in much larger sizes eg 90inch diagonal when manufacturing costs fell this combination of features made lcds practical for television receivers lcds come in two types those using cold cathode fluorescent lamps simply called lcds and those using led as backlight called as leds in 2007 lcd televisions surpassed sales of crtbased televisions worldwide for the first time and their sales figures relative to other technologies accelerated lcd tvs have quickly displaced the only major competitors in the largescreen market the plasma display panel and rearprojection television none of these have entered widespread production oled organic lightemitting diode oled tv an oled organic lightemitting diode is a lightemitting diode led in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound which emits light in response to an electric current this layer of organic semiconductor is situated between two electrodes generally at least one of these electrodes is transparent oleds are used to create digital displays in devices such as television screens it is also used for computer monitors portable systems such as mobile phones handheld games consoles and pdas there are two main families of oled those based on small molecules and those employing polymers adding mobile ions to an oled creates a lightemitting electrochemical cell or lec which has a slightly different mode of operation oled displays can use either passivematrix pmoled or activematrix amoled addressing schemes activematrix oleds require a thinfilm transistor backplane to switch each individual pixel on or off but allow for higher resolution and larger display sizes an oled display works without a backlight thus it can display deep black levels and can be thinner and lighter than a liquid crystal display lcd in low ambient light conditions such as a dark room an oled screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an lcd whether the lcd uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps or led backlight oleds are expected to replace other forms of display in near future display resolution comparison of 8k uhdtv 4k uhdtv hdtv and sdtv resolution ld lowdefinition television lowdefinition television or ldtv refers to television systems that have a lower screen resolution than standarddefinition television systems such 240p 320240 it is used in handheld television the most common source of ldtv programming is the internet where mass distribution of higherresolution video files could overwhelm computer servers and take too long to download many mobile phones and portable devices such as apples ipod nano or sonys playstation portable use ldtv video as higherresolution files would be excessive to the needs of their small screens 320240 and 480272 pixels respectively the current generation of ipod nanos have ldtv screens as do the first three generations of ipod touch and iphone 480320 for the first years of its existence youtube offered only one lowdefinition resolution of 320x240p at 30fps or less a standard consumer grade vhs videotape can be considered sdtv due to its resolution approximately 360 480i576i sd standarddefinition television standarddefinition television or sdtv refers to two different resolutions 576i with 576 interlaced lines of resolution derived from the europeandeveloped pal and secam systems and 480i based on the american national television system committee ntsc system sdtv is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either highdefinition television 720p 1080i 1080p 1440p 4k uhdtv and 8k uhd or enhanceddefinition television edtv 480p in north america digital sdtv is broadcast in the same 43 aspect ratio as ntsc signals with widescreen content being center cut however in other parts of the world that used the pal or secam color systems standarddefinition television is now usually shown with a 169 aspect ratio with the transition occurring between the mid1990s and mid2000s older programs with a 43 aspect ratio are shown in the us as 43 with nonatsc countries preferring to reduce the horizontal resolution by anamorphically scaling a pillarboxed image hd highdefinition television highdefinition television hdtv provides a resolution that is substantially higher than that of standarddefinition television hdtv may be transmitted in various formats 1080p 19201080p 2073600 pixels 207 megapixels per frame 1080i 19201080i 1036800 pixels 104 mp per field or 2073600 pixels 207 mp per frame a nonstandard cea resolution exists in some countries such as 14401080i 777600 pixels 078 mp per field or 1555200 pixels 156 mp per frame 720p 1280720p 921600 pixels 092 mp per frame uhd ultrahighdefinition television ultrahighdefinition television also known as super hivision ultra hd television ultrahd uhdtv or uhd includes 4k uhd 2160p and 8k uhd 4320p which are two digital video formats proposed by nhk science technology research laboratories and defined and approved by the international telecommunication union itu the consumer electronics association announced on 17 october 2012 that ultra high definition or ultra hd would be used for displays that have an aspect ratio of at least 169 and at least one digital input capable of carrying and presenting native video at a minimum resolution of 38402160 pixels market share north american consumers purchase a new television set on average every seven years and the average household owns 28 televisions as of 2011 worldwide lcd tv manufacturers market share 2017 manufacturer statista samsung electronics 202 lg electronics 121 tcl 109 hisense 6 sony 56 sharp 42 aoctp vision philips 41 skyworth 38 haier 3 panasonic 29 others 272 content programming see also television show getting tv programming shown to the public can happen in many different ways after production the next step is to market and deliver the product to whichever markets are open to using it this typically happens on two levels original run or first run a producer creates a program of one or multiple episodes and shows it on a station or network which has either paid for the production itself or to which a license has been granted by the television producers to do the same broadcast syndication this is the terminology rather broadly used to describe secondary programming usages beyond original run it includes secondary runs in the country of first issue but also international usage which may not be managed by the originating producer in many cases other companies tv stations or individuals are engaged to do the syndication work in other words to sell the product into the markets they are allowed to sell into by contract from the copyright holders in most cases the producers firstrun programming is increasing on subscription services outside the us but few domestically produced programs are syndicated on domestic freetoair fta elsewhere this practice is increasing however generally on digitalonly fta channels or with subscriberonly firstrun material appearing on fta unlike the us repeat fta screenings of an fta network program usually only occur on that network also affiliates rarely buy or produce nonnetwork programming that is not centered on local programming genres this section does not cite any sources please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources unsourced material may be challenged and removed december 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message the examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the united states and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject you may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate december 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message television genres include a broad range of programming types that entertain inform and educate viewers the most expensive entertainment genres to produce are usually dramas and dramatic miniseries however other genres such as historical western genres may also have high production costs popular culture entertainment genres include actionoriented shows such as police crime detective dramas horror or thriller shows as well there are also other variants of the drama genre such as medical dramas and daytime soap operas science fiction shows can fall into either the drama or action category depending on whether they emphasize philosophical questions or high adventure comedy is a popular genre which includes situation comedy sitcom and animated shows for the adult demographic such as south park the least expensive forms of entertainment programming genres are game shows talk shows variety shows and reality television game shows feature contestants answering questions and solving puzzles to win prizes talk shows contain interviews with film television music and sports celebrities and public figures variety shows feature a range of musical performers and other entertainers such as comedians and magicians introduced by a host or master of ceremonies there is some crossover between some talk shows and variety shows because leading talk shows often feature performances by bands singers comedians and other performers in between the interview segments reality tv shows regular people ie not actors facing unusual challenges or experiences ranging from arrest by police officers cops to significant weight loss the biggest loser a variant version of reality shows depicts celebrities doing mundane activities such as going about their everyday life the osbournes snoop doggs father hood or doing regular jobs the simple life fictional television programs that some television scholars and broadcasting advocacy groups argue are quality television include series such as twin peaks and the sopranos kristin thompson argues that some of these television series exhibit traits also found in art films such as psychological realism narrative complexity and ambiguous plotlines nonfiction television programs that some television scholars and broadcasting advocacy groups argue are quality television include a range of serious noncommercial programming aimed at a niche audience such as documentaries and public affairs shows funding television sets per 1000 people of the world 1000 100200 5001000 50100 300500 050 200300 no data around the globe broadcast tv is financed by government advertising licensing a form of tax subscription or any combination of these to protect revenues subscription tv channels are usually encrypted to ensure that only subscribers receive the decryption codes to see the signal unencrypted channels are known as free to air or fta in 2009 the global tv market represented 12172million tv households with at least one tv and total revenues of 2689billion eur declining 12 compared to 2008 advertising television advertisement tvs broad reach makes it a powerful and attractive medium for advertisers many tv networks and stations sell blocks of broadcast time to advertisers sponsors to fund their programming television advertisements variously called a television commercial commercial or ad in american english and known in british english as an advert is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization which conveys a message typically to market a product or service advertising revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television networks the vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes as well as programlength infomercials advertisements of this sort have been used to promote a wide variety of goods services and ideas since the beginning of television television was still in its experimental phase in 1928 but the mediums potential to sell goods was already predicted the effects of television advertising upon the viewing public and the effects of mass media in general have been the subject of philosophical discourse by such luminaries as marshall mcluhan the viewership of television programming as measured by companies such as nielsen media research is often used as a metric for television advertisement placement and consequently for the rates charged to advertisers to air within a given network television program or time of day called a daypart in many countries including the united states television campaign advertisements are considered indispensable for a political campaign in other countries such as france political advertising on television is heavily restricted while some countries such as norway completely ban political advertisements the first official paid television advertisement was broadcast in the united states on 1 july 1941 over new york station wnbt now wnbc before a baseball game between the brooklyn dodgers and philadelphia phillies the announcement for bulova watches for which the company paid anywhere from 400 to 900 reports vary displayed a wnbt test pattern modified to look like a clock with the hands showing the time the bulova logo with the phrase bulova watch time was shown in the lower righthand quadrant of the test pattern while the second hand swept around the dial for one minute united states since inception in the us in 1941 networks shifted to the magazine concept introducing advertising breaks with multiple advertisers us advertising rates are determined primarily by nielsen ratings the time of the day and popularity of the channel determine how much a tv commercial can cost for example it can cost approximately 750000 for a 30second block of commercial time during the highly popular american idol while the same amount of time for the super bowl can cost several million dollars conversely lesserviewed time slots such as early mornings and weekday afternoons are often sold in bulk to producers of infomercials at far lower rates in recent years the paid program or infomercial has become common usually in lengths of 30 minutes or one hour some drug companies and other businesses have even created news items for broadcast known in the industry as video news releases paying program directors to use them some tv programs also deliberately place products into their shows as advertisements a practice started in feature films and known as product placement for example a character could be drinking a certain kind of soda going to a particular chain restaurant or driving a certain make of car this is sometimes very subtle with shows having vehicles provided by manufacturers for low cost in exchange as a product placement sometimes a specific brand or trade mark or music from a certain artist or group is used this excludes guest appearances by artists who perform on the show united kingdom the tv regulator oversees tv advertising in the united kingdom its restrictions have applied since the early days of commercially funded tv despite this an early tv mogul roy thomson likened the broadcasting licence as being a licence to print money restrictions mean that the big three national commercial tv channels itv channel 4 and channel 5 can show an average of only seven minutes of advertising per hour eight minutes in the peak period other broadcasters must average no more than nine minutes twelve in the peak this means that many imported tv shows from the us have unnatural pauses where the uk company does not utilize the narrative breaks intended for more frequent us advertising advertisements must not be inserted in the course of certain specific proscribed types of programs which last less than half an hour in scheduled duration this list includes any news or current affairs programs documentaries and programs for children additionally advertisements may not be carried in a program designed and broadcast for reception in schools or in any religious broadcasting service or other devotional program or during a formal royal ceremony or occasion there also must be clear demarcations in time between the programs and the advertisements the bbc being strictly noncommercial is not allowed to show advertisements on television in the uk although it has many advertisingfunded channels abroad the majority of its budget comes from television license fees see below and broadcast syndication the sale of content to other broadcasters ireland broadcast advertising is regulated by the broadcasting authority of ireland subscription some tv channels are partly funded from subscriptions therefore the signals are encrypted during broadcast to ensure that only the paying subscribers have access to the decryption codes to watch pay television or specialty channels most subscription services are also funded by advertising taxation or license television services in some countries may be funded by a television licence or a form of taxation which means that advertising plays a lesser role or no role at all for example some channels may carry no advertising at all and some very little including australia abc belgium rtbf denmark dr ireland rt japan nhk norway nrk sweden svt united kingdom bbc united states pbs the bbc carries no television advertising on its uk channels and is funded by an annual television licence paid by premises receiving live tv broadcasts currently it is estimated that approximately 268million uk private domestic households own televisions with approximately 25 million tv licences in all premises in force as of 2010 this television license fee is set by the government but the bbc is not answerable to or controlled by the government the two main bbc tv channels are watched by almost 90 of the population each week and overall have 27 share of total viewing when the same sporting event has been presented on both bbc and commercial channels the bbc always attracts the lions share of the audience indicating that viewers prefer to watch tv uninterrupted by advertising other than internal promotional material the australian broadcasting corporation abc carries no advertising it is banned under the abc act 1983 the abc receives its funding from the australian government every three years in the 201415 federal budget the abc received a111billion the funds provide for the abcs television radio online and international outputs the abc also receives funds from its many abc shops across australia although funded by the australian government the editorial independence of the abc is ensured through law in france governmentfunded channels carry advertisements yet those who own television sets have to pay an annual tax la redevance audiovisuelle in japan nhk is paid for by license fees known in japanese as reception fee jushinry the broadcast law that governs nhks funding stipulates that any television equipped to receive nhk is required to pay the fee is standardized with discounts for office workers and students who commute as well a general discount for residents of okinawa prefecture broadcast programming broadcast programming see also tv listings uk broadcast programming or tv listings in the united kingdom is the practice of organizing television programs in a schedule with broadcast automation used to regularly change the scheduling of tv programs to build an audience for a new show retain that audience or compete with other broadcasters programs social aspects social aspects of television american family watching television circa 1958 television has played a pivotal role in the socialization of the 20th and 21st centuries there are many aspects of television that can be addressed including negative issues such as media violence current research is discovering that individuals suffering from social isolation can employ television to create what is termed a parasocial or faux relationship with characters from their favorite television shows and movies as a way of deflecting feelings of loneliness and social deprivation argues that television can be a very powerful and effective learning tool for children if used wisely consumption television consumption negative impacts with high lead content in crts and the rapid diffusion of new flatpanel display technologies some of which lcds use lamps which contain mercury there is growing concern about electronic waste from discarded televisions related occupational health concerns exist as well for disassemblers removing copper wiring and other materials from crts further environmental concerns related to television design and use relate to the devices increasing electrical energy requirements a 2017 study in the journal of human resources found that exposure to cable television reduced cognitive ability and high school graduation rates for boys this effect was stronger for boys from more educated families the article suggests a mechanism where light television entertainment crowds out more cognitively stimulating activities television portal btelevision broadcastsafe content discovery platform informationaction ratio list of countries by number of television broadcast stations list of television manufacturers list of years in television media psychology sign language on television telephilia television studies abramson albert 2003 the history of television 1942 to 2000 jefferson nc and london mcfarland isbn0786412208 pierre bourdieu on television the new press 2001 tim brooks and earle march the complete guide to prime time network and cable tv shows 8th ed ballantine 2002 jacques derrida and bernard stiegler echographies of television polity press 2002 david e fisher and marshall j fisher tube the invention of television counterpoint washington dc 1996 isbn1887178171 steven johnson everything bad is good for you how todays popular culture is actually making us smarter new york riverhead penguin 2005 2006 isbn1594481946 leggett julian april 1941 television in color popular mechanics chicago retrieved 7 december 2014 jerry mander four arguments for the elimination of television perennial 1978 jerry mander in the absence of the sacred sierra club books 1992 isbn0871565099 neil postman amusing ourselves to death public discourse in the age of show business new york penguin us 1985 isbn0670804541 evan i schwartz the last lone inventor a tale of genius deceit and the birth of television new york harper paperbacks 2003 isbn0060935596 beretta e smithshomade shaded lives africanamerican women and television rutgers university press 2002 alan taylor we the media pedagogic intrusions into us mainstream film and television news broadcasting rhetoric peter lang 2005 isbn3631518528 amanda d lotz the television will be revolutionized new york university press isbn9780814752203 televisionat wikipedias sister projects definitions from wiktionary media from wikimedia commons news from wikinews quotations from wikiquote texts from wikisource textbooks from wikibooks resources from wikiversity library resources about television resources in your library national association of broadcasters association of commercial television in europe the encyclopedia of television at the museum of broadcast communications televisions history the first 75 years collection profile television at the canada science and technology museum the evolution of tv a brief history of tv technology in japan nhk japan broadcasting corporation worldwide television standards television at curlie vtebroadcastingmedium radio radio program cable satellite telephone teletext television television program cable satellite internet television and radio webcast streaming media web television peertopeer television bittorrent television and movies broadcastingniche campus radio commercial broadcasting community radio news broadcasting pirate radio pirate television public broadcasting religious broadcasting talk radio specialtychannels adult television channels childrens interest channel childrens television series documentary channel mens interest channel movie television channels music radio music television quiz channel shopping channel news broadcasting business channels public affairs sports television channels womens interest channel productionand funding broadcast designer broadcast license broadcast network broadcastsafe broadcast television systems digital onscreen graphic lower third network affiliate news ticker score bug television news screen layout television licence television studio press box press pool onscreen display category commons portal vtebroadcast video formatstelevisionanalog525 lines system m ntsc ntscj palm 625 lines pal system b system d system g system h system i system k paln palplus secam system b system d system g system k system l secaml audio btsc mts eiaj nicam sap soundinsyncs zweikanalton a2igr hidden signals captioning cgmsa epg gcr pdc teletext vbi veil vit vitc wss xds historical pre1940 mechanical television 180line 405line system a 441line 819line mac muse digitalinterlaced sdtv 480i 576i hdtv 1080i progressive ldtv 1seg 240p 288p edtv 480p 576p hdtv 720p 1080p uhdtv 2160p 4320p mpeg2 standards atsc dvb isdb dtmb dvb 3dtv mpeg4 avc standards atsc a72 dmb dtmb dvb sbtvd 1seg hevc standards atsc 30 audio ac3 51 ac4 dts mpeg1 audio layer ii mpeg multichannel pcm lpcm aac heaac mpegh 3d audio hidden signals afd broadcast flag captioning cpcm epg teletext technical issues 149 compromise broadcastsafe digital cinema dci display motion blur moving image formats mpeg transport stream reverse standards conversion standards conversion television transmitter video on demand video processing widescreen signaling templates analogue tv topics vtetelecommunicationshistory beacon broadcasting cable protection system cable tv communications satellite computer network drums electrical telegraph fax heliographs hydraulic telegraph internet mass media mobile phone optical telecommunication optical telegraphy pager photophone prepay mobile phone radio radiotelephone satellite communications semaphore smartphone smoke signals telecommunications history telautograph telegraphy teleprinter teletype telephone the telephone cases television timeline of communication technology undersea telegraph line videoconferencing videophone videotelephony whistled languagepioneers edwin howard armstrong john logie baird paul baran alexander graham bell tim bernerslee jagadish chandra bose vint cerf claude chappe donald davies lee de forest philo farnsworth reginald fessenden elisha gray erna schneider hoover charles k kao hedy lamarr innocenzo manzetti guglielmo marconi antonio meucci radia perlman alexander stepanovich popov johann philipp reis nikola tesla camille tissot alfred vail charles wheatstone vladimir k zworykin transmissionmedia coaxial cable fiberoptic communication optical fiber freespace optical communication molecular communication radio waves transmission line network topologyand switching links nodes terminal node network switchingcircuit packet telephone exchange multiplexing spacedivision frequencydivision timedivision polarizationdivision orbital angularmomentum codedivision networks arpanet bitnet cellular network computer cyclades ethernet fidonet internet isdn lan mobile ngn npl network public switched telephone radio telecommunications equipment television telex wan wireless world wide web category list portal commons wikiproject vtemedia culturemedia mass media mainstream media 24hour news cycle corporate media news broadcasting news media film internet radio television ideology mainstream advanced capitalism american dream bipartisanship consumerism pense unique pop music deceptionforms advertising propaganda fake news public relations spin tabloid journalism techniques cult of personality dumbing down framing media circus media event narcotizing dysfunction recuperation sensationalism others crowd manipulation managing the news media manipulation philosophers theodor w adorno jean baudrillard edward bernays noam chomsky guy debord walter lippmann marshall mcluhan counterculture boycott civil disobedience culture jamming demonstration graffiti occupation political satire protest punk strike action in academia influence of mass media media studies semiotic democracy the lonely crowd issues anonymity concentration of media ownership freedom of speech media bias privacy synonyms advanced capitalism culture industry mass society postfordism society of the spectacle authority control gnd 40168256 hds 10986 nara 10643842 