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Television set

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A television set, often called a TV, is an electronic device used for viewing and hearing broadcasts.

Museum für Kommunikation - Depot Heusenstamm - Technik 12 - Flickr - KlausNahr
Museum für Kommunikation - Depot Heusenstamm - Technik 12 - Flickr - KlausNahr

This device functions by combining three essential components: a tuner, a display, and loudspeakers. The tuner selects specific signals to receive. The display shows the visual information. The loudspeakers produce the audio. Television has evolved from mechanical systems to highly advanced digital screens. It serves as a primary medium for entertainment and information worldwide.

Historically, the mechanism of display has changed significantly. Early mechanical televisions used a neon tube behind a spinning disk with apertures. This produced a tiny, red, postage-stamp sized image. Later, the cathode ray tube, or CRT, became the standard.

Crt14
Crt14

A CRT is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun. This gun accelerates a beam of electrons toward a fluorescent screen. Magnetic or electric fields deflect the beam in vertical and horizontal directions. This process scans a raster image onto the screen. Because high voltage is used, the glass must be thick lead glass. This protects users from ionizing radiation produced by the high-speed electrons.

Television technology has progressed through several distinct stages. The first stage involved mechanical sets sold between 1928 and 1934. The second stage was the electronic era using CRT technology. These sets were often large, bulky, and housed in wooden cabinets. The third stage saw the rise of transistorized sets. Transistors allowed for miniaturization, making TVs smaller and more portable. By the 1980s, integrated electronics like the Jungle chip replaced many individual transistors. The current stage features flat-panel displays, such as LCD and OLED technology.

Many scientists and companies shaped the history of television. Karl Ferdinand Braun conceived of the CRT in 1897. In 1926, Kenjiro Takayanagi demonstrated the first fully electronic receiver in Japan. The Baird "Televisor" was the first mass-produced television, sold in the UK from 1930 to 1933. Telefunken manufactured the first commercial electronic TVs in Germany in 1934. In the United States, the RCA 630-TS became the first mass-produced electronic set in 1946.

RCA 630-TS Television
RCA 630-TS Television

These developments moved television from a laboratory experiment to a household staple.

Growth in television ownership has been explosive. In 1946, only 0.5% of U.S. households owned a television. By 1954, this number rose to 55.7%, and it reached 90% by 1962. In Britain, television households grew from 15,000 in 1947 to 15.1 million by 1968. The introduction of color broadcasting after 1953 further increased popularity. Modern markets also show massive shifts in scale and cost. In 2019, Samsung released a large TV for $99,000. By 2024, the average price dropped to $3,113, making large screens much more accessible.

Display technologies offer various ways to view content.

LCD generic tv
LCD generic tv

Liquid-crystal display, or LCD, technology became dominant in the early 21st century. This technology often uses LED backlighting.

Samsung LE26R41BD and Yamada DVD player 20030624
Samsung LE26R41BD and Yamada DVD player 20030624

Another major type is Organic Light-Emitting Diode, or OLED. OLED displays are gaining market share as they become affordable.

LG전자, 깜빡임 없는 55인치 3D OLED TV 공개(2)
LG전자, 깜빡임 없는 55인치 3D OLED TV 공개(2)

Other specialized technologies include plasma and DLP, which is used in projection systems. Some modern innovations include curved OLEDs and even rollable or transparent displays.

Television connects to many other technological systems. In the 1970s, it became the display for consumer media like Betamax and VHS. It also served as the display for early home computers and video game consoles. Modern sets can play content from USB devices or internet streaming services. They can also connect to other devices wirelessly via transmitter boxes. This evolution shows how the television has moved from a simple broadcast receiver to a central hub for diverse digital media.

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🖼️ Images & Media (9)
File:Museum für Kommunikation - Depot Heusenstamm - Technik 12 - Flickr - KlausNahr.jpg
Museum für Kommunikation - Depot...
File:RCA 630-TS Television.jpg
RCA 630-TS Television.jpg
File:Samsung LE26R41BD and Yamada DVD player 20030624.jpg
Samsung LE26R41BD and Yamada DVD player...
File:Crt14.jpg
Crt14.jpg
File:Christie Mirage 5000.jpg
Christie Mirage 5000.jpg
File:LCD generic tv.jpg
LCD generic tv.jpg
File:LG전자, 깜빡임 없는 55인치 3D OLED TV 공개(2).jpg
LG전자, 깜빡임 없는 55인치 3D OLED TV 공개(2).jpg
File:TV set (46 inch) in self-customized box for sending via parcel service N.3.jpg
TV set (46 inch) in self-customized box...
Consumer Reports - product testing -...
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