Television

Hey! Arnold, Spongebob Squarepants,and Rugrats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box:   Television Television is one of the most important means of communication.  It brings pictures, color, sound and information into people's homes.  The name television comes from a Greek word meaning "far" and a Latin word meaning "to see."  Years before the 1900's, people did not have televisions.  Instead, they relied on radios, which were first made in the late 1800's.  The invention of television started in the 1800's, but took a long time.  The way we think of television today actually was invented in the 1920's.  Televisions did not become widespread until the 1940's when many television stations started broadcasting war news over the air waves into homes with large antennas. The first color television was made in June of 1951. In 1951 and 1955, Zenith played around with the idea of a "remote control" for a television set.  A remote control is having control of something far away without touching it.  The thing that is controlled can be from a distance of a few feet to thousands of miles, like a model airplane or even a satellite in space.  A remote control also makes it easier for people to work different kinds of machines.  It can also help people do things that would be too hard or dangerous to do by touching.  In 1957, Zenith made a new wireless model of the remote control that used ultrasonic waves.  It used a command unit that signals the television what to do.  The person using it may check and send more signals to keep it operating correctly.  Before the 1980's, television cable was not invented.  Today, however, many homes have cable for their televisions in wires under the ground.  Now the movement is toward wireless cable service. Satellite transmission covers a wide reception area.  A satellite operating over western Europe, for example, can beam programs to viewers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and several other countries in between. Televisions used to be housed in wooden cabinets, but most of them are plastic now.  Today televisions have gone from being a luxury item to being a common household item.  Most homes have more than one television set! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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