See how the TV set evolved

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Mayne

Mayne

Diamond Member
Apr 13, 2014
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I think my consciousness started with t.v's. It was a long time ago.
 
SOFTengCOMPelec

SOFTengCOMPelec

Platinum Member
May 9, 2013
2,417
75
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Red Squirrel said:
I always wondered why we call it a TV set when there's only one of them.
Click to expand...

They use to call Radios, "Radio Sets".

Probably because there use to be a lot of equipment, associated with the Radio (i.e. The radio, Ariel (which use to be HUGE), headphones, and maybe other stuff such as A and B batteries, etc).

This explains it better, than I have just done.

THE
CRYSTAL-SET
RADIO


Everyone wants to make a RADIO. The simplest radio is a CRYSTAL SET. (Sometimes called a Crystal-Set Radio or Xtal Radio Set or Crystal Diode Radio.)

However a Crystal Set needs a number of components that are no longer available, very hard to get, or very expensive.
The "air" TUNING CAPACITOR 20p to 415p is not easily available and the crystal earpiece is expensive. The germanium diode is a special component and the aerial coil wound on a ferrite slab is difficult to obtain.
Click to expand...

I thought this thread was going to have the following video(s) in it. Which puzzles me as to how America managed to lose their TV industry to Japan, given the apparent success in that video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2si4pop4kDE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhqtByYjmPY
 
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Mai72

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,742
126
Imagine if you could take a time machine to the 1950's, and you brought with you a curved 77 inch flat screen TV. That would be crazy.
 
rh71

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Korea74 said:
Imagine if you could take a time machine to the 1950's, and you brought with you a curved 77 inch flat screen TV. That would be crazy.
Click to expand...

Bring a hoverboard. That would really freak them out. Oh wait.
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
The first televisions used something called a Nipkow disc to generate an image. It was perforated with tiny holes in a spiral pattern. As the disc spun, a flashing neon light would vary between light and dark. Thus producing an image. Each hole produced one scan line. Images were rendered vertically instead of horizontal. Images they produced were about the size of a postage stamp and needed a magnifier to see. Vertical resolution was very good for the time, but horizontal was quite limited. Early sets had between 30 to 48 lines. The technology topped out at 240 lines shortly before WWII. The BBC opted for 405-line electronic television instead.

The camera worked on similar technology. A nipkow disc was placed in front of an arc lamp. The subject had to be brightly lit while the studio had to be in near darkness. The light would "scan" the subject and reflect back to a bank of photocells. Of course this limited early television production to studio work. It couldn't be used reliably outdoors. In the mid-1930s, Baird did develop a work around by shooting the production on film, then scanning it. Which became the common method for producing pre-recorded TV series up until very recently.

Prior to the 1930s, CRTs were mostly a curiosity. The effect was noted at the turn of the century. The electronic television was invented by Kenjiro Takayanagi in 1926. This used a nipkow disc camera with a CRT display. Philo T Farnsworth invented the all electronic television and camera system a year later.
Interstingly, Farnsworth didn't really care for his invention once it became popularized, considering it a vapid form of entertainment.
 
W

who?

Platinum Member
Sep 1, 2012
2,327
42
91
Maybe you got a set of parts that you put together. Were all the tubes in the TV already when you got it home?
 
feralkid

feralkid

Lifer
Jan 28, 2002
17,049
5,115
136
mmntech said:
The first televisions used something called a Nipkow disc to generate an image. It was perforated with tiny holes in a spiral pattern. As the disc spun, a flashing neon light would vary between light and dark. Thus producing an image. Each hole produced one scan line. Images were rendered vertically instead of horizontal. Images they produced were about the size of a postage stamp and needed a magnifier to see. Vertical resolution was very good for the time, but horizontal was quite limited. Early sets had between 30 to 48 lines. The technology topped out at 240 lines shortly before WWII. The BBC opted for 405-line electronic television instead.

The camera worked on similar technology. A nipkow disc was placed in front of an arc lamp. The subject had to be brightly lit while the studio had to be in near darkness. The light would "scan" the subject and reflect back to a bank of photocells. Of course this limited early television production to studio work. It couldn't be used reliably outdoors. In the mid-1930s, Baird did develop a work around by shooting the production on film, then scanning it. Which became the common method for producing pre-recorded TV series up until very recently.

Prior to the 1930s, CRTs were mostly a curiosity. The effect was noted at the turn of the century. The electronic television was invented by Kenjiro Takayanagi in 1926. This used a nipkow disc camera with a CRT display. Philo T Farnsworth invented the all electronic television and camera system a year later.
Interstingly, Farnsworth didn't really care for his invention once it became popularized, considering it a vapid form of entertainment.
Click to expand...

A televisor in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GYGxEk0btA
 
John Connor

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
619
121
I miss the iTV with holographic projection back in 2029. I have been in the future you know.:sneaky:
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
71,337
14,092
126
www.anyf.ca
master_shake_ said:
i miss the big wooden floor model tv.

they should make that a thing again.
Click to expand...

My grandparents had one of those for the longest time, it just never died. It was one of the first colour TVs. I'm not sure what they did with it, I hope they stored it somewhere, it's just incredible that it still worked. They don't make stuff like they used to.
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
feralkid said:
A televisor in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GYGxEk0btA
Click to expand...

It's quite fascinating for the era. Some experimental colour models were produced. Hobbyists have also put together modern colour televisors, using a colour wheel like a DLP TV.

Incidentally, DLP is also technically a mechanical television.

Another type of mechanical television used a mirror screw. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Here's a modern reproduction. He uses LEDs and fibre optics to create the image, which are in full colour. The screw he uses does date back to the 30s.
http://www.earlytelevision.org/color_mirror_screw.html

You could get larger images out of a mirror screw than you could with a Nipkow disc based system. Mechanical failed because of the low resolution, small screen size, noise, and the limitations of mechanical cameras. Electronic was a better technology that came out at pretty much the same time. Though TV in general was seen as an expensive curiosity until the late 40s.

I'd love to get my hands on a working vintage TV from the 50s or something. NTSC is backwards compatible with the old B&W standard IIRC. So all you'd need is a digital converter, or cable box with RF output. Unfortunately, eBay sellers seem to think 70s and 80s is vintage.

I already own a working tabletop radio from the 30s. I've been meaning to swap out the tubes in it with modern ones. Those wound transformers are indestructible but I don't want to wear out the original tubes.
 
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mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Dude111 said:
CRTs are the BEST thing ever created :)
Click to expand...

poofyhairguy said:
Ding dong that witch is dead.
Click to expand...

Yep, CRT is toast unless you're a retro gamer.

CRT produces a very crisp image with rich contrast and a very fast response time. Which means no detectable ghosting. However, they're very limited on how big you can make them. Basically topping out at 32'' for practical purposes. Which is considered a "small" TV these days.

At a certain point, they get prohibitively heavy due to all the glass needed to make the screen. They also get deeper because the electron gun needs more room to work. Not only that, they're energy pigs. Plus the glass was lead coated. Something that wouldn't get by RoHS standards today.

Rear projection was a work around for the screen size problem. You magnify a small CRT (or typically 3 CRTs in an RGB configuration) using a Fresnel lens. However, they tend to produce a blurrier image due to the short throw and low resolution. So you have to sit quite far from them for the best experience. Convergence is also an issue with the 3 CRT models. I have to adjust the one in my basement every few months, or the reds and blues drift.

You can harvest the old Fresnel lenses though to make a badass solar magnifier, that can set large objects on fire. Here's what they look like on the inside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h73hwl8W6ZM

Retro gamers like CRT for a couple of reasons. Of course what I mentioned above. Plus CRT isn't as picky about resolution. Also light guns don't work with anything but the curved screen CRTs.
 
Pr0d1gy

Pr0d1gy

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2005
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76
Red Squirrel said:
My grandparents had one of those for the longest time, it just never died. It was one of the first colour TVs. I'm not sure what they did with it, I hope they stored it somewhere, it's just incredible that it still worked. They don't make stuff like they used to.
Click to expand...

That's because Americans don't make them anymore. Sorry, you can blame our bosses.
 
D

Dude111

Golden Member
Jan 19, 2010
1,497
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John Connor said:
What happened to Dude111's avatar? LMAO!
Click to expand...
Hmmmm I wonder if a staff member deleted it?? (Maybe they didnt like it,or it was an accident,etc)
 
EliteRetard

EliteRetard

Diamond Member
Mar 6, 2006
6,490
1,022
136
CRT FTW!

We're almost to the point of matching the quality of a CRT though.
Amazing that it's taken well over a decade to even get close.
 
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ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
They have a pretty big gap from 1973 to 1998. There were a lot of different TV designs between then.
 
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